Gap in pensions between French women and men 2004-2020, by scheme type
Among retirees residing in France in 2020, women's direct pensions were on average 40.2 percent lower than those of men. Once the reversionary pension was taken into account, they earned 28.4 percent less.
However, while it is common practice to calculate the income gap between women and men from the male perspective, using the man's income as a standard, nothing prevents from adopting a women's perspective and relating this gap not to men's income but to women's income. Thus, while retired women living in France in 2020 earned 28.4 percent less than men in 2020, men had a pension that was about 39.5 percent higher than that of women. It is quite impressive that the lower figure has become prevalent in most documents and in the public debate.
However, while it is common practice to calculate the income gap between women and men from the male perspective, using the man's income as a standard, nothing prevents from adopting a women's perspective and relating this gap not to men's income but to women's income. Thus, while retired women living in France in 2020 earned 28.4 percent less than men in 2020, men had a pension that was about 39.5 percent higher than that of women. It is quite impressive that the lower figure has become prevalent in most documents and in the public debate.
