Women in the MENA Region: A Deep Dive into Labor Market Exclusion and Egypt’s Role

The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, along with Afghanistan and Pakistan, confronts stark gender gaps in labor force participation and economic inclusion. According to the World Bank’s Gender in MENA program overview, women are markedly underutilized as productive assets—limiting regional growth potential and perpetuating inequality.

Regional Landscape: Low Female Labor Participation, High Youth Unemployment

The World Bank report presents the following headline statistics:

• Across the MENA region, the average female labor force participation (FLFP) rate stands at 19 %, compared with 71 % for men. Globally, the female participation average is 47 %.
• Among women who are part of the labor force, 16 % are unemployed. For young women, unemployment rates in many countries reach as high as 40 %.
• Barriers to women’s participation include unsafe transportation, lack of quality childcare, working conditions that are inhospitable to women’s needs, and restrictive social norms and legal constraints.

These regional challenges form the backdrop against which individual countries—such as Egypt—must strategize and intervene.

Egypt in the Regional Context: Highlights and