Gender and development studies in
Egypt have a tendency to form questions about males only in terms of barriers
to women’s economic development. Only lately have questions been increased
about men’s own gendered practices and feelings, and how they understand the shifts
in gender relations established by women’s empowerment. For example, little is understood
about how males think about their bodies, ageing and illness, as well as the pressures
placed on them by labor and the societal expectations of their partners and
families. Recent research of Egyptian masculinities have emphasized that a considerable
minority of men carry gender-equitable ideas, are invested in child-rearing,
and may need assistance for their mental and physical health (El Feki, Heilman
and Barker 2017).
Gender inequalities remain to distinguish
the Egyptian economy; the country is ranked 132 (of 144) in the 2016 Global
Gender Gap Index. Estimates from the International Labor Organization (ILO)
(2017) present unambiguous and persistent gender inequalities in labor force
participation (21.9 per cent women, 66.8 per cent men), employment to population
ratios (16.9 per cent women, 61.3 per cent men) and unemployment rates (23.1
per cent women, 8.3 per cent men). Studies reveals that private sector companies
avoid young women because their anticipated marital and family responsibilities
will decrease efficiency. This has caused the unemployment level for current
female graduates reaching 20.5 per cent (compared with 3.7 per cent for men)
(National Council for Women (NCW) 2017). Career progression chances for women
are also restricted: estimates suggest that just 17.8 per cent of Egyptian companies
have female involvement in ownership, while only 4.9 per cent have women as top
executives (World Bank 2016). Gender disparities in salaries have also risen dramatically
over the past two decades.
Over the past decade, Egypt has
made attempts to deal with gender concerns in access to finance. In 2007, the
Ministry of Finance recognized gender inequalities in policies, programs and
services that hinder women’s capability to create and maintain small and
medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and has taken procedures to enhance women’s
access to finance (Ministry of Finance 2007). In 2017, the Micro, Small and
Medium Enterprises Development Agency (MSMEDA) stated that 50 per cent of the businesses
it had offered loans to were owned by women (MSMEDA 2017).
The Egyptian administration has also tackled
gender concerns in basic social protection. Approximately 2.3 million families
have registered in the Takaful (Solidarity) (conditional cash transfer) and
Karama (Dignity) (unconditional cash transfer) program sponsored by the World
Bank (2017), the immense majority of which (88 per cent) are female-headed
households. The National Council of Women (NCW) also has an ambitious national policy
to improve women’s political involvement and improve their economic and social constitutional
rights by 2030 (NCW 2017).
Thank you for sharing. It was good to see the various strategies that are being undertaken to address gender inequality. However, I couldn’t help but wonder if these strategies might be more likely to succeed if they included men. You mentioned that in terms of development in Egypt men are only often considered as barriers to women’s economic development. This reminded me of the readings in week 8 particularly Chant and Gutmann’s article ‘Men-Streaming Gender? Questions for Gender and Development Policy in the Twenty-First Century’. Here, they highlighted that this perception of men can be problematic and is often the reality especially because men are excluded from gender centered development policies. As seen in the projects in Honduras, Greece and Kenya, the exclusion of men can lead to the formation or escalation of hostility between men and women at the grassroots level, as well as the blocking or sabotage of efforts to improve women's lives and livelihoods.
ReplyDeleteYou also mentioned that little is known about men’s gendered practices and feelings particularly their feelings about the shifts in gender relations brought about by women empowerment programs. Chant and Gutmann also discuss this in their article. They highlighted the fact that the study of men and masculinities in both academic and practical development spaces is in its infancy. There is still little knowledge of men and their gendered beliefs and practices on a systemic level which can be truly relied upon. Such knowledge is essential, if men are to be successfully integrated into gender centered development policies and programs. Thus, to increase the likelihood of success for these women centered policies and programs, I think it is essential that the government and development agencies conduct research to know more about men and their gendered practices and beliefs. With this knowledge, men can effectively participate in these strategies to successfully address gender inequality especially in the workforce.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I believe boys and girls perform gender from tender age because parents start to enforce the societal standards of expectations for males vs females as well as their roles in workspaces, homes, families, political spaces, decision-making processes, and more. There are instances where adults already formed and trained in a certain line of thought would require more effort and systematic cooperation to unlearn those ideologies.
ReplyDeleteThe career progression statistics you shared remind me of gender, race, and class in Journalism & mass media class I took last semester and the observation that women had entry roles into journalism and mass media yet rarely/struggled to get to top executives roles which is a male-dominated area within the media sector.
It's interesting that Nigeria has a female finance minister, and we all anticipated that this would open a lot of opportunities and access to finance for women. Sadly, this is not the case because she is heavily affected by a financial board that is dominated by men. In other words, structural and institutionalized discrimination and inequities may not be changed by the arrival of women into political office or entry positions. Considering non-binary genders, which also experience inequalities, is another viewpoint.