Role of Women in Economic Life Research on Situation Analysis of Women in Egypt

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Role of Women in Economic LifeResearch on
Situation Analysis of Women in Egypt

• Alia El Mahdi
• Director of the Center of Economic and Financial
  Research Studies

Womens role and position in the economy
have undergone distinctive changes in the last
century. Ever since Kassem Amin and Hoda Shaarawy
started, at the beginning of the twentieth
century, advocating the rights of women to be
active in the political, social and economic
spheres, the movement in the direction of
liberating women, granting them more rights and
creating a more enabling and receptive climate
has been incessant in Egypt.
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Outline of the presentation

• The Legal and institutional environment affecting
  womens role in economic, political and social
  life
• Brief graphical depiction of womens status
• Cultural factors womens participation in
  economic life
• Conclusion

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The Legal and institutional factors affecting
womens role in economic, political and social
life

• Egypt has undertaken substantial legal reforms
  concerning the status of women in last fifty
  years. The Egyptian women's struggle for their
  rights goes back to the early 1920s when the
  Egyptian Feminist Union was formed. However, its
  impact was increasingly felt from the 1950s.
• The current Constitution issued in 1971 (and
  updated in 1981 and 2006) emphasizes the
  principle of equality between men and women in
  all fields, whether political, social or
  economic. Article 8 of the Constitution provides
  that "the State shall ensure equal opportunities
  for all citizens." Moreover, Article 40 of the
  Constitution is more explicit. It reads,
  "Citizens are equal before the law.
• Egypt committed internationally to assure equal
  rights for women by ratifying the Convention on
  the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination
  against Women (CEDAW) in 1981. The Convention
  provides the basis for realizing equality between
  women and men through ensuring women's equal
  access to, and equal opportunities in, political
  and public life -- including the right to vote
  and to stand for election -- as well as
  education, health and employment.

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The Basic rights and the major institutional
changes ()

• The Basic Rights include the Political rights,
  Education, Work, Hold Office, Social Insurance,
  and Ownership of Property and Registration.
• The institutional and legal changes to empower
  women
• The NCW
• Policies aiming at activating the participation
  of woman in the field of small-size enterprises
• Policies boosting women's political participation
• Adopting a media policy to change values and
  concepts that negatively affect the status of the
  woman and the development of the community

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Recent Laws

• Law No. 1/2000 (khul law)
• Labour Law No 12/2003
• Family Court Law No. 10/2004
• The Family Insurance System Fund Law No. 11/2004
• Nationality Law no 154/2004

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Key Cultural Factors affecting Womens Economic
Participation (-)

• Social Norms.
• Labour Law
• Private sector
• Other factors, harassment
• and immobility

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• A brief graphical depiction of womens status

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Labor Force during 1976-2005 (in Millions)
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Unemployment level according to Gender
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Work Status according to Gender
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Conclusion

• 1-Women entrepreneurs face several obstacles,
  which include
• Regulatory and Administrative Barriers
• Access to Finance
• Access to Markets
• Access to Networks
• Infrastructural Constraints to Business Activity
• 2-Lessons Learned Despite the fact that the
  legal and institutional set-up does not
  discriminate against women in the labor market,
  reality indicates the prevalence of visible gaps
  between males and females. Thus several actions
  should be considered to improve the females
  situation in the LM and in the society at large
• Enhancing women's education and training,
  especially in the trade sector
• Lowering the level of bureaucracy, the cost of
  registration and raising public awareness
  concerning the hazards of being informal and the
  merits of registration and social insurance

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• Opting for a stronger female representation in
  the decision-making progress. which will then
  include a female perspective regarding issues
  that are vital to women's welfare on all fronts
  social, economic and business
• A national system for the support of female
  entrepreneurship should be undertaken jointly by
  the Government and NGOs, especially since
  domestic NGOs provide female entrepreneurs with
  12.3 of their credit, a substantial portion
  (while providing male entrepreneurs with only
  4.5 of their credit)
• Supporting and encouraging NGOs which are active
  in the area of establishing KGs and different
  child care facilities, to help females continue
  working after marriage.

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• Thank you for listening!!

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