WOMEN’S ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT IN EGYPT: WHERE DO WE STAND?
Women’s labor force participation and employment rates in Egypt have recovered somewhat in recent years after declining for several years and reaching a low during the COVID-19 pandemic. Some sectors of economic activity are seeing both higher than average employment growth and faster growth for women than for men. These include wholesale and retail trade, accommodation and food services, information and communications, health and social work, manufacturing, and other services, which comprise real estate, professional, technical, administrative, entertainment, and personal services. These sectors offer good prospects for future growth of women’s employment if Egypt’s development trajectory is able to increasingly favor these sectors.