The British embassy in Cairo launched its annual campaign to support gender equality. The campaign, which is taking place over March, will include a series of activities, roundtable discussions, and published studies, a statement from embassy said on Tuesday. The activities will focus on various themes, including equality in the workplace, women's social empowerment, and ending violence against women, the statement added. Marking the month's first event, the British ambassador in Egypt Sir Geoffrey Adams hosted a roundtable discussion with representatives from the Arab Women's Enterprise Fund (AWEF), a UK-funded project that aims to address barriers to women's economic inclusion in the Middle East and North Africa region. The roundtable saw strong participation from representatives of private companies who are collaborating with AWEF, such as ready-made garments company Arafa Holding, agriculture company Daltex Corp, fintech company Paymob, e-payment service company Rassedy, and leading microfinance companies Tamweely and Tasaheel. AWEF's programmes aim to create a network of partnerships that facilitates women's access to finance, eases their ability to access clients, and supports their business growth. AWEF also works to improve women's personal decision-making at the workplace and at household level. "We are proud to be promoting gender equality this month. We are starting the month on a strong note as we bring together private companies and the UK-funded programme AWEF to discuss the future of efforts to promote women's financial inclusion and gender equality," the ambassador said. Moreover, Country Director for AWEF Egypt Yomna Mustafa said, "AWEF is fortunate to work with some of the leading private sector companies who have introduced interventions to enhance the role of women within key economic sectors in Egypt. This has enabled these companies to increase their profitability as well as their social compliance; resulting in greater benefits for women financially and improving their decision-making at the household level."
