Women during Recessions in France and Germany. The Gender Biases of Public Policies

This article explores the gender biases of recessions and policy responses they have entailed in France and Germany in the 2000s. During the Great Recession, France experienced a significant rise in both female and male unemployment. Germany apparently witnessed a gendered ?employment miracle? and is thus cited as a model, especially for its structural labour market reforms, often presented as the reason for its current employment performance. In both countries, economic downturns have hit male-dominated sectors and men?s employment first, thereby leading to a reduction or a reversal of the unemployment gender gap and challenging the male (main) breadwinner model. If women did not withdraw from the labour market, they have not been spared economic hardship: their employment and social conditions were hit in the second stages of recessions and impaired by austerity measures and structural reforms, especially in Germany. While recovery plans and labour market policies have provided support for male-dominated sectors, structural labour market reforms and activation policies have deteriorated the quality of women?s employment.