Understanding the Egyptian Paradox: Why the gender gap is closing in education but not in employment?
Women’s economic empowerment and her participation in labor force have significant positive impact on the children’s health and education and on the growth of the whole economy. Education is considered as a major determinant of female’s economic participation. However, it was observed that women’s achievement in education was not translated into higher female labor force participation.
In Egypt, the female labor force participation is among the lowest worldwide with only 22 percent. Moreover, when employed, women are more likely to be in low-earning job with poor conditions and limited opportunities for career advancement and vulnerability to sexual harassment and different types of violence. Women present human capital potential in Egypt; closing gender gap and increasing women’s access to economic opportunities are highly needed for increasing growth, decreasing poverty and achieving sustainable development goals.