Mashat: Putting policies in place to help women during Covid is something Egypt has prioritised

CAIRO - 26 January 2021: Putting policies in place to help women during Covid is something Egypt has prioritised, said Minister of International Cooperation Rania Al-Mashat.

The minister's remarks were made at a virtual meeting at the World Economic Forum on Monday. The WEF panel session focused on the challenges women have faced since the start of the Covid crisis, including what the Forum calls a “double-double shift” of at least 20 hours per week of additional work for women at home.


Participants in the session included Kevin Sneader, global managing partner at the management consultancy McKinsey & Company and Michael Neidorff, chairman, president and chief executive of the healthcare multinational, Centene Corporation and editor-in-chief of The National Newspaper Mina Al-Oraibi.


Mashat said: "When the nation’s workers were suddenly forced to work from home at the start of the pandemic, training was offered to enhance women’s digital skills to help them cope with the change while a decree was issued to allow women with children under the age of 12 to take leave.


“This was done in legislation,” said Al-Mashat. “So policymaking was quite important in formulating that.” she added.


“If we move towards parity, GDP (gross domestic product) globally goes up by $13 trillion. And that is a big number. And given where we are today, that extra addition to GDP and to productivity is quite important. Women's participation in the economy is macro critical. So it's no longer just the number, but it's actually an increase in GDP and an increase in productivity." She added.