Note: On 4 June 2026 the Ministry of Labour sent a new draft of its transposition legislation to social partners. Articles on the civil service will be submitted to the CCFP (conseil commun de la fonction publique) on 18 June. This round of consultations will precede presentation to the Council of Ministers so France is still in the consultation phase. The main difference between this version and the version from March is the inclusion of Title II, which covers public sector employers.
Track the latest EU Member State transposition developments with our monitor.
France first introduced an equal pay law in December 1972. Since then, regulations have been implemented to strengthen legislation and further reduce gender pay gaps.
The Gender Equality Index of 2018 (Index de l’égalité professionnelle femmes-hommes) is a comprehensive tool for gender pay gap reporting. It aims to promote pay transparency, identify areas for improvement and drive actions to achieve gender pay equality.
Employers with more than 50 employees are required to report annually on their pay gap and calculate their overall score.
Published in December 2021, the “Rixain law” also aims to achieve gender parity among senior executives and members of management bodies in large organizations (more than 1,000 employees).
France reporting requirements
Who needs to report?
Employers with 50 or more employees on March 1st of the year preceding the reporting year must comply with the requirements listed below. Applicability testing must be conducted annually.
What to report?
The Gender Equality Index comprises four or five indicators, depending on organization size. Each indicator contributes to the employer’s final score, out of 100 points.
A detailed supporting analysis is also required from all employers on their methodology, the composition of employees by socio-professional category, and job rating levels.
Calculating your gender equality index
Companies with 50-250 employees (four indicators):
- Pay gap between men and women average remuneration based on defined groupings. Grouped by age (under 30; 30-39; 40-49; 50 and over) and job category (40 points).
- Employers aim to reduce the gender pay gap to zero to achieve the maximum score of 40 points
- Difference in rate of individual pay increases between women and men, when including promotions (35 points).
- Employers with no difference in rates of pay increases between men and women achieve the maximum score of 35 points
- Percentage of employees benefiting from a salary raise in the year following their return from maternity leave (15 points).
- Employers that grant a raise to all women returning from maternity leave will receive the maximum score of 15 points.
- Number of employees of the underrepresented sex among the 10 highest-paid employees (10 points).
- Employers that promote gender parity in high-earning positions (i.e. no less than 4 females or males in the top 10 highest earning positions) will receive the maximum score of 10 points.
The overall score is the total of the points for each of the four indicators.
Companies with more than 250 employees (5 indicators):
- Pay gap between men and women average remuneration based on defined groupings. Grouped by age (under 30; 30-39; 40-49; 50 and over) and job category (40 points).
- Employers aim to reduce the gender pay gap to zero to achieve the maximum score of 40 points.
- Difference in rate of individual pay increases between women and men (20 points).
- Employers with no difference in rates of pay increases between men and women achieve the maximum score of 35 points.
- Percentage of employees benefiting from a salary raise in the year following their return from maternity leave (15 points).
- Employers that grant a raise to all women returning from maternity leave will receive the maximum score of 15 points.
- Difference in rate of individual pay increases between women and men, when excluding promotions (20 points).
- Employers aim to promote women to an equal rate to men to achieve the maximum score of 15 points
- Number of employees of the underrepresented sex among the 10 highest-paid employees (10 points).
- Employers that promote gender parity in high-earning positions (i.e. no less than 4 females or males in the top 10 highest earning positions) will receive the maximum score of 10 points.
The overall score is the total of the points for each of the five indicators.
Progress objective and corrective measures Overall score less than 85 points: The employer must set and publish targets for the progress of each indicator where the maximum score has not been reached.
Overall score less than 75 points: Employers must include corrective measures in their posting and reporting, and where applicable the programming of salary catch-up measures. These employers have 3 years to improve their gender pay gaps.
Corrective measures and targets should be viewable on the employer’s website until a sufficient score is obtained. Targets and corrective measures will depend on the employer’s internal compensation, hiring, promotion and HR practices.
Decree 2022-243 sets out the steps that companies are required to take to eliminate pay gaps and improve their score under the Gender Equality Index.
Where and when to report?
Relevant employers must report on the above mentioned requirements as follow:
Regulatory filing: Employers are required to file the Gender Equality Index, progress targets and corrective measures and accompanying information to the Ministry of Labor. Submission via an online form, accessible on the Index Egapro website.
External posting: Publish the Gender Equality Index, progress targets and corrective measures and any accompanying information on the company website. In the absence of a website, progress objectives and corrective measures are brought to the attention of employees by any means.
Internal disclosure: Results must be made available to the Social and Economic Committee (CSE), a representative body for staff in the company, via the Economic and Social Database.
