Four weeks after the appointment of Michel Barnier’s government, the 41 ministers and secretaries of State have hired their chief of staff. the world analyzed the profiles of these key figures, who collaborate daily with ministers. It is not surprising that we find a large majority of men, often archaeologists, with solid experience in high public office, belonging to the right wing of Macronism and already present in ministerial cabinets since 2017.
But they also rub shoulders with people in their fifties or sixties who trained with Nicolas Sarkozy, or even with Jacques Chirac, or, on the contrary, with more beginner profiles who choose to join a government with uncertain longevity.
Ten women, thirty-two men
Barnier’s government is balanced with 21 women and 20 men, although the latter occupy the most prestigious ministries in the government. But at the level of ministerial cabinet directors, only ten women were appointed, that is, less than a quarter of the total.
This very slow feminization of entourages, despite the law of July 19, 2023, which aspires to parity in the positions of ministers and heads of state before January 2026, is partly explained by the hiring profile of these advisors. “The chief of staff is usually a very successful position, with great experience in administration, coming from high public office or from the main organizations: a restricted group that, in turn, is gradually becoming more feminine”analyzes political scientist Frédéric Sawicki. Added to this are the limitations inherent to this type of exhausting situation, difficult to reconcile with family life, which aggravates gender inequalities. “Although billing has accelerated lately, with durations of two to three years at the head of a company”says the researcher attached to the Paris-I Panthéon-Sorbonne University.
However, Barnier’s government is improving compared to Gabriel Attal’s team, which included five women in thirty-three cabinet directors, only two of them in full-time ministries. As of now, there are four women in the eight main ministries: the professor of management sciences Carole Drucker-Godardto the Minister of National Education, Anne Genetet; the arching Virginia Magnantwith the Minister of Solidarity, Paul Christophe; the thirty Charlotte Logeaisto the Minister of Sports, Gil Avérous; the former prefect of equal opportunities Virginia Lasserrewith the Minister of Housing, Valérie Létard.
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