ARTICULER LES TEMPS DE VIE POUR L'ACTIVITE DES FEMMES EN COTES D'ARMOR (facilitating work/life balance for women in Côtes D’Armor)

In Côtes d'Armor, a Province in Brittany, France, women often have part-time and/or insecure jobs. Furthermore, managing the family and parental responsibilities are predominantly done by women. This situation partly explains the fact that the percentage of women creating their own business or having management positions in businesses does not exceed 30%.

A good work-life balance is encouraged, but for people with a child (0 to 12 years old) working atypical hours, there is very little provision of care facilities. Likewise, faced with an ageing population and the need for care attendants for the elderly and disabled, the offer of care assistance responding to individual needs must be improved and reinforced.

The purpose of the French EQUAL project’s work is to support women to:

• Access self-employment or paid work by removing barriers to work-life balance
• Experience improved working conditions as care attendants (who are mostly women)

The principle of equal access to work for men and women exists and is recognised. However, in reality there is a gap between this principle and its implementation. By focusing on work-life balance while at the same time improving care provision, the project carries within itself a process of reinforcing equal access to work and activity for women and men.

Men will also benefit from the project, more particularly by attention being drawn to the work opportunities for them in the field of support services, often considered to be just for women.

The French EQUAL project’s work will result in leading an awareness action for the better sharing of family and education responsibilities for families composed of two parents who are both working.