"The law requires that women receive equal pay for equal work, but this requirement often is not implemented in practice. Reports by various governmental organizations and NGO's indicates that men continue to earn more than women, and unemployment rates continue to be higher for women than for men. For example, a report released in September 1999 by National Assembly Deputy Catherine Genisson indicated that in the country's 5,000 largest firms, the average difference in salary between men and women is 27 percent. A study by the National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies indicated that in March the unemployment rate for women was 11.9 percent, compared with 8.5 percent for men."