In Europe, nearly half of all jobs are held by women. Yet this average masks significant imbalances: some professions remain overwhelmingly female. This reality reflects not different abilities, but rather the legacy of gender stereotypes still deeply ingrained in our society.<\/p>\n
If there's one profession where women are overwhelmingly in the majority, it's that of childminder. According to INSEE data<\/a> from 2021, they represent nearly 98% of the workforce. Domestic workers also show a very similar proportion. This overrepresentation is obviously not explained by any "feminine predisposition to take care of children." It is the result of an outdated view that still associates women with caregiving, educational, and mentoring tasks, as if these qualities were naturally attributed to them.<\/p>\n Another highly feminized profession is secretarial and executive assistant work. Women represent approximately 95% of employees in this field. This situation originated in the 20th century, when the growth of administrative jobs allowed many women to enter the workforce. These positions were often entry-level roles, with few opportunities for advancement into management positions. While attitudes are gradually changing, this gender distribution remains very pronounced today.<\/p>\n Home care, housekeeping, and nursing assistant professions are also among the sectors where women are heavily represented. The nursing and midwifery professions also have an overwhelming majority of women, around 88% according to statistics. With the aging population, these professions are recruiting more, but their composition is changing little. They often continue to face modest wages, frequent part-time work, and insufficient recognition, even though they are essential to the proper functioning of society.<\/p>\n These figures in no way imply that certain professions are suited to women and others to men. No skill, talent, or ambition is dependent on gender. If some professions remain highly "feminized" or, conversely, highly "masculine" in 2026, it is primarily because stereotypes continue to influence educational and professional paths.<\/p>\n For a long time, patriarchal society assigned women the role of caregiver, helper, or "nurturer," while portraying them as less suited to technical, scientific, or physical professions. These preconceived notions have very real consequences. From their earliest studies, some young women may be discouraged from pursuing fields still perceived as masculine. Once in the workforce, they often have to prove themselves more to access the same opportunities or the highest positions. This is a reality that many female professionals continue to denounce.<\/p>\n Fortunately, things are changing. INSEE analyses<\/a> show that more and more women are entering historically male-dominated sectors, including law, medicine, banking, insurance, and communications. Conversely, one field stands out as an exception: information technology. Once more open to women, this sector has gradually become more male-dominated as it has gained prestige and higher salaries. This serves as a reminder that progress toward greater gender diversity is never guaranteed.<\/p>\n While gender imbalances still exist in certain professions, they are not inevitable. The real progress lies in allowing everyone to freely choose their path, without being limited by gender stereotypes. Because ultimately, skills, passion, and talent have never been gendered.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In Europe, nearly half of all jobs are held by women. Yet this average masks significant imbalances: some...","protected":false},"author":8264,"featured_media":446508,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"disable_msn":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5678],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-446507","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-societe"],"image":{"medium":["https:\/\/www.ma-grande-taille.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Ces-3-professions-comptent-une-forte-majorite-de-femmes-200x113.jpg",200,113,true],"large":["https:\/\/www.ma-grande-taille.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Ces-3-professions-comptent-une-forte-majorite-de-femmes-500x281.jpg",500,281,true]},"custom":{"td_video":"","featured_image":"https:\/\/www.ma-grande-taille.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Ces-3-professions-comptent-une-forte-majorite-de-femmes.jpg","author":{"name":"Ana\u00eblle Gayon","avatar":"https:\/\/www.ma-grande-taille.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Agayon-96x96.jpg"},"categories":[{"term_id":5678,"name":"Society","slug":"societe","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":5846,"taxonomy":"category","description":" The Society section of The Body Optimist unpacks the debates that shape women\u2019s lives: equality, discrimination, beauty standards, social ties and the place of bodies in public space. Its analysis, first-person stories and practical advice are for anyone who wants to understand the pressures of everyday life and push back, with an inclusive, body-positive and judgment-free perspective.<\/p>\n Beauty standards are a social issue because they are neither natural nor universal: they shift from one country to another and from one era to the next, as our article on how beauty standards differ around the world<\/a> shows. Yet these ideals of thinness, youth and flawless skin have very real effects: comments starting in childhood, pressure to watch your weight, unequal treatment at work and in health care, online harassment. Recognizing that a norm is constructed helps you take a step back, spot the messages designed to make you feel guilty and choose what you want to keep. That is the common thread of this section: connecting individual experiences to the collective mechanisms that produce them.<\/p>\n If you experience discrimination or online harassment, the first step is to keep evidence, then to turn to the right people, who will depend on the country you live in:<\/p>\n Born from a plus-size fashion site, our magazine looks at social issues through the lens of the body and representation. We give a voice to the people most affected, we explain the words before debating them (sexism, fatphobia, trans identity, consent) and we favor practical ways forward over outrage alone. Our articles start from everyday experiences to shed light on broader patterns, without moralizing or pitting women against each other.<\/p>\n Discrimination is unequal treatment based on a characteristic protected by law, in a specific area such as employment, housing or access to goods and services. Protected grounds vary from country to country, but they often include sex, race or ethnic origin, disability, age, religion, sexual orientation and gender identity. Some places also protect physical appearance or weight.<\/p>\n Intersectionality describes how several forms of discrimination can overlap in the same person and reinforce one another. The American legal scholar Kimberl\u00e9 Crenshaw coined the term to describe the experiences of Black women. A woman who is both fat and lesbian, for example, may face sexism, fatphobia and homophobia, which compound one another rather than simply adding up.<\/p>\n Diet culture is the set of beliefs that equates thinness with health, success and personal worth. It shows up in foods labeled \u201cgood\u201d or \u201cbad,\u201d compliments on weight loss and the shaming of fat bodies. Our magazine prefers a weight-inclusive approach to health, at every size.<\/p>\n Want to go further? Our Culture<\/a> section explores how bodies and identities are portrayed in movies, TV shows and books, and our Psychology<\/a> section supports you with self-image, confidence and emotions.<\/p>","parent":0,"count":1538,"filter":"raw","cat_ID":5678,"category_count":1538,"category_description":" The Society section of The Body Optimist unpacks the debates that shape women\u2019s lives: equality, discrimination, beauty standards, social ties and the place of bodies in public space. Its analysis, first-person stories and practical advice are for anyone who wants to understand the pressures of everyday life and push back, with an inclusive, body-positive and judgment-free perspective.<\/p>\n Beauty standards are a social issue because they are neither natural nor universal: they shift from one country to another and from one era to the next, as our article on how beauty standards differ around the world<\/a> shows. Yet these ideals of thinness, youth and flawless skin have very real effects: comments starting in childhood, pressure to watch your weight, unequal treatment at work and in health care, online harassment. Recognizing that a norm is constructed helps you take a step back, spot the messages designed to make you feel guilty and choose what you want to keep. That is the common thread of this section: connecting individual experiences to the collective mechanisms that produce them.<\/p>\n If you experience discrimination or online harassment, the first step is to keep evidence, then to turn to the right people, who will depend on the country you live in:<\/p>\n Born from a plus-size fashion site, our magazine looks at social issues through the lens of the body and representation. We give a voice to the people most affected, we explain the words before debating them (sexism, fatphobia, trans identity, consent) and we favor practical ways forward over outrage alone. Our articles start from everyday experiences to shed light on broader patterns, without moralizing or pitting women against each other.<\/p>\n Discrimination is unequal treatment based on a characteristic protected by law, in a specific area such as employment, housing or access to goods and services. Protected grounds vary from country to country, but they often include sex, race or ethnic origin, disability, age, religion, sexual orientation and gender identity. Some places also protect physical appearance or weight.<\/p>\n Intersectionality describes how several forms of discrimination can overlap in the same person and reinforce one another. The American legal scholar Kimberl\u00e9 Crenshaw coined the term to describe the experiences of Black women. A woman who is both fat and lesbian, for example, may face sexism, fatphobia and homophobia, which compound one another rather than simply adding up.<\/p>\n Diet culture is the set of beliefs that equates thinness with health, success and personal worth. It shows up in foods labeled \u201cgood\u201d or \u201cbad,\u201d compliments on weight loss and the shaming of fat bodies. Our magazine prefers a weight-inclusive approach to health, at every size.<\/p>\n Want to go further? Our Culture<\/a> section explores how bodies and identities are portrayed in movies, TV shows and books, and our Psychology<\/a> section supports you with self-image, confidence and emotions.<\/p>","cat_name":"Society","category_nicename":"societe","category_parent":0}]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ma-grande-taille.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/446507","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ma-grande-taille.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ma-grande-taille.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ma-grande-taille.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8264"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ma-grande-taille.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=446507"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.ma-grande-taille.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/446507\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":446526,"href":"https:\/\/www.ma-grande-taille.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/446507\/revisions\/446526"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ma-grande-taille.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/446508"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ma-grande-taille.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=446507"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ma-grande-taille.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=446507"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ma-grande-taille.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=446507"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}} 2. The secretariat, an enduring legacy<\/h2>\n
3. Caregiving professions are still predominantly held by women<\/h2>\n
There is no such thing as a "woman's job"... nor a "man's job".<\/h2>\n
Things are changing, but there's still a long way to go.<\/h2>\n
What you\u2019ll find in the Society section<\/h2>\n
\n
Why are beauty standards a social issue?<\/h2>\n
What can you do about discrimination or online harassment?<\/h2>\n
\n
Our approach: connecting the personal and the collective<\/h2>\n
Articles to start with<\/h2>\n
\n
Frequently asked questions<\/h2>\n
What counts as discrimination?<\/h3>\n
What is intersectionality?<\/h3>\n
What is diet culture?<\/h3>\n
What you\u2019ll find in the Society section<\/h2>\n
\n
Why are beauty standards a social issue?<\/h2>\n
What can you do about discrimination or online harassment?<\/h2>\n
\n
Our approach: connecting the personal and the collective<\/h2>\n
Articles to start with<\/h2>\n
\n
Frequently asked questions<\/h2>\n
What counts as discrimination?<\/h3>\n
What is intersectionality?<\/h3>\n
What is diet culture?<\/h3>\n