FRENCH LEGISLATION ON WORK EQUALITY - BEN EATH THE SURFACE

The social practices that have developed around the application of the July 13, 1983 law concerning equal work opportunity between men and w omen show that the law has been neither particularly effective nor eff icient. This article suggests several explanations, including the chan ges in official policy and its ambivalence, characterized by a shiftin g frame of reference, and the distortion of the meaning of equality pr ograms resulting from their integration into human resources managemen t actions.