Neighbourhood, gender, parenthood: the triple penalty for young women from deprived areas in employment

👩‍🎓🏙️ Young women from deprived areas: more qualified than the boys from their neighbourhoods, less often in stable employment. 👶📊 Six years after their studies, motherhood weighs more heavily on employment.

. To better understand the obstacles faced by young women from deprived neighbourhoods at the start of their working lives, particularly when they become mothers. By comparing their paths to those of young men from their neighbourhoods and young people from surrounding areas, this study shows that higher qualifications are not enough to guarantee better access to stable employment. It also highlights a penalty associated with motherhood, particularly pronounced in deprived areas, and underscores the need to strengthen the availability of childcare options (p. 1-4).

Analysis Practices in Health: for professionals in employment support, parenthood, social work, and health, these results provide support for territorial diagnosis and advocacy. They invite a joint examination of access difficulties to employment, childcare constraints, and single-parent situations, rather than treating them separately. The publication provides numerical benchmarks to clarify needs and argue for local responses; however, it does not provide any directly applicable tools or methods for support. This operational reading is offered by Practices in Health and does not constitute a detailed recommendation from the authors

1️⃣ SUMMARY

This Céreq Brief explores the inquiry in 2023 of the Generation 2017, representative of the approximately 700,000 young people who left the educational system in 2017 at the national level. Thanks to the georeferencing carried out by the ANCT, it compares young people who resided in priority urban areas (PUA) at the end of their studies to those who resided outside PUA, but in an urban unit containing at least one PUA, referred to as the young people from the “ environmental neighbourhoods”. The reference place of residence is that of 2017; subsequent residential mobility is considered in the econometric analyses. The study describes, by gender, educational pathways, entry into parenthood and the first six years of working life. It combines descriptive results and econometric estimates. Its central finding is that young women from PUA, although more qualified on average than young men from these neighbourhoods, face greater difficulties in accessing employment, particularly stable employment, and experience inactivity more often. Motherhood appears as an additional penalty. The document does not explicitly designate a target audience.

2️⃣ WHAT TO REMEMBER

1️⃣ More qualified, but less often in a stable, sustainable employment trajectory. Among the young people who lived in QPV at the end of their studies, women are less likely to be without a diploma than men (20% versus 28%) and are twice as likely to hold a short higher education qualification (24% versus 12%). However, 19% have a trajectory classified as “sustainable EDI”, compared to 29% of men according to table 1. This category does not encompass all trajectories involving access to stable employment. An internal discrepancy must be noted: the PDF text states 28% for men, while the table gives 29%; the value from the table is retained here..

2️⃣ A more frequent and earlier motherhood. Among young women who lived in QPV at the end of their studies, 24% were mothers in 2020 and 36% in 2023, compared to 6% and 12% of fathers among young men from these areas, respectively. For 19% of these young mothers, the birth of their first child preceded the exit from the education system. Furthermore, 15% of all young women from QPV report living alone and having one or more children: this is the definition of “lone mothers” adopted in the publication. The corresponding situation concerns 4% of young men from QPV, while 6% of young women from surrounding areas are lone mothers.

3️⃣ A more pronounced penalty for motherhood in QPV. In 2023, 52% of mothers in QPV are employed (23% are inactive), compared to 86% of fathers — a figure given for reference, the sample size being small (p. 4). The employment gap between fathers and mothers is 34 points in QPV, compared to 16 in the surrounding areas (p. 4).

3️⃣ TO ACT

1️⃣ Action requested by the document. The conclusion, addressed to public policies, indicates that they should take these specificities into account, "particularly by strengthening the provision of childcare options in these neighbourhoods" (p. 4).

2️⃣ Reported statistical supplements. The document refers to a digital supplement available on the Céreq website, including tables A, B, and C as well as the detailed results of econometric estimates. These supplements allow for a deeper understanding of the study's results; they do not constitute a tool for intervention or support. They were not consulted for this verification.

3️⃣ Health Practices Suggestion: in the support of young women from QPV towards employment, integrate childcare and the situation of single parenthood into the initial diagnosis. The document does not make this proposal.

Aside from these elements, the document does not propose any action directly applicable on the ground.

4️⃣ 3 PRACTICAL QUESTIONS

1️⃣ Are young women from QPV less qualified than young men from their neighbourhoods? No. They are less often without a diploma (20% vs 28%) and are two times more likely to hold a short higher education qualification (24% vs 12%); the gap is only two points from bac+5 onwards (p. 1-2).

2️⃣ What role does inactivity play in the pathways of young women from QPV? According to the authors, their inactivity is primarily linked to parenthood, while that of men is more often due to health issues. Over the first six years of active life, 10% of young women from the QPV experience a path classified as "marked by inactivity", compared to 3% of men. As of the date of the survey, in 2023, 11% of women and 3% of men fall under the broader category "other situation (inactivity, civic service, etc.)". These latter percentages should therefore not be presented as strict inactivity rates.

3️⃣ Do they report more discrimination? Yes : 20% believe they have been victims of discrimination in hiring or employment, compared to 14% of young men from the QPV, 16% of young women and 11% of young men from surrounding areas (table 1, p. 3). These are self-reported data.

5️⃣ TO GO FURTHER

Blog Health Practices: fact sheet on inequalities in school based on social origin, gender and the territory (2026 data), titled "Inequalities at School: What Statistics Reveal" on the English version of the blog (French title not verified). Found on page 2 of the blog: https://pratiquesensante.odoo.com/en/blog/page/2. 

External resource: National Observatory of Urban Policy (ONPV), report "Employment Situation in 2024 in the QPV", published at the end of June 2026 (date according to Localtis). According to the Localtis article from 21 July 2026, 49.8% of 15-64 year-olds in the QPV are employed in 2024, compared to 70% in the surrounding urban units, and inactivity primarily affects women. Localtis article (open): https://www.banquedesterritoires.fr/dans-les-quartiers-prioritaires-seule-une-personne-sur-deux-en-age-de-travailler-est-en-emploi — ONPV Report: https://www.onpv.fr/uploads/media_items/onpv-dossier-emploi-2026.original.pdf (unverified link: automatic access blocked twice).

6️⃣ #️⃣ HASHTAGS

#healthpractices #SocialInequalities #PriorityNeighbourhoods #ProfessionalIntegration #GenderEquality #Parenthood #SingleParenting #Discrimination

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