FRANCE-GERMANY - UNEQUAL ADVANCES FOR WOMEN - COMPARATIVE EDUCATION IN WORK ACTIVITIES OF FEMALES FROM 1971 TO 1991

This paper measures and interprets the progression of school achieveme nts and participation of women in the labor force in France and German y. Up to now, for these countries, comparisons of the relationships be tween education, training and work had mostly focused on men. Based on large scale national surveys, we detect stronger advances in France. In 1971 as well as in 1991, gendered inequalities in education and tra ining are wider in Germany. At all ages and for all education levels, German women, as soon as they become mothers, are less present on the labor market. These differences can be traced back to German economic and education history, that have been more organized for men. The impo rtance of a corporatist occupational and educational system in this co untry would entail a more rigid gendered division of work than in the school system and rank achieved by women in general education in Franc e.