Discussing Contemporary Positive Discrimination and Equal Opportunities Policies in France and the English-speaking World

9th and 10th April 2025
Université de technologie de Belfort-Montbéliard (UTBM)

Inspired by the American Declaration of Independence of 1776 and driven by the spirit of the Enlightenment, the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen of 26 August 1789 in France proclaimed in its first article that "men are born and remain free and equal in rights". A century and a half later, in 1948, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the UN General Assembly and translated into over five hundred languages, rendered this affirmation of equal rights universal.
However, a basic examination of human societies today tells a very different story, as economic, political, social, gender and disability-related inequalities persist and indeed are often deepening. These multifarious forms of inequality are often accompanied by cultures of discrimination, the effects of which governments try to mitigate through so-called "positive discrimination" or "equal opportunities" programmes. Preferential measures adopted by state or institutional policy can take different forms and names depending on the historical context, the cultural -linguistic area, the different players and factors, particularly political, legal, economic, social and religious.
The aim of this conference is to analyse contemporary equal opportunities policies - or lack of them - in the English-speaking world (including the United Kingdom, the United States, India, Australia and South Africa) and in France, in an attempt to identify typologies and offer a retrospective and prospective analysis of often controversial preferential policies.
Proposals for the conference, should involve in-depth analysis of specific contemporary cases ideally exploring interdisciplinary and comparative approaches, and proposing a long-term perspective (Belmessous, 2013). The conference hopes that comparisons and contrasts will help us gain a better understanding of the complex issues associated with positive discrimination and equal opportunities policies. Proposals that meet these overall guidelines are thus invited – discussing cases either in France or in English-speaking countries.
Possible themes:

1. Debates and controversy around positive discrimination and comparative analysis of regulatory frameworks: papers that explore political, public and academic debates on the legitimacy, effectiveness and limits of 'positive discrimination' as a tool for promoting equal opportunities and/or combating discrimination in English-speaking societies and in France. Or, papers that study differences and similarities between regulations on positive discrimination and equal opportunities policies in English-speaking countries and in France, particularly in terms of definitions, objectives and implementation.

2. The impact of policies on access to education and success rates: papers that examine how positive discrimination and equal opportunities policies affect access to education for target social groups in English-speaking countries and in France. One could, for example, look at the accessibility of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) studies to women or the accessibility of certain training courses to so-called minority groups. The question of access could be linked to that of success in education to measure the real impact of the policies implemented.

3. Recruitment and promotion policies: papers that study how preferential policies affect recruitment and promotion practices within companies and public institutions in English-speaking countries and in France, particularly in terms of the inclusion of women, disabled people and minorities.
4. Technology: papers that analyse the relationship between algorithms, accessibility technologies and equal opportunities policies. What is the impact of algorithmic bias, automated recruitment and selection using tools such as ATS - Applicant Tracking Systems? Can Smart Cities technology be used to promote positive urban discrimination, for example by using data to identify and target inequalities?

Submissions:

Paper proposals must include:
- The title of the paper.
- An abstract of 300 words maximum
- A short biography of the author including name, affiliation and e-mail address.

Proposals for papers, in English or French, together with a biography, should be sent electronically to: colloque2025discrimination.positive@utbm.fr

A publication is envisaged with Les Cahiers de RECITS (Recherche et étude sur le changement industriel, technologique et sociétal), a peer-reviewed journal in humanities.

Deadline for submissions: 30th November 2024

Comité d’organisation/Organising Committee
Dr Cécile PERROT (Université Rennes 2, France)
Dr Lotfi BENNOUR (UTBM, France)
Dr Michel OLINGA (UTBM, France)
Pr Laurent HEYBERGER (UTBM, France)
Pr Deirdre GILFEDDER (Université de Paris-Dauphine, France)
Pr Bernard CROS (Université Paris 8 Vincennes-Saint-Denis, France)
Comité scientifique/Scientific Committee
Dr Cécile PERROT (Université Rennes 2, France)
Dr Bénédicte REY (UTBM, France)
Dr Lotfi BENNOUR (UTBM, France, France)
Dr Michel OLINGA (UTBM, France, France)
Pr Deirdre GILFEDDER (Université de Paris-Dauphine, France)
Pr Laurent HEYBERGER (UTBM, France)
Pr Bernard CROS (Université Paris 8 Vincennes-Saint-Denis, France)
Pr Gilles TEULIE (Université Aix-Marseille, France)
Pr Michel PRUM (Université Paris Cité, France)
Pr Michel NAUMANN (Université de Cergy-Pontoise, France)

Références / References :
Assemblée Nationale Constituante, A. (1789) Déclaration des droits de l’homme et du citoyen, art. premier (France)
Beau, Olivier, « L’Affirmative Action aux États-Unis : Une discrimination à rebours », In Revue internationale de droit comparé, Vol. 36 N°3, Juillet-septembre 1984. pp. 503-521.
Belmessous, Saliha, Assimilation and Empire. Uniformity in French and British Colonies, 1541-1954, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2013.
Blais, Hélène ; Fredj, Claire ; Saada, Emmanuelle, « Un long moment colonial : pour une histoire de l’Algérie au XIXe siècle », dans Revue d’histoire du XIXe siècle, 41, 2010, 2, p. 7-24.
Calvès, Gwénaële, La discrimination positive, Presses universitaires de France, Paris, 5ème ed., 2024.
Cédiey, Éric, « Comment l'affirmative action vint à l'Afrique du Sud », dans Critique internationale, Vol. 17 N° 4, 2002, pp. 145-158.
Chabal, Émile, A Divided Republic: Nation, State and Citizenship in Contemporary France, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2015.
Darbon, Dominique, « Les enjeux du “droit des groupes” dans la négociation constitutionnelle en Afrique du Sud », dans G. Conac et al., L’Afrique du Sud en transition, Economica, Paris,1995.
Galanter, Marc, “Competing Equalities: Law and the Backward Classes in India”, University of California Press, Ltd London, England, n. 15, 1984.
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LOI n° 2021-1774 du 24 décembre 2021 visant à accélérer l'égalité économique et professionnelle (1) (JORF du 26 décembre 2021).
LOI n° 2023-623 du 19 juillet 2023 visant à renforcer l'accès des femmes aux responsabilités dans la fonction publique (1) (JORF du 20 juillet 2023).
LOI n° 87-517 du 10 juillet 1987 en faveur de l'emploi des travailleurs handicapés (1) (JORF du 12 juillet 1987).
Lyndon B. Johnson, Commencement Address at Howard University: "To Fulfill These Rights." Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project. URL: https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/241312
Saada, Emmanuelle, « Nation and Empire in the French Context », dans Sociology and Empire. The Imperial Entanglements of a Discipline, George Steinmetz (dir.), Duke University Press, Durham et Londres, 2013, p. 321-340.
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Wuhl, Simon, « La “discrimination positive” à la française. Les contradictions des politiques publiques », Informations sociales, vol. 148, no. 4, 2008, pp. 84-93.
Yerri, Urban, L’Indigène dans le droit colonial français, Paris, fondation Varenne, 2010.