Egypt’s Gov’t is keen to support & empower women: Minister of Planning and Economic Development

Through a speech delivered on behalf of H.E. Dr. Hala El-Said, Egypt’s Minister of Planning and Economic Development, Dr. Hanan Nazir, Head of the Labor Market Unit participated in the Conference of Arab Executive Directors entitled "The Future of Women in Leadership".

The conference is held under the auspices of Prime Minister H.E. Prof. Dr. Mostafa Madbouly with the participation of representatives of ministries, agencies, and international organizations concerned with women's issues.


During her speech, Dr. Hala El-Said emphasized the importance of supporting and empowering women by providing all economic, social, and political opportunities that qualify them to upgrade their capabilities, in the implementation of the objectives of the National Strategy for the Empowerment of Egyptian Women 2030.


El-Said indicated that the conference is an important platform for dialogue and discussion of the position of women in leadership positions and the leading position they have reached in the various economic and investment sectors.


El-Said stressed that women in various countries of the world, especially Arab women, have always proven that they are capable of facing the increasing global challenges, starting with the Covid-19 epidemic, to the successive geopolitical crises that the world is currently witnessing.


El-Said explained that Egypt believes in supporting and empowering women, which has become an approach rooted in the country's development orientation through the launch of the Gender Responsive Planning Guide, which aims to integrate the social dimension into all development plans.

El-Said added that the state is also working to support and empower women economically, politically, and socially through many projects and initiatives such as the “Decent Life” initiative that plays an important role in improving the living conditions of Egyptian women.
The aforementioned initiative contributes to improving the quality of life for about 34 million women due to the provision of good health services, decent housing, and job opportunities.The national project for the development of the Egyptian family also enhances efforts to improve the status of women, as the pillars of the development project represent tributaries that contribute to the quality of life of the Egyptian family, with women at the heart of it.

El-Said also indicated that the implementation of a package of programs and initiatives to work on building the capacities of Egyptian women and qualifying them for more effective participation in development efforts and assuming leadership positions, including the implementation of the "Executive Women Leaders" program for about 4,000 women from all Egyptian governorates, and training about 2,000 women through an initiative for a digital future.


El-Said explained that in the framework of monitoring progress and achievements in the issue of women's empowerment, the Ministry of Planning and Economic Development, the National Council for Women, and the American University in Cairo (AUC) launched an annual report entitled "Women on Board" to monitor efforts to empower women on the boards of directors of companies and financial and non-financial institutions.



As a result of these efforts, the index of women’s representation on the boards of directors of nearly a thousand companies and banks has increased from 13% in 2020 to 16.7% in 2021, and if this annual increase rate continues, the goal will be reached 30% women on boards of directors by 2026.



On the participation of women in efforts to confront climate change, the Minister of Planning indicated that a category for women’s projects was allocated in the National Smart Green Projects Initiative, to encourage women in all governorates to submit smart green projects to participate in the initiative and choose the best one for presentation at the COP27 climate conference.