France is obsessed with growing its population numbers. Some historians contribute this to World War II with their great loss of numbers, while others believe that the problem goes back much further than that. This country has for centuries not been able to get its population growth rate much higher than its death rate. Now faced with an aging population and not enough youngins’ to fill in the gap, the French government is calling on French mammas to the rescue.
Women nowadays, like in the USA, are either choosing to delay having children until they are older or not having children at all. The more educated the women, the less likely she will have more than one or two children. The women who delay having children are finding themselves with smaller family sizes or that they waited until it was too late to have children at all. While it is more acceptable in the USA for a women to say she never wants to have children, that is still very taboo in France. If you do not have children, it is assumed that you either have not found the right man or that you are waiting for a good point in your career.
Benefits of Being Pregnant in France
So what do mothers in France receive to help spur them to having more children? With her first child, she will receive 16 weeks paid maternity leave and free medical care throughout their pregnancy. If her household income was lower than 35,000 euros ($50,000 USD) the year before, then she will get about 900 euros ($1,300 USD) when she is 7 months pregnant. Minimum wage is about 1,200 euros per month ($1,700 USD), so about 15,600 ($22,200) euros per year. People can live on much less here, especially with the low cost of healthcare! This means that most families can expect to get this nice “little” boost. And yes, I spent mine already! I had a blast baby shopping.
Regardless of income, all French mammas receive about 192 euros ($275 USD) per month until the child is 3 years old. After her first child is born, she will get 10 free sessions of perineal therapy, 10 free sessions of abdominal exercise classes, free nursery school, tax deduction. If she has worked for the same employer for 1 year, then she can take leave for 3 years (paid by the government) and be guaranteed to have her same job back without any reductions in pay. This means that French mammas are expected to return to work after 4 months stress free about money, back into shape with from having abdominal exercise classes and sex drives back with perineal therapy.
Then when the second, third…. child comes along, she gets weeks or months added to her paid maternity leaves, increased monthly allowance and higher tax breaks. Actually, many families with 3 children are finding themselves not owing any taxes because of all the breaks and incentives! Oh, and we cannot forget that they get discounts on train fares, museums and other entertainment – so these families are still able to get out and have some fun.
Downside to Being a French Mamma
Being a French mamma sounds great, right? Well, there are some disadvantages – as always in life. These mothers are expected to do it all. When they return to work from maternity leave, they are expected to have had all the repose needed in order to work and be a supermom. Men spend on average 2 hours a day helping with the children, while women spend 5 hours per day. It is a patriarchal culture, where men are not expected to do household work. Luckily my French husband is a bit more “Americanized” than the typical man here and is actually looking forward to helping out with our little girl. We both have career goals, so parenting time must be shared so we both can really move forward.
Even though women have equal rights as men in France on paper, they receive less pay and opportunities to move up to a higher level position. Working hard does not always mean earning more. About 82 percent of French women ages 25-49 are making about 26 percent less than men. There is also a very thick glass ceiling of which not many women have been able to break.
“French women are exhausted,” said Valérie Toranian, editor-in-chief of Elle magazine in France. “We have the right to do what men do — as long as we also take care of the children, cook a delicious dinner and look immaculate. We have to be superwoman.”
French Mothers in France
Women in France have a long way to go to see true equal rights in the workplace, however, at least they are being well taken care of in the mean time. I am sure mothers in the USA would love to have benefits such as 16 weeks paid maternity leave, free nursery school and monthly allowances. In fact, I bet if we added all the costs of the benefits on top of the woman’s lower salary here, it would make them about even as the US. At least women here can never say, “There is no point going back to work since the cost of childcare is more than what I will be making.” But if you are a women working France without kids (or the desire to have any in the future), you are really missing out.
Personally, if I worked a traditional job here and had to watch my male counterparts receive more pay for doing the same thing as me, I would lose my mind. Yes, they do not get 4 months off when they have a new addition to their family – but it is not like the new mamma is on vacation. I hope to see French mammas gain strength here and break down that glass ceiling. If my little girl wants to be CEO here one day, my little girl will be (and not at a discount)!
Image Credit: Ekaterina Pokrovsky at Fotolia.com
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