A Slightly More Favorable Trend in Salaries for Women Late in Their Careers

At the age of 50, fewer women than men born in the 1940s participated in the workforce and more held part-time positions. Their salaries were considerably lower than those of men of the same age. Mainly, women have had less access to the highest-paid positions. However, after 50, and even more after 55, their salary paths appear to be slightly more upward than those of men who remained in salaried employment, according to data from INSEE’s panel surveys of private-sector and public-sector employee data. A differential in salary growth in favour of women late in their careers is observed among all salaried employees and among full-time employees in either the public sector or the private sector, and across all socio-occupational categories. Women working full-time who were on the lowest salaries at age 50 experienced the biggest increase in salary between 50 and 59. That more favourable trend is not enough, however, to enable women to make up the lag accumulated in mid-career so that their final salaries (defined as the average salary over the five years prior to retirement) remain significantly lower than men’s, even among full-time employees (average gap: 30%). The pensions of women who had full careers represent a lower percentage of their final salaries than those of men on comparable salaries, since pension schemes do not fully compensate for career breaks and reduced working hours.