Women empowerment part of tourism sector strategy for 2030: Mashat

CAIRO – 25 September 2019: Egypt is keen on empowering women,especially in the tourism sector, according to Minster Rania al-Mashat statements on Wednesday.

During her participation at the "Global Initiatives to Empower Women and Fill Gender Gaps in Employment Opportunities"session, as part of the World Economic Forum events in New York, Mashat said that the ministry is working on a strategy, in cooperation with the private sector in Egypt, to make the work environment more suitable for women.

She added that Egypt has been among the first countries that announced adopting and implementing the UNDP's Gender Equality Seal Program in the tourism sector as part of the country’s strategy for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 2030.

Also, the Tourism Ministry’s reforming program, according to Mashat, is aiming at keeping abreast of modern global trends in tourism through the preservation of the environment, digital transformation and economic empowerment of women.

“The ministry is trying to adopt a strategy which implements the 17 global goals set by the United Nations General Assembly in 2015 for the year 2030,” Mashat stressed.

During a seminar to announce the steps required for the various tourist institutions in Egypt to implementthe Gender Equality Seal of the United Nations Development Program, NCW Head Maya Morsysaid that the NCW and the UNDP, in cooperation with the tourism sector, are launching a plan for women's empowerment, adding that the tourism sector is one of the main fields that attracts a large number of women and business leaders.

Morsy noted that unemployment rate among women has decreased from 24.3percent to 19 percent.

"Women have turned to hold 15 percent of the parliamentary seats in 2018, compared to only 2 percent in 2013, which is considered the highest percentage ever in the history of the Egyptian Parliament,"Morsy continued.

She also referred to the increase in the number of women ministers from 6 percent in 2015, to 20 percent in 2017, and then 25 percent in 2018, reiterating that it is also the highest percentage ever in the Egyptian history.

Moreover, the percentage of female investors in the Egyptian stock exchange has increased by 30 percent, Morsy said, stressing that some women have become in charge of micro-finance.

Such achievements have been part of the outcome of the Egyptian political management supporting women and working to apply their constitutional entitlements on the ground.