A Spotlight on France's 'Toutes dans l’équation' Series

With the series Toutes dans l’équation (All in the Equation), the French Education Ministry is shining a light on the women carving paths in mathematics, engineering and digital sciences. Each episode features a concrete role model – a student, researcher, engineer or teacher – who talks openly about her motivations, her struggles and her conviction that the glass ceiling in high-level scientific careers must come down.

Among them is Elsa Lubek, a mathematics and computer science student at École polytechnique, who embodies the drive to open doors for the next generation. Other voices in the series, such as engineering student Éléonore Alborno, researcher Nathalie Ayi of Sorbonne University, and defence engineer Aline Cahuzac, underline the same message: there is no single way to do science, and it must be open to everyone. The series also captures the frank admission from several participants that they had to overcome significant obstacles to find their place, a reality echoed by CNRS researcher Céline Bellard’s observation that “the higher you climb in a scientific career, the fewer women you find in top positions”.

Alongside the storytelling campaign, the Ministry is pushing a parallel policy agenda. The Plan Filles et Maths mobilises the entire education community and families to steer more girls towards science, engineering and digital subjects. At classroom level, the government will continue so-called “ability groups” in French and mathematics for sixth- and fifth-year pupils from the 2025 school year, part of a wider effort to tackle school difficulty. June 2025 also saw the announcement of Plan Avenir, designed to help students build a personalised career path while developing the skills an evolving professional world demands.

Can Role Models and Policy Narrow the STEM Gender Gap?

The Visibility Gap: How 'Toutes dans l’équation' Seeks to Shift Perceptions

The series taps into a well-documented barrier: a lack of visible role models keeps many girls from imagining themselves in STEM. When young women hear Elsa Lubek or Aline Cahuzac speak of becoming an “Indiana Jones of science” or a defence engineer, it challenges the narrow cultural script that science is a male domain. Several contributors – Nathalie Ayi, Imène Seghouani, Madeleine Kubasch – explicitly argue that greater diversity will make research better and society fairer, giving the campaign an aspirational pull beyond mere representation.

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Still, inspiration alone is rarely enough. The women featured acknowledge the glass ceiling at senior levels, and the series does not gloss over the persistence of structural obstacles. Céline Bellard’s blunt remark about the thinning female presence up the career ladder underlines that while entry-level enthusiasm matters, retention and advancement are where the real struggle lies.

Policy in the Classroom: From Ability Groups to 'Plan Avenir'

The Ministry’s Plan Filles et Maths attempts to embed that inspiration into the school system, targeting teachers and families. The decision to keep ability groups in French and maths for the first two years of collège is more about foundational skills, but it sits within the same logic: building confidence in mathematics at an early age is a precondition for later subject choices.

Plan Avenir, announced in June 2025, adds a longer-term orientation tool, aiming to give students the flexibility to explore science pathways as their interests develop. Yet both initiatives remain in their early stages, and their success will depend on sustained implementation and on whether they can overcome the subtle biases that still steer girls away from science electives during adolescence.