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PurposeDespite significant anti-discrimination laws in most countries, gender pay gap still remains a substantial concern. The notion of comparable worth has been promoted for several years by the ILO and a few countries to fight against relatively lower female salaries. The purpose of this paper is to review the rationales for comparable worth and explain how gender biases, generally involved in traditional job evaluation, can be prevented.Design/methodology/approachTo do this, after reviewing the motives, logics and three major applications of comparable worth logics in pay equity policies, the authors expose an analysis of a French sectorial job classification that the authors carried out as experts for establishing a French Equality Ombudsman's guide.FindingsThe findings show how the redundancy and definition of job evaluation criteria, along with the weighting system, contributes to undervaluation of clerks jobs, predominantly held by women. The authors also highlight the main recommendations of the guide to prevent gender bias in job evaluation, that are derived from this case study, among others. The authors conclude on the difficulties of implementing comparable worth in France, in a period of long lasting economic crisis and of weak union power.Research limitations/implicationsThe paper is based on a single case study, conducted for policy actors. It was not conducted at first for academic research purposes, and may thus have some methodological limitations. The implications of the research are, however, important at academic level – highlighting the persistence of gender bias – and at policy level, as it provides recommendations for negotiators.Practical implicationsThe guide originally aimed at giving guidelines and "good practices" in order to prevent gender discrimination in job evaluation.Social implicationsThe paper draws attention to the importance and difficulty of undergoing such classification changes in times of economic crisis. Stronger legal action seems necessary.Originality/valueThis experience is the first of its kind – promoted by the Ombudsman – in France. It has never been related in an academic journal as far as the authors know.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to report upon the "Diversity and equal opportunities" Special Interest Group of the Francophone Association of Research in Human Resource Management (AGRH), which held its first international conference on "Gender and diversity in organizations", at the ESCPEAP European Management School in Paris in January 2009.Design/methodology/approachEqual opportunity and diversity management are relatively recent research fields in Continental Europe, and particularly in France, however there were 95 conference participants who attended two plenary sessions, four workshops and one round table.FindingsSub‐themes were: diversity management and gender equality; Work‐life practices and equality policies between women and men; gender stereotypes and management; and women's and men's careers. The workshops covered: diversity management and gender equity; work‐life practices; women and men's careers; and social representations and stereotypes.Originality/valueThis paper provides an informative overview of the conference which was original in being co‐sponsored by The Emilie du Chatelet Institute – the first research network for developing and publishing research on women, sex and gender in France. The co‐sponsor was the IAE Gustave Eiffel (Business studies department of the Paris 12 University).