Deadlines and cadence: The Gender Equality Index, progress targets, corrective measures, and any accompanying information must be reported annually by March 1st for all relevant employers.
Balanced representation in management positions in large companies
In addition to the The Gender Equality Index compliance requirements, the Rixain Law introduced quotas in management bodies for large organizations. Employers with at least 1,000 employees for the third consecutive year must calculate and publish differences in representation between women and men among their senior managers and members of their governing bodies, in addition to their efforts to communicate these findings to the social and economic committee.
Relevant employers must transmit this information to the administration on the ” Balanced representation ” declaration portal.
Quotas under the law require a minimum of 30% of female executives or members of management bodies from March 1, 2026, increasing to 40% from March 1, 2029. Companies then have two years to comply with these objectives or face a financial penalty.
Employment equity standards
The Gender Equality Index is intended to apply the principle of “equal pay for equal work.” Employers are required to ensure equal pay for men and women when they perform the same work, or work of equal value. (Article L. 3221-2).
Equal pay must also be guaranteed between employees on permanent contracts and temporary workers, (Article L.1251-18) or those on fixed term contracts, (Article L.1242-15) when they perform the same duties and have an equivalent professional qualification.
Part-time employees and full-time employees with equal qualifications and seniority are also entitled to equal pay. (Article L.3123-5).
Compensation is defined as “ordinary basic or minimum wages or salaries and all other benefits and accessories paid, directly or indirectly, in cash or in kind, by the employer to the employee by reason of the latter’s employment.” (Article L. 3221-3)
The risks of non-compliance
In the event of failure to publish its results in a visible and readable manner, failure to implement corrective measures or their inefficiency, the company is exposed to a financial penalty of up to 1% of its annual payroll.
Enforcement is overseen by the Ministry of Labor and the Ministry of the Economy and Finance. The Labor Inspector also plays a key role in ensuring compliance. Field agents may also assist in compliance efforts.
Preparing for the EU pay transparency directive in France
On March 30, 2023, the European Union approved a Pay Transparency Directive for its EU member states to close the gender pay gap across the EU. The Directive aims to strengthen the “principle of equal pay for equal work or work of equal value between men and women through pay transparency and enforcement mechanisms.”
France and all other EU member states will need to adopt the EU Pay Transparency Directive into law by June 7th, 2026. The first large employers will need to submit pay data reports in compliance with the Directive by June 6th, 2027.
The EU Pay Transparency Directive establishes minimum standards, affording member states the discretion to implement more stringent measures or adapt existing requirements to meet the provisions laid out in the EU Directive. France will provide guidance adjustments to the current Gender Equality Index reporting requirements in due time.
For further guidance on the provisions and compliance requirements as part of the EU Pay Transparency Directive, Trusaic provides resources for EU Preparedness here.
How can Trusaic assist with France compliance?
Trusaic provides solutions to help employers operating in France comply confidently with the Directive.
Our Complete EU Pay Transparency Solution enables compliant pay systems, ensures gender-neutral job evaluations, and automates complex reporting obligations to keep you one step ahead of EU pay transparency enforcement.
- PayParity® analyzes your rewards data (compensation/benefits in kind) and quickly identifies any potential unjustified inequities. It enables you to more easily comply with Article 7 (right to information) and Article 6 requirements (pay setting and progression policy), and to identify and address worker-category gaps of 5% or more before they trigger a Joint Pay Assessment.
- Our Remediation Optimization Spend Analysis (R.O.S.A.) works as PayParity’s remediation engine to find the most cost-effective way to close nominal pay gaps and ensure compliance.
- Automated RTI workflows: Our bi-directional integrations with global HCM platforms allow pay equity data to flow securely from the Trusaic platform back into the HCM, so employees can access their RTI reports directly within existing HR systems. This eliminates manual report generation and reduces compliance risk.
- For organizations that prefer platform-based access, RTI reports can also be generated and delivered securely through the PayParity platform, with role-based permissions and full auditability.
- Salary Range Finder® ensures equitable pay at the point of hire to prevent any increase in pay gaps and enables you to easily comply with the Directive’s salary range disclosure and salary history ban requirements.
- Pay Decisions: Generate fair, competitive offers instantly from Workday.
- Regulatory and Pay Transparency Reporting™ captures your pay equity findings and generates compliant reports, helping you determine applicability, meet deadlines, and maintain audit-ready records across EU jurisdictions.
Trusaic is GDPR compliant and can assist any organization in any EU state in meeting its obligations under both the EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive and the EU Pay Transparency Directive.