IFC calls on companies to give Egyptian Women equal chances

CAIRO - 16 May 2017: The International Finance Corporation (IFC) held a Cairo conference aiming to encourage private companies to increase women’s participation in the economy on Monday, as part of the IFC’s wider efforts to improve corporate governance by fostering gender inclusion.

“While half of the world’s women participate in the labor market, many have fewer employment opportunities and lower incomes than their male counterparts,” the IFC’s statement reads.

The conference concluded that while women represent only 12 percent of fixed contract full-timers, and 30 percent of business owners are women, only 7 percent of the Egyptian companies are led by female executives. Women earn on average about 22 percent less in comparison to their male counterparts.

“According to a recent IFC study, companies with female directors performed significantly better than those without, with a return on assets three times higher and return on equity twice as high,” the statement revealed, asserting that closing these gaps could help Egypt increase its gross domestic product by 32 percent.

The conference was organized by the IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, together with UN Women, the Global Compact Network in Egypt, the Egyptian Institute of Directors, and the National Council for Women, and it is part of IFC’s corporate governance program in Egypt, which aims to help local firms operate more efficiently and improve access to capital.