1. French Context & Regulations

Purpose

Guide French employers to calculate, report and address their gender pay gap in compliance with national law.

Audience

• CEOs & Executive Committees
• HR & Compensation Teams
• Legal & Compliance Officers
• Diversity & Inclusion Leaders
• Payroll & Data Analysts

Key Legal Requirements

• Index égalité professionnelle (Art. L.1142-8 du Code du travail): Companies with ≥ 50 employees must compute & publish each March by 1 March:
  • 5 indicators: pay gap, raise gap, promotion gap, maternity return bonus, top-10 earners
  • A corrective action plan and penalty if index < 75/100
• Déclaration sociale nominative (DSN): Data submission via DSN every month feeds the index computation.
• Publication: Results must be posted on intranet & external website, and communicated to employee delegates.

Voluntary & ESG Frameworks

• RSE Reporting (Article 173-VI)
• UN Women’s WEPs
• Global Reporting Initiative (GRI 405-2)

2. Gap Calculation Methodology

1. Select Snapshot Date

Use 31 December for DSN data; compute indicators by 1 March each year.

2. Data Collection

Extract from your HRIS/Payroll & DSN:

3. Data Cleaning

• Convert all pay to annual FTE (temps plein équivalent).
• Ensure all figures in EUR as of snapshot date.
• Map uncoded roles to nearest PCS-EM code.

4. Compute Index Indicators

Follow DGT guidance to compute:
Indicator 1: Gender pay gap
Indicator 2: Raise gap
Indicator 3: Promotion gap
Indicator 4: Return-from-maternity bonus
Indicator 5: Top-10 earners distribution

5. Test Common Drivers

• Inequal pay for comparable roles
• Under-representation of women in senior grades
• Segregation in high- vs low-pay PCS-EM categories
• Over-representation of women in part-time
• Differences in recruitment, promotion, turnover

3. PCS-EM Occupational Classification

What Is PCS-EM?

The Professions et Catégories Socioprofessionnelles – Employeurs (PCS-EM) is maintained by INSEE for labour statistics (RNIPP, DSN, DADS). It classifies jobs by qualification, hierarchy and sector.

Structure

• 2-digit “professions et catégories”: 8 major classes (e.g. 11 Agriculteurs exploitants; 21 Artisans; 31 Cadres; …; 81 Ouvriers qualifiés)
• 3-digit “grandes professions”: sub-classes by family (e.g. 312 Ingénieurs & Cadres Techniques)
• 4-digit “professions détaillées”: specific occupations (e.g. 3121 Ingénieur Informatique)

Connection to ISCO-08

• INSEE publishes a crosswalk from PCS-EM 4-digit to ISCO-08 4-digit unit groups.
• Mapping based on tasks, required diplomas and responsibilities.
• Where no exact match, broader ISCO categories are used with explanatory notes.

Assignment & Validation

• Map each job title to PCS-EM 4-digit in your HRIS.
• INSEE validation via DSN: ensures valid codes and flags small group sizes (≥5).
• Store both PCS-EM and ISCO codes for reporting & benchmarking.

Why Use PCS-EM?

• Objectivity: Official taxonomy free of proprietary weights.
• Comparability: Aligns with French national statistics and global ISCO benchmarks.
• Granularity: From broad social categories to detailed roles.
• Neutrality: Based solely on job content—tasks, qualification, hierarchy.

Next Steps

• Integrate PCS-EM & ISCO codes into your analytics system.
• Compute your index and publish by 1 March each year.
• Share results with employee representatives & on your website.
• Implement corrective action plans to improve your index.

How France Uses the PCS-EM to Classify Occupations

1. Underlying Taxonomy: PCS-EM

The Professions et Catégories Socioprofessionnelles – Employeurs (PCS-EM) is maintained by INSEE and used in DSN/DADS submissions. It classifies jobs by level, sector and qualification to support pay-gap index calculations.

• 2-digit categories (8 major classes):
  • 11 – Agriculteurs exploitants
  • 21 – Artisans, commerçants, chefs d’entreprise
  • 31 – Cadres
  • 41 – Professions intermédiaires
  • 51 – Employés
  • 61 – Ouvriers qualifiés
  • 71 – Ouvriers non qualifiés
  • 81 – Retraités, inactifs
• 3-digit “grandes professions”: subdivides each 2-digit into families (e.g. 312 – Ingénieurs & Cadres Techniques).
• 4-digit “professions détaillées”: specific occupations (e.g. 3121 – Ingénieur Informatique).

2. Connection to ISCO-08

• INSEE publishes a crosswalk mapping each PCS-EM 4-digit code to an ISCO-08 4-digit category.
• Mapping is based on tasks, required diplomas and responsibilities.
• Where no exact one-to-one match exists, a broader ISCO grouping is used with annotation.

3. Assignment & Validation

1. Export job titles from your HRIS and map them to the closest PCS-EM 4-digit code.
2. Validate codes via DSN: INSEE will flag invalid codes or groups under 5 employees.
3. Store both PCS-EM and corresponding ISCO codes for internal reporting and external benchmarking.

Why PCS-EM Works for GPG

• Objectivity: Official, publicly-documented taxonomy with no proprietary weights.
• Comparability: Harmonises with national stats (INSEE) and global ISCO benchmarks.
• Granularity: Allows drill-down from broad class to detailed profession.
• Gender-neutral: Based purely on job content—tasks, skills, qualifications.