It is time to break down the barriers that have limited women’s access to boardrooms and enable them to fully contribute to corporate governance and success around the world, Maya Morsi, the President of the National Council for Women (NCW), said.
Her remarks came during her participation in a session entitled “National Initiatives in the Field of Women’s Advancement and Management of Applications that Support Their Empowerment” via video conference technology within the activities of the Sixth Edition of “studies” Forum entitled “The Role of Women in Policy Making, Think Tanks and Research”, which was organized by the Center Bahrain for Strategic and International Studies, Energy and the Supreme Council for Women in Bahrain.
Morsi said: “As we talk today about supporting women’s empowerment, it is necessary to stress the importance of women’s needs being strongly reflected in the policies of our countries. The issue is not just fairness to women, but empowering women and achieving equality is a necessity for the prosperity and well-being of our societies.”
She added that research always shows that diverse perspectives between men and women lead to better and more innovative decisions and solutions. Therefore, we must create an environment in which women fully contribute to the management of our societies by appointing women to leadership positions and providing fair and unbiased frameworks, which allows the best candidates to reach the highest level. Leadership positions as well as addressing systemic barriers that have held back women’s progress for far too long and promoting transparency, accountability, and meritocracy.
Morsi also stressed that the concept of women’s empowerment should be a basic approach in both the public and private sectors to promote equality between men and women, noting the need to work on designing and implementing policies and programs that support women’s empowerment in the public sector, such as ensuring access to quality health care and expanding opportunities Women in leadership positions.
With regard to the private sector, Morsi stressed that the empowerment of women requires the establishment of women-friendly workplaces by developing policies that support the balance between work and family life, providing opportunities for career advancement, and promoting a culture of appreciating equality between men and women by taking into account the needs of women in the structures and practices of both sectors. Which contributes to creating a more just and equitable society for all.
She confirmed that Egypt is the first country in the world to launch its national strategy for the empowerment of women in line with the goals of sustainable development and Egypt’s vision 2030, which confirms the state’s commitment to achieving the empowerment of Egyptian women and its desire to play an effective role in the advancement of women. An independent mechanism was launched to monitor the implementation of the strategy. The Egyptian Women Observatory, which follows up on the implementation of the strategy through the strict application of monitoring and evaluation mechanisms. The observatory also includes the “Women in Boards of Directors Observatory”, which is a specialized observatory that collects data on women in the boards of directors of non-banking financial companies, the stock exchange, the banking sector and public institutions.
Morsi explained that Egypt is the first country in the Middle East and North Africa region to launch a catalyst model for bridging the gender gap for the World Economic Forum and focuses on partnership between the public and private sectors to enhance women’s economic empowerment and change private sector policies towards providing a more responsive, equal and women-friendly work environment. Through a partnership between the public and private sectors, with the adoption of 6 procedures, which are institutional transformation, capacity development, intellectual and behavioral change, and awareness-raising, policies, data, knowledge products, and services.
She explained that we emphasize the importance of women’s participation in leadership positions in all sectors, noting the importance of education in qualifying girls to be future leaders.
Morsi concluded: “It is time to break down the barriers that have limited women’s access to boardrooms and enable them to fully contribute to corporate governance and success around the world.”
