The City of Lights has been slapped with a €90,000 ($110,000) fine from the public service ministry –for not adhering to gender quotas outlined in a law regarding the rights and obligations of civil servants.
Under that law, which was amended in 2012, civil servant appointments were to be divided into 40% men and 40% women, but the report claimed women made up 69% of city hall staff.
Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo (pictured above) ridiculed the fine calling it “absurd”, “unjust” and “irresponsible”.
The fine came after 11 women and five men were appointed to positions in 2018.
The report made the claim that the high percentage of women over men in the civil service had contributed to the ‘’feminization of senior management and managerial jobs”.
An angry Mayor Hidalgo said she would deposit the fine to the ministry in person along with her female deputies and the female heads of political groups in response, Quartz reported.
But some are arguing gender quotas aren’t the best way to ensure gender equality in the workplace – and hiring more women doesn’t always mean there is more equality.
Looks like the debate will go on.
