For 200 years, France has lived by the motto, Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité. It is engraved on monuments, statues, city halls, and schools. But for women, equality comes with an asterisk. Because from the day they are born, women are made to accept a long list of terms and conditions without ever agreeing to them. Conditions like being paid less than a man for the same job. Being seen as less capable in math and science. Having their symptoms dismissed by medical professionals. Never feeling fully safe walking alone at night. And many, many more.
So for Women’s Equality Month, BETC Paris and the City of Paris added an asterisk to the word, Égalité, in France’s national motto and displayed it on the Eiffel Tower to highlight a simple truth – even in one of the world’s most advanced countries, equality is still not a reality for women.
The stunt was announced in a video to the nation by Paris’s first female mayor, Anne Hidalgo. She declared her fight to make equality equal – starting with adding the names of 72 female scientists to the Eiffel Tower, alongside the 72 men already carved into its base – finally giving the same visibility to the women who helped shape the history of this country.
Women across France and beyond were invited by the Mayor to adopt the asterisk as a symbol of the movement, adding it to their names on social media, wearing it as a pin, and reclaiming it as a mark of resistance.
The campaign, Terms and Conditions of Being a Girl, aims to make what’s right in front of everyone’s eyes impossible to ignore.
“Many people claim that gender equality has already been achieved, that there are no longer any problems in France,” stated Mercedes Erra, president and founder of BETC. “Today, we want to remind everyone that this is simply not true. We are still far from real equality, and the list of social conditions that limit women’s lives is still incredibly long.”
The asterisk will stay, until equality* is made equal.
| *Terms and Conditions of being a Girl 1. As a woman, I accept that I will be paid less than a man for the same job. 2. As a woman, I accept that I will not feel safe on the street. 3. As a woman, I accept that I will do 71% of the household chores at home. 4. As a woman, I accept that I will be working for free starting November 10. 5. As a woman, I accept that I will have to adjust my clothing to avoid harassment. 6. As a woman, I accept that my pregnancy will be seen as an inconvenience by my employers. 7. As a woman, I accept that, statistically, I will have a 60% chance of facing some form of gender-based or sexual violence at work. 8. As a woman, I accept that I will live in a world where more than 90% of the CEOs of CAC 40 companies are men. 9. As an older woman, I accept that I will become socially invisible. 10. As a woman, I accept that I will feel unsafe on public transportation. 11. As a girl, I accept that I will be expected to make less noise, cause fewer ripples, and take up less space. 12. As a girl, I accept that my gentleness will be valued more than my boldness. 13. As a girl, I accept that I will be asked to be cautious, while boys will be encouraged to be brave. 14. As a girl, I accept that I will be conditioned to be well-behaved rather than curious. 15. As a girl, I accept that I will be conditioned to doubt my abilities before I’ve even tested them. 16. As a girl, I accept that I will be encouraged to speak up less in class. 17. As a woman, I accept that I will live with a constant sense of vigilance ingrained from childhood. 18. As a woman, I accept that I will be encouraged to be “nice” rather than ambitious. 19. As a woman, I accept that I will be considered less capable in math. 20. As a woman, I accept that I will be told that I am not cut out for scientific careers. 21. As a female scientist, I accept that I will be rendered invisible, and so will my work. 22. As a woman, I accept that I will have a one-in-two chance of quitting sports due to sexism and comments about my body. 23. As a woman, I accept that my body will be sexualised everywhere, all the time. 24. As a woman, I accept that my body will be sexualised at any age. 25. As a woman, I accept that I will be judged as too vulgar when I wear short clothes. 26. As a woman, I accept that I have a one-in-three chance of experiencing domestic or sexual violence. 27. As a woman, I accept that my body will always be the subject of judgment and comments. 28. As a woman, I accept that I will feel embarrassed and ashamed of having my period. 29. As a woman, I accept that I will be exposed to unrealistic beauty standards from childhood onward. 30. As a woman, I accept that my body will be retouched, smoothed, and altered until it no longer truly exists. 31. As a woman, I accept that I will be compared to artificial bodies presented as natural. 32. As a woman, I accept that I will be convinced that I must have specific body shapes to be desirable. 33. As a woman, I accept that I will live in a system where my image is exploited but rarely respected. 34. As a woman, I accept that I will be sold “feminine” products that are more expensive and less effective. 35. As a woman, I accept that I will no longer be considered desirable after the age of 45. 36. As a woman, I accept that I will be judged more on my age than on my experience. 37. As a woman, I accept that I will have to work harder than a man to earn the same recognition. 38. As a woman, I accept that I will have to work harder than a man to get the same promotion. 39. As a woman, I accept that I will be overlooked for a well-deserved promotion. 40. As a woman, I accept that my success will be dismissed as “just luck.” 41. As a woman, I accept that my skills will be questioned more often. 42. As a woman, I accept that I will be interrupted more easily during meetings.43. As a woman, I accept that my leadership will be perceived as authoritarian. 44. As a woman, I accept that my ambition will be perceived as arrogance. 45. As a woman, I accept that I will be told I am “cold” when I am firm. 46. As a woman, I accept that I will be made to feel guilty if I prioritize my work. 47. As a woman, I accept that I will be made to feel guilty if I prioritize my family.48. As a woman, I accept that I will live with imposter syndrome. 49. As a woman, I accept that I will be judged if I want children. 50. As a woman, I accept that I will be judged if I don’t want them. 51. As a woman, I accept that my right to control my own body will remain fragile and will be called into question in public debate. 52. As a woman, I accept that I will attend most parent-teacher conferences. 53. As a woman, I accept that I will very often handle the children’s medical appointments. 54. As a woman, I accept that I will manage most extracurricular activities.55. As a woman, I accept that I will have to coordinate the entire family’s schedule. 56. As a woman, I accept that I will take more sick days to care for the children. 57. As a woman, I accept that I will spend more time planning and anticipating the family’s needs. 58. As a woman, I accept that I will bear the invisible mental burden of home and school.59. As a woman, I accept that I will be expected to manage other people’s emotions. 60. As a woman, I accept that I will earn 21 times less than a male athlete if I pursue a career in sports. 61. As a woman, I accept that I will not be taken seriously as a professional athlete. 62. As a female athlete, I accept that I will face comments about my body rather than my performance. 63. As a female athlete, I accept that I will receive less media coverage, less support, and less funding. 64. As a female athlete, I accept that people will doubt my strength, endurance, and mental toughness. 65. As a female professional soccer player, I accept that I will play in nearly empty stadiums. 66. As a woman, I accept that I will be expected to be understanding and patient. 67. As a woman, I accept that most of my symptoms will be dismissed as “just stress.” 68. As a woman, I accept that I will receive a less accurate diagnosis.69. As a woman, I accept that I will have to adapt to a science that has not adapted to me. 70. As a woman, I accept that my pain will be downplayed because research prioritises the male body. 71. As a woman, I accept that cardiovascular disease will kill me more often because prevention protocols are based on male symptoms. 72. As a woman, I accept that I will experience more medication side effects because my body was not taken into account during testing. 73. As a woman, I accept that I will be underrepresented in clinical trials because my hormonal cycle is considered too complex. 74. As a woman, I accept that doctors will be taught less about the female-specific symptoms of many diseases. 75. As a woman, I accept that prosthetics, implants, and medical devices will not always be suited to my body. 76. As a woman, I accept that the pain thresholds used in research will not match my experience. 77. As an autistic woman, I accept that I will be underdiagnosed because the criteria are based on men. 78. As a woman, I accept that I will be less protected by seat belts because they are not designed for me. 79. As a woman, I accept that I will have a lower chance of survival after an accident because cars are built for men. 80. As a woman, I accept that expressing my emotions will be judged as a weakness. 81. As a woman, I accept that my retirement will reflect a lifetime of legal but tolerated wage inequalities. 82. As a woman, I accept that I will receive a smaller pension than men without this being considered a structural injustice. 83. As a woman, I accept that measures to protect me from violence will remain inadequately enforced. 84. As a woman, I accept that removal from violent partners will not always be immediate or automatic. 85. As a woman, I accept that the law will recognise violence, but its handling will remain slow. 86. As a woman, I accept that the justice system will continue to question my behavior rather than that of the abuser. 87. As a woman, I accept that I will live in a country where complaints of violence are mostly dismissed. 88. As a woman, I accept that I will live in a world where certain traditions justify violence against my body. 89. As a woman, I accept that I may be subjected to genital mutilation in the name of culture, purity, or control. 90. As a woman, I accept that I may be forced into non-consensual sexual acts in the name of marriage. 91. As a woman, I accept that I will remain in the minority in the places where laws are made. 92. As a woman, I accept that I will live in a world governed by laws historically conceived by and for men. 93. As a woman, I accept that my word will be doubted. 94. As a woman, I accept that I will be criticised when I speak out. 95. As a woman, I accept that I will be criticised when I remain silent. 96. As a woman, I accept that I will be called an extremist if I am simply a feminist. 97. As a woman of colour, I accept that all these conditions will be even harder to bear, and that I will face double the hardship. 98. As an LGBTQIA+ woman, I accept that my identity and orientation will be invalidated and/or hypersexualised. 99. As a woman with a disability, I accept that I will be more vulnerable to violence and abuse. 100. As a woman, I accept that contraception will be considered my responsibility. 101. As a woman, I accept that I will carry a heavy mental burden as a result of all these conditions. |
BETC City of Paris terms & conditionsBETC liberté egalité fraternité asteriskCity of Paris liberté egalité fraternité asterisk
