SoCoCo Intercultural Bridging Oceans of Differences Through Training and Consulting

What is your perception of women in France? And of French businesswomen? Is your image of women in the French workplace drawn from Hollywood or stereotypes? Or do you have a more accurate picture based on real experiences? Regardless of your sources, you may have discovered that French businesswomen are similar in many ways to their American co-workers, but that there exist distinct differences. There are compelling reasons to explore these differences; we will perhaps be more successful at business and understand better the intriguing, sometimes perplexing, French.

Working with French businesswomen, your first impression will be, of course, their appearance. French women in business dress impeccably. That is not a stereotype. The higher up in the corporate echelon, the better the clothes and the fabulous, carefully coordinated accessories. One observer of French culture remarked that French women are genetically programmed to artfully tie scarves. American women doing business with the French should relegate their practical clothes to the back of the closet and don the most expensive, fashionable suits or dresses possible, embellished with quality silk scarves and very good jewelry. Impressive-looking pens are a must as well. Your drugstore ballpoint will be sure to catch the reproachful eye of the appearance-conscious French.

French female behavior may be a bit different as well. Traditional Frenchmen wait for women to extend their hands, regardless of their rank in the company. And, if you've established a solid working relationship with a Frenchman, he may bid you farewell with the stereotypical kisses on the cheeks (usually two or three, depending on the region). But in fact, these are more "air kisses" than real smackers. In any event, let him take the lead.

The same goes for the first name. Your French colleagues will probably address you by your first name more quickly than their parents did, but as the rules for this practice are changing rapidly in France, it is wise to let them take the initiative.

Before long, the issue of food will come up, and women are at a distinct disadvantage in this area. First of all, in most large cities, they are expected to be slender. It is rare to encounter an overweight French woman in business. Further, women are often handicapped by the amount of alcohol (ap�ritif, one or two wines, digestif) consumed during the three-hour, get-acquainted business lunches. If you're concerned about overeating and drinking, the best advice is the most obvious: sip delicately your drinks and go easy on the sauces and rich desserts. The French will not expect you to lick your plate clean, although it is considered bad manners not to at least taste what is served, even if the idea of eating a snail turns you moss green.

How Many of Your Colleagues Will Be Women?

Although the majority of French women work, you will meet few of them in top management, with the exception of advertising, cosmetics, fashion or art. As in the United States, there are many reasons for this dearth of females at the top. Many sociologists have noted that the French work schedule does not favor women. The three-hour business lunch assumes that one compensates by working later in the evening, which the French habitually do. Often this is when the most important decisions are made, leaving family-oriented women out of the decision-making process. Cadres (executives) are expected to stay late at the office, and the higher the ranking, the later the hour. It is normal that they see their subordinates arrive and depart.

The Grandes Ecoles (highly prestigious universities) are the source of the business elite in France. The two most prestigious, Ecole Polytechnique and Ecole Normale d'Administration (ENA), keep their women populations to between 10-15%. However, many think that it's but a matter of time until women infiltrate the higher echelons of French companies. Currently, women sometimes outnumber men in business schools. Furthermore, women are perceived to have more of the qualities of the new generation of French managers: supportive and accessible rather than distant and authoritarian.

A Generation Seeking Balance

It is often pointed out that women managers are better represented in corporate America; and in sheer numbers, this is true. It is clear that French women have not made the same upward progress in corporations that Americans have. Only five women are among the 264 chief executives of the top twenty French corporations, and 45% of working women are confined to 20 professions among the 455 that figure in the INSEE classification. However, it is also evident that French women are not in favor of taking up American-style women's lib. In a recent interview of the top women managers in Europe, all of them opposed reverse discrimination, preferential treatment or quotas as a way to speed up equality in the workplace (i).

The French (including feminists) like to argue that lifestyle is a big issue in France, as in most European countries. French women are not prepared to give up their femininity, including motherhood and affairs of the heart (ii), or other sacrifices that successful American businesswomen have felt compelled to make.

According to French author and Georgetown University professor Mich�le Sarde, feminism in the U.S. is a feminism of equality. American feminists want to share the privileges and rights men have always had, while French feminism has, from the outset, put more emphasis on the differences between men and women. Few women or men in France are prepared to diminish these differences; it seems that the two sexes, despite persistent inequalities at work, live rather harmoniously. (French men frequently perceive American women as aggressive and lacking in femininity, an impression perhaps formed by either their appearance or their behavior.)

No article about women working in France would be complete without a comment about sexual harassment and flirting. Sexual Harassment, as defined by Americans, is little understood and rarely perceived as a problem in France. That does not imply that French men take undue liberties in the workplace. Decency and dignity typify most French business transactions. However, American women working with the French should not be alarmed or resist the harmless (and often charming) light-hearted flirtations of French men. These men are simply appreciating the differences between the sexes so cherished and celebrated in France.

ⁱ Bloom, Euromanagement, p. 91.
ⁱⁱ In a 1990 article in the French intellectual newspaper, Le Monde, S�gol�ne Royal, a former minister and Socialist deputy, writes an intense graphic description of the perfect loving partner modern French women desire.

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Doing Business with Women in France

How Many of Your Colleagues Will Be Women?

A Generation Seeking Balance