CMP takes action for equality

At Crédit Municipal de Paris, 81% of pawnbroking customers are women. Parcours Budget, our budget support service which provides free assistance to anyone in financial difficulty, is also mainly used by women (62%). Each of their stories, each of their journeys, reminds us of the urgent need to address the issues of women's precariousness, too often absent from public debate, and to make women's financial independence a priority. Women, especially single women and single parents, are more affected by poverty and economic inequality. This is a fact of life. And we can no longer ignore it. If we are to achieve equality, we must urgently enable women's economic emancipation.

That's why, in 2022, Crédit Municipal de Paris is launching a new, reinforced budget support service specifically designed for women - the Athéna program. It's also with this in mind that we have created, with the Fondation des Femmes, the Observatoire pour l'émancipation économique des femmes. Its mission: to produce in-depth studies on women's standard of living, to raise individual and collective awareness of the extent of economic inequalities between women and men, and to propose concrete solutions to redirect public policies. The Observatory has already published three reports on key issues: the cost of justice for victims of violence, the inequalities perpetuated by the current tax and welfare system, and the cost of motherhood. The Observatory is actively pursuing its work.

The first victims of economic violence, women are also the targets of countless forms of sexist and sexual violence. In 2023, Crédit Municipal de Paris supported the production of the report "Où est l'argent contre les violences faites aux femmes?" published by the Women's Foundation. The report drew an alarming conclusion: while it is estimated that the State should devote a minimum annual budget of 2.6 billion euros to the protection of victims of conjugal, sexist and sexual violence in France (i.e. 0.5% of the State budget), today this amount stands at just 184.4 million. Since 2022, Crédit Municipal de Paris has made an apartment available to women in vulnerable situations. And because the fight against sexism and harassment concerns us all, in 2023, awareness-raising training courses were attended by all Crédit Municipal de Paris staff.

No equality without economic independence, no equality without the fight against violence. On March 8 and all year round, Crédit Municipal de Paris takes action.