France and Quebec want to create an index of the equality of men and women

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Premiers Philippe Couillard and Édouard Philippe took advantage of the international Day of women’s rights to announce the creation of another index of the equality of men and women.

Charles Lecavalier

Thursday, 8 march, 2018 09:43

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Thursday, 8 march, 2018 09:50

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Premiers Philippe Couillard and Édouard Philippe took advantage of the international Day of women’s rights to announce the creation of another index of the equality of men and women.

“We’re going to work with Quebec to the creation of an index of equality […] a tool of measurement, decision support and comparison to both national and international in the field of equality between women and men”, launched on Thursday the French prime minister, Édouard Philippe, during a press conference in the framework of the Meetings alternate between Québec and France.

However, other indices exist already. Index social Institutions and gender equality (ISE) of the OECD measure, at the international level, discrimination against women in social institutions. The world economic Forum has also created an index to assess the situation of women, based on 14 indicators, including the level of education, participation in political life or the ratio between the wages of men and women.

However, Philippe Couillard, in announcing the creation of a new index, has spoken of those that already exist as”draft” which doesn’t inspire a “feeling of membership”.

He believes that an index supported by France and Quebec could impose itself on the international scene. “The size of France, who would participate with us in the creation of this index, would increase the chances that this index be used on the international stage,” said Mr. Couillard.

For the prime minister, Édouard Philippe, this index is necessary because it “will determine the direction that one takes,” and will be to the governments a “tool”decision.

A nuanced position on the national question

Mr. Philippe was also asked about the position of his government on the national question. This position is always that of the “non-interference, non-indifference”?

“I will say of the most simple and clear as possible, as France and Quebec have long been coast to coast and for a long time coast to coast. And that the friendship and the intensity of the bond that unites us, they seem to be more profound, more lasting and more essential than any position on an institutional organisation”, he replied.