Updated on

Parity Pact

In French Tech start-ups, less than 10% of the founding teams are 100% female and only 18% of management positions are held by women. This observation gave rise to the Parity Pact initiative, 5 simple commitments to advance the issue of parity in French Tech. Co-created with the companies in the French Tech 120 programme, it has now been signed by over 200 start-ups.

I wanted to tackle the issue of parity in French Tech head on, because even if things are moving, the figures speak for themselves. It’s unacceptable not to open the doors of our ecosystem more to women. Of course it’s a question of equality, but it’s also, and above all, a question of performance. How can we build the best innovations without half of humanity?

Clara Chappaz

Director
French Tech Mission

The commitments of the Parity Pact

Together, the French Tech ecosystem is working to promote gender equality in the tech industry, where the gaps are still glaring and the players involved are largely unaffected by existing legislation.

The Parity Pact, launched in May 2022 and co-created with companies from the French Tech ecosystem, has three main areas of work necessary to make real progress:

  • Establish a clear managerial framework to promote awareness of parity and make it a priority within the company;

  • Proactively address recruitment difficulties to tackle the persistent imbalance in guidance and training in the tech professions;

  • Set up specific support to deal with the challenges of parenthood within the company.

5 commitments have been identified based on feedback from French start-ups in the French Tech Next40/120. They aim to take concrete action on structural issues relating to governance, management, recruitment, representation and parenthood.

With the support and guidance of the French Tech Mission, the signatories undertake to :

  • Governance: achieve a minimum threshold of 20% women on the company’s board by 2025, rising to 40% by 2028.

  • Management: train 100% of managers on diversity issues and the fight against discrimination and harassment

  • Recruitment: guarantee that 100% of the job descriptions published by the company are aimed at both men and women.

  • Representation: set up a team of equal numbers of male and female representatives to speak on behalf of the company, both internally and externally

  • Parenthood: set up specific support for each employee returning from parental leave

Support from the French Tech Mission

There are now more than 200 signatories to the Parity Pact. They receive assistance and support from the French Tech Mission, in particular via :

  • Running collective feedback workshops organised at national level and rolled out locally (on the subjects of recruitment and manager training, for example)

  • Designing a Guide to the Parity Pact (currently being drafted)

List of some of the signatories of the French Tech Mission’s Parity Pact, in the French Tech Next40/120 programme. See detailed description below.

List of some of the signatories of the French Tech Mission’s Parity Pact, in the French Tech Next40/120 programme:

  • 360 Learning
  • Adikteev
  • Akeneo
  • Alan
  • ALLMOL
  • Alma
  • Ankorstore
  • Anycommerce
  • Anywr
  • BlaBlaCar
  • Botify
  • Brut.
  • ChapsVision
  • Contentsquare
  • CorWave
  • Deezer
  • DentalMonitoring
  • Descartes
  • Devialet
  • DNAScript
  • Doctolib
  • Ecovadis
  • Electra
  • Equativ
  • Exotec
  • Heetch
  • HR Path
  • iAdvize
  • Igyxos
  • Ilek
  • ImCheck Therapeutics
  • Innovafeed
  • Iziwork
  • Jobteaser
  • Joone
  • Kinéis
  • Klaxoon
  • La Belle Vie
  • Le Collectionist
  • Ledger
  • Leocare Assurance
  • Libon
  • Lifen
  • Little Worker
  • Loft Orbital
  • Luko
  • Lumapps
  • Malt
  • ManoMano
  • Mirakl
  • Mnemo Therapeutics
  • MWM
  • MYM
  • Openclassrooms
  • PayFit
  • Pennylane
  • Perfectstay
  • Pharmedigroup
  • Pigment
  • Platform.sh
  • Qonto
  • Safti
  • Sarbacanne
  • Selectra
  • Brevo (ex. Sendinblue)
  • Singulart
  • Skeepers
  • Spendesk
  • Swile
  • Tissium
  • TreeFrog
  • Trusk
  • Ubitransport
  • Veepee
  • Verkor
  • Vestiaire Collective
  • Virtuo
  • Visiperf
  • Withings
  • Ÿnsect
  • Younited
  • Yousign
  • Yubo

Become a signatory of the Parity Pact

The 200 or so signatories of the Parity Pact include Mirakl, Deezer, Ledger and Brut. Join them and follow the lead of Mission French Tech to build a fairer and more inclusive ecosystem!

Become a signatory 

9 months after the launch of the Parity Pact: a progress report

9 months after the launch of the Parity Pact, the French Tech Mission is offering a progress report to take stock of the commitment of signatories.

The figures in the progress report show that this initiative is effective in encouraging companies to take action in favour of gender equality. Significant progress has been made in promoting parity within the French Tech ecosystem.

There is still some way to go to achieve full parity, and these ongoing efforts are essential to creating a more inclusive and equitable tech environment in France.

8/10

of companies have trained at least half of their managers, and on average, 74.5% of managers have undergone training (out of our respondents).

94%

of companies responding have taken steps to ensure that their internal and external representation teams have equal representation.

100%

of companies responding have introduced a more inclusive recruitment process.

88%

of companies responding have launched initiatives to better support employees in their parenthood.

These key figures come from the survey sent out as part of the Parity Pact progress review on 08/03/2023, in order to measure signatories’ progress on the Pact’s 5 commitments.