Egyptian ministry establishes Equal Opportunities Unit to ensure gender equality

CAIRO - 22 February 2021: Dr. Hala El-Said, Minister of Planning and Economic Development, issued decision No. 9 of 2021 establishing the Equal Opportunities Unit in the Ministry headed by Dr. Shaima Serraj.

Dr. Hala El-Said said that the terms of reference of the Equal Opportunities Unit include preparing databases on the employees of the ministry and its affiliated agencies, classifying them according to type, analyzing them, enumerating and studying the problems that workers are exposed to as a result of qualitative discrimination, and proposing solutions to the aforementioned problems.

The unit also works on preparing reports on problems of a general nature, as well as documenting data, information, studies, and research that reflect the life of women working in the ministry. The ministry also works on women obtaining their rights in the field of training, entertainment, and educational programs, while working to empower women to achieve a balance between family duties and professional ones.

The Minister of Planning and Economic Development indicated the importance of establishing equal opportunities units in the various departments of the ministry. This is in support of the fifth goal of the sustainable development goals on gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls.

El-Said stressed the importance of cooperation and coordination with the central unit in the ministry and the various sectors to show the ministry’s efforts in the field of empowering women and their participation in reaching the desired economic development.

In this context, Dr. Shaima Siraj, Director of the Equal Opportunities Unit, held an introductory meeting Sunday about the unit, its objectives, and its pillars of work, in the presence of representatives of the Ministry's sectors and affiliated agencies.

During the meeting, Siraj reviewed the tasks of the unit, the reasons for its establishment, and its specializations, noting that the vision of the unit is to establish the principle of equal opportunities between the Ministry's employees and the affiliated bodies of both genders.

The mission of the unit is also to consolidate a culture of gender and work to integrate it into all activities and plans, in addition to innovation in promoting the implementation of the sustainable development goals concerned with equality and the national strategy for the empowerment of Egyptian women 2030.

El-Said drew attention to the unit’s goals, which include supporting the capabilities of its members and representatives in the sectors and affiliates, integrating the gender perspective in all stages of plan preparation, follow-up, and evaluation in all parties.

El-Said highlighted the importance of good preparation for distinguished cadres of the second and third grades without discrimination, in addition to cooperation with all entities from inside or outside the ministry.