The first Egyptian Gender Equity Seal (EGES) was officially launched by the National Council for Women (NCW) in a virtual conference on 11 March 2021, jointly with Sir Geoffrey Adams, British Ambassador to Cairo; Marina Wes, World Bank Regional Director. Participating were Ayman Essam, head of external relations and legal affairs at Vodafone Egypt; and Dalia Abdel-Qader, head of sustainable development at the Commercial International Bank CIB.
Dr Maya Morsy, President of the NCW, said that the launch of the seal complies with Egypt’s Strategy for the Empowerment of Egyptian Women 2030, affirming the imperativeness of gender equity in the work environment, especially in the private sector.
The UK-funded project aims to promote gender equality in the workplace, by providing a framework and certification for businesses wishing to achieve real and productive change. On its Facebook page, the UK embassy posted that: “Evidence suggests that when female employment rates are equal to those of males, the GDP of a country increases significantly.”
During the conference, Vodafone Egypt and the CIB were awarded the EGES for achieving high standards of gender equality in the workplace.
Dr Morsy urged Vodafone and CIB to encourage other private sector entities to apply to the EGES certification, adding that bridging gender gaps in workplaces benefits the Egyptian economy and productivity of the private sector itself positively.
Sir Geoffrey Adams said that the UK Embassy in Cairo is eager to work with Egypt on that front, to attract more companies to join in the gender equality effort as well.
“Supporting gender equality and women’s economic participation,” Ms Wes noted, “means supporting the private sector in general. We therefore must work towards developing policies that grant women better equality in the labour sector.”
Watani International
15 March 2021