Minister of International Cooperation Rania Al Mashat said one of the main goals of the ministry’s partnerships and programs is women’s economic and social empowerment. The ministry’s portfolio currently includes 117 projects in collaboration with 35 development partners, focusing on women’s empowerment and benefiting 27 organizations across sectors such as agriculture, health, social security, education, small-scale projects and industry.
Al Mashat shared these views during a meeting of the Advisory Committee for the Women’s Economic and Social Empowerment Programme, a joint initiative between the Ministry of International Cooperation and Social Solidarity, the National Council of Women and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
The program aims to improve women’s working conditions in the private sector, increase financial inclusion for female workers, and reduce the impact of violence against women. The program will be implemented in Assiut, Behira, Minya, Greater Cairo (Giza), Sohag and Qena governorates from 2022 to 2027.
The advisory committee includes Al-Mashat, Minister of Social Solidarity Nevin El Kabbaj, Chairperson of the National Council for Women Maya Morsi, Deputy Director of the US Agency for International Development’s Office of Governance Ki Lam, Deputy Governor of the Central Bank Mai Aboul Naga, Director of the Women’s Economic and Social Empowerment Programme Dina Kafafi and Chairman of the Financial Regulatory Authority Mohamed Farid.
Al-Mashat stressed that the program is integral to the ministry’s efforts to support women’s empowerment as part of Egypt’s international partnerships. The program, which was launched in June 2022, aims to promote gender equality, improve women’s technical skills, create employment opportunities, and educate them on financial management and inclusion.
The program is in line with the National Women Empowerment Strategy 2030 and is being implemented under the Closing the Gender Gap Accelerator, which aims to strengthen women’s empowerment and gender equality efforts in Egypt in cooperation with the National Council for Women.
Key outcomes of the programme include partnering with 31 private sector companies, adopting gender equality policies, training 48 participants as accredited auditors for gender equality certification, and holding training workshops in human resource management.
Additionally, the program has partnered with the International Labor Organization (ILO) to implement the Sustainable Competitive and Responsible Enterprises (SCORE) program to promote business development and competitiveness with a focus on women’s empowerment.
The program also made a significant contribution to increasing women’s financial inclusion by providing training to 1,800 women and 300 financial intermediaries through the “Taweesha” program, which aims to financially integrate rural Egyptian women as part of the National Project for Family Development in Egypt.
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