At work, the male inner circle is resisting

"Male energy is good," declared Meta boss Mark Zuckerberg in early January, speaking to pro-Trump American influencer Joe Rogan. The Facebook founder said he wanted to inject more masculinity into his group and reduce diversity policies. This was a way of signaling his allegiance to the American president, but also of marking his membership in one of the most powerful "boys clubs" in the world. Along with other tech figures such as Elon Musk – Mark Zuckerberg had threatened to face him in an MMA fight in 2023 – Peter Thiel, and investor Marc Andreessen, "Zuck" is part of a clan of extremely wealthy men known as the "broligarchs" of Silicon Valley.

These white billionaires embody uninhibited male power. Saying they are tired of gender issues, they advocate a return to "alpha" leadership. "This re-masculinization of the world is having an impact on businesses: some are questioning their inclusion and diversity policies, which were countering the male-dominated " , notes Quebecer Martine Delvaux, author of the book Le Boys Club (Payot, 2021).

This return of masculinism is now crossing the Atlantic. "In France, gender stereotypes are increasing among the younger generation. The number of women working in engineering and IT professions is decreasing," points out sociologist Haude Rivoal, associate at the Center for Employment and Labor Studies and author of the book La Fabrique des masculinités au travail (La Dispute, 2021).

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