About the conference

Very few voices advocate for women’s recognition of their contribution to the economy in Egypt as women’s work – either formal or informal, paid or unpaid – remains poorly recognized at the social level, as well as the official level. Despite long efforts conducted over the years by some research centers, as well as the New Woman Foundation (NWF) regarding this issue, these efforts remain fragmented and haven’t reached yet the wide public. Moreover, officials remain oriented towards a vision considering women as subsequent to men, and in best cases consider them as mothers, wives or daughters who work only to help their relative males. Moreover, a high majority of women work all day long, sometimes for more hours than men, without no retribution. It applies to women’s domestic work as well as their informal contribution to household’s welfare, such as it is the case for street vendors of vegetables or other home-made products. This is socially considered as a natural fact of life that does not deserve any compensation, protection or visibility.
the conference is a serious attempt to add visibility to the current situation on a wide scale in order to contribute urging decision-makers committing themselves to adopt policies and commitments for better and fair conditions for women.