Egypt
Investing in women's empowerment to accelerate the SDGs

Egypt has been a leader in the Arab world on SDG implementation through the region's first national strategy on the 2030 Agenda and major reforms to stabilise the economy, stimulate growth and create better opportunities for the people. But women are still on the side-lines of development: only 23 percent of women participate in the labour market compared to 67 percent of men and only 15 percent of the country's parliamentarians are female. Advancing women's economic and political inclusion can tackle these inequalities and contribute to the achievement of the 2030 Agenda, delivering on the pledge to leave no-one behind.

UNDP'S Response 

UNDP and partners have been supporting the government with evidence-based analysis to help design a new breed of policy responses starting with a 2030 Agenda Mainstreaming, Acceleration and Policy Support (MAPS) engagement in 2018, which identified that investments in women's empowerment yield the highest results in terms of SDG achievement across the 2030 Agenda. Together with several UN agencies, UNDP will deploy a multi-disciplinary team to do a ‘deep analytics dive' with Egyptian counterparts to identify the most effective interventions to promote women's empowerment, pinpoint the mechanisms and policies that will enhance multiplier effects across SDGs and help align planning and financing functions of the government.

Focal Points

  • Sylvain Merlen
    Deputy Resident Representative
    UNDP Egypt