Women in Egypt are accused of being reluctant to participate in the economic activities. Official data and reports repeat over and again that women\u2019s participation in the Labour power does not exceed 22%, which is one of the lowest in the world. The prevailing terminology referring to unemployed women is \u201csettled at home\u201d implying that women outside the market are indulged in a state of relaxation and leisure, despite the actual reality, where these women are swamped for long hours in house chores and that may not have enough time to rest.
\nThe study aims to assess the actual value of Egyptian women\u2019s participation in the economy through measuring and estimating the amount of unpaid housework of these women. According to the National Accounting System that all UN member states abide by, the unpaid housework work is excluded as it is not considered an economic market activity. This means that a god amount of women actual participation in economic activities, despite its importance to the welfare of the community as a whole, remain unrecognized or valued, and that the total participation of women in economic activities is underestimated, which in itself negatively impacts women\u2019s social status and
\ntheir ability to participate in decision making.
\nThere is a variety of studies on Egyptian women and labor market, yet there is rarity in economic studies addressing measuring and distribution of housework within the family. Partly, this could be explained by novelty and limited availability of data on time use in Egypt. The first trial in this regard is the Economic Research Forum (ERF) study published in June 2010, \u201cRethinking Time Allocation of Egyptian Women\u201d. The study focused on measuring women\u2019s working hours on\u00a0housework and the impact of marriage in increasing this type of work and reducing the time\u00a0available for paid work. To our knowledge, the study is the first trial ever, to estimate the monetary value of women\u2019s housework in Egypt, and its percentage of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP)\u00a0The study is divided to four chapters. The first, deals with the concept of un-paid housework and the evolution of economic thought and national statistics\u2019 systems with regards to this kind of work. The second chapter reviews international experiences to measure and estimate the value of un-paid\u00a0domestic work and their results. The third chapter is dedicated to explaining the methodology used to
\nmeasure and estimate women\u2019s housework in Egypt. The fourth chapter presents the results of using
\nthe methodology, and provides recommendations.
\nThis trial to estimate and acknowledge the value of women\u2019s unpaid housework in Egypt, is by no
\nmeans a call for limiting women to housework, or going back to concepts that have been transcend
\nby humanity whether at the level of social development or at the level of economic thought and
\nanalysis. Those concepts are based on preset division of labor and fields of activities, and had the
\npresumptions that market paid labor is men\u2019s domain, whilst unpaid houseworkis women\u2019s domain.
\nEstimating the value of women\u2019s houseworkin Egypt, in our view, represents an essential step in
\nestimating the overall actual economic participation of Egyptian women compared to the overall
\neconomic participation of men, as an objective basis for enhancing women\u2019s social status, and their
\nright to participation in decision making, and in achieving balance between social responsibilities
\nand work. We hope this trial will be an effort to build upon at different levels; research, feminist
\nmovements and national statistics.<\/p>\n