Egyptian women represent vast untapped workforce
In addition to improved education and workers' rights, a shift in workplace culture will be required for Egypt to harness the full potential of women in its economy.
CAIRO — Salma Yusri says she suffers from discrimination in the workplace because she is a woman.
“The major problem is that there is little appreciation for my work even though they know that I’m very dedicated,” she told Al-Monitor. “Men always get promoted at the expense of the career progression of women.”
Though she is generally well treated by her employer — a major state-owned company she didn’t wish to name — Yusri, in her late 30s, said that she has to continually defend her standing.
“The administration and our managers constantly change so for each new guy we [women] have to prove ourselves. They don’t keep files on their employees and don’t have the same standards as many big companies,” she explained.
