Sex-related differences between the employment opportunities available in France to males and females with comparable levels of education were examined through an analysis of data from two types of sources: statistics derived from quantitative surveys conducted on broad samples of graduates 2-4 years after the end of their training and in-depth interviews after a survey of a small sample of higher education graduates 8 years after the end of their training. It was concluded that, although the rate of female labor market activity has risen continuously over the past 35 years and women now constitute 45% of the French labor force, women's careers remain more sharply marked by extra-professional events. The labor market conditions encountered by young men and women 2-3 years after the end of their initial training were similar in the case of individuals with higher education diplomas but significantly more differentiated among men and women with secondary school vocational diplomas. Men were more likely to be employed in production sectors, whereas women were most likely to employed in service occupations. Young women managers' career patterns were comparable to those of men provided the women remained single or established an ad hoc family structure. (MN)