Gender Equality Index 2026: Calculate the Indicators and Avoid the 1% Penalty

Quick answer. Every company in France with at least 50 employees must calculate and publish, by March 1st at the latest, its gender equality index: a score out of 100 points. Companies with 50 to 250 employees assess 4 indicators; those with more than 250 employees assess 5. Below 85 points, improvement targets must be published; below 75 points, corrective measures become mandatory, with the goal of reaching 75 points within three years. Failing to publish or to comply exposes the company to a financial penalty of up to 1% of payroll.

The gender equality index stems from the French "Avenir professionnel" law of 5 September 2018 and articles L.1142-7 to L.1142-10 of the Labour Code. Decree No. 2019-15 of 8 January 2019 sets the calculation method. Since the law of 24 December 2021 (the "Rixain" law), two obligations have been added: publishing the detail of each indicator (not only the overall score) and setting improvement targets whenever the score stays below 85 points.

Six years after its introduction, the scheme has entered an enforcement phase. Regional labour authorities (DREETS) check that publications are real and that calculations are consistent, often during a broader social audit. Four landmarks structure the whole mechanism:

• 50 employees: the headcount threshold triggering the obligation.
• March 1st: the publication deadline, for the previous calendar year's data.
• 75 points: the minimum score below which corrective measures are mandatory.
• 85 points: the score below which improvement targets must be published.

The obligation applies to private-sector employers whose average annual headcount reaches at least 50 employees. The public sector has its own separate scheme.

The most common pitfall concerns headcount: it is assessed as an annual average, not on a given date. A company hovering around 50 employees must rebuild its headcount month by month before concluding it is exempt. Reliable figures require carefully maintained payroll — which is precisely the value of outsourced payroll management that properly records staff movements.

The total scale is 100 points, but its breakdown differs by headcount. Companies with 50 to 250 employees combine raises and promotions into a single indicator; larger companies score them separately.

Companies with 50 to 250 employees (4 indicators)#

Companies with more than 250 employees (5 indicators)#

The exact calculation of each indicator is set by decree. The pay gap, for instance, is computed by group (job category crossed with an age bracket), after applying a 5% relevance threshold meant to neutralise non-significant gaps. The maternity-return indicator is binary: it yields 15 points if every relevant employee received the raises due, and 0 otherwise.

Consider a services company with 120 employees, therefore subject to the 4-indicator model:

• Pay gap: 38 / 40
• Individual raise gap: 35 / 35
• Return from maternity leave: 15 / 15
• Top ten earners: 5 / 10 (three women among the ten highest salaries)

Overall score: 93 / 100. The index is above 85: no mandatory measures, but the company would be wise to set a target on the gender mix of its top earners, the indicator where it loses the most points.

1. Check whether you are subject to the obligation, based on average annual headcount (50-employee threshold).
2. Gather the data for the past calendar year: gross pay, individual raises, promotions, returns from maternity leave, top ten earners.
3. Score each indicator using the decree scale that matches your size.
4. Add up to reach the score out of 100, then determine whether improvement targets (below 85) or corrective measures (below 75) apply.
5. Publish before March 1st the overall score and the detail of the indicators on your website, declare on Index-Egapro and submit results to the works council and the labour inspectorate.

• Annual gross pay (base salary and bonuses), by gender and category.
• Dates and amounts of individual raises; promotions during the year.
• Returns from maternity leave and the raises granted upon return.
• Identity and pay of the ten highest earners.
• Headcount month by month, for the annual average.

Payroll software that structures this data — such as Payfit or Silae — saves considerable time and secures the audit trail expected during an inspection.

Companies with 49 employees or fewer. No legal obligation, but self-assessment is increasingly requested by large clients and lenders.

Economic and social unit (UES) and multi-site groups. The index is calculated at company level; where a UES reaches 50 employees or more, the UES perimeter applies, with consultation of staff representatives.

Incalculable indicators. Some indicators may be incalculable (for example, no maternity-leave returns over the period, or too few valid groups for the pay gap). If the calculable points are not enough to reach a representative total, the index itself is declared incalculable — which must be justified and reported.

• The pay gap is computed by group, not globally: merging all categories understates the gap and distorts the score.
• The maternity indicator is binary: missing a single raise on a return from leave costs all 15 points.
• Improvement targets are mandatory below 85 points under the Rixain law: this is the most common omission among well-rated companies.
• The detail of indicators must be published, not just the overall score.
• Transmission to the works council and inclusion in the social database condition the regularity of the procedure; anticipate the works council consultation.

In our payroll and social engagements, the obstacle is almost never bad faith: it is data. A company that has calculated its index since 2019, with tightly managed payroll, completes it in a few days and scores high. Conversely, a company discovering the obligation, with no structured history of individual raises, must rebuild several years of data before it can even compute a reliable indicator.

Recently, a services SME of around fifty employees called us after an inspection revealed the complete absence of any publication. Rebuilding the figures showed a low score, dragged down by a poorly controlled pay gap and the absence of female promotions over three years. Compliance rested on a plan of targeted raises and a negotiated, quantified target — with no penalty applied at that stage, the authorities favouring compliance over sanction. The lesson is simple: the index is not a February formality; it reflects the quality of your compensation policy and your reporting practices, and it fits naturally into a broader CSRD sustainability reporting approach.

Hayot Expertise advice. Treat the index as an annual review, ideally as early as December, to allow time to correct classification or data-entry errors. A reliable index, backed by credible improvement targets, becomes a signal of maturity for your banks, clients and candidates. Beyond the index, it integrates into a wider sustainability and ESG reporting effort, which we support end to end.