Is a majority of French women employed?
If being a housewife in the past to raise children was a common thing, it is perceived very negatively in France today. Living decently with one income has become almost impossible nowadays. For most couples, it is necessary that both people work. But this is not just a question of money…French women want to be independent and more than that, they want to show that they are as capable as men, if not more. In fact, they have consistently done better than men at school…no matter the level of difficulty. From Primary school to University, the top students are always girls! This can probably be explained by the French educational system that relies a lot on MEMORY!! In most subjects (History, Geography, Literature, Biology, Physics etc), students are asked to learn by heart hundreds of pages…most boys are unable to do that because they do not have the PATIENCE and the COURAGE to do it.
It’s true that learning by heart hundreds of pages in History will not help you find a job but it’s part of the culture. In France, it is considered UNACCEPTABLE if your History or Geography about the world is not strong. Foreigners are often surprised that Primary school pupils in France know so much about their country. Once, an Indian family in northern France thanked my sister (who is a Primary school teacher) for studying the life of Gandhi with her pupils…they didn’t know that this was an integral part of the curriculum! 