Conservative traditions, widespread discrimination, less education and other factors combine to keep women marginalised in the work force. Yasser Sobhi reports Public awareness of the need to enhance the economic role of women is on the rise. The issue no longer stems from a mere knee-jerk reaction to international pressure for greater gender equality in the Arab world, but rather from a recognition of women's important and dynamic role in economic development. Unemployment and women's status in the job market remain areas where inequality is significant. A study prepared by Heba Nassar, professor of economics at Cairo University, shows that only 18 per cent of the adult female population are working in comparison to 65.7 per cent of men. Women also tend to leave the job market very early. Most female workers are between the ages of 20 and 24, while on average working men are between 25 and 39. The study also indicates that 20 per cent of women are working with no remuneration in comparison with eight per cent of men. The illiteracy rate among women is also very high -- in 1996, around 62.5 per cent of women were illiterate in contrast with around 37 per cent of men. "There is no gender discrimination in the firm level in terms of job requirements, income levels or general directives," said Nassar. "But the concentration of females in lower positions makes the average level of their income constitute around a third of men's income." Unemployment rates for women are also four times higher than men's. The unemployment rate has risen for women from 14.4 per cent in 1990 to 23.8 per cent in 2001, while male unemployment is only 5.6 per cent. The national unemployment rate is at nine per cent. The growth in female unemployment is accompanied by an increase in the number of female university graduates who are expected to join the ranks of job seekers. "From the legislation perspective, Egyptian women solicit privileges and a higher status than their counterparts in many other societies. Nevertheless, social traditions -- especially in the rural areas -- suggest that the woman should stay at home taking care of her family while the man protects her," said Nassar. "A woman's conflict of roles starts when she goes out to find work while she continues her housework. A working woman is not usually given any privileges in her duties at home over another who is not working. Therefore, half of working women and two-thirds of unemployed women refuse to work after having a child," she added. As a consequence, working women have to work through most of the day, within and outside the home. A bias against employing women is deeply engrained in Egypt. A businesswoman told Al-Ahram Weekly that she took a decision to depend only on male employees after her experience with working women. "They start well and as soon they get married, they only think about how to get home early," she said. This opinion was shared by Hanaa Khaireldin, professor of economics at Cairo University, who thinks that women are to blame for their behaviour at work because, in many cases, "they don't want to work seriously and search for excuses." One other impediment to female employment is the labour law itself. Women fought with ferocity to maintain their privileges including the right to have three years' leave from work and three months of paid maternal leave after giving birth. "The labour law is affecting women and diminishes their opportunities to work in the private sector. The exaggerated privileges in the law encourage private firms to prefer male employees and make them reluctant to enlist women," Khaireldin said. The government is currently the top employer for women, absorbing around 41 per cent of all female labour. The private sector employs only 20 per cent, while the informal sector attracts around 35 per cent. Thus the government tendency to create new jobs only at the lowest level is hitting women hard. And the new economic policies do not seem to provide a definite solution for the gender gap in the job market. "Opening up the economy is not helping female employment. There is a need for government financial and executive support through economic policies and [the creation of] a social guarantee network that helps towards the empowerment of women," said Sahar Nasr, member of the general secretariat of the National Council for Women (NCW) and professor of economics at the American University in Cairo. She explained that 80,000 women left the job market after the privatisation of public firms, a number that could not be accommodated by job openings in the private sector. The liberalisation of the financial sector has not provided any credit opportunities that could help women open new businesses. Indeed, the NCW is lobbying the government for the greater women's empowerment in policy formation and legislation. Also, there are attempts to raise public awareness of the important positive impact that female participation could have in the economy, especially in rural areas. More importantly, the NCW has begun to fight inherited traditions and prejudices that discourage female participation in economic life. "We are trying to study and analyse the main economic problems that women are facing in Egypt," said Soad Kamel Rizk, head of the NCW's economic committee. "We are working on making women's issues a priority in the government's plan and on ensuring fair budget allocation to gender issues. We're also concerned about economic policies, legislation and services provided to ensure that they favour women's economic empowerment."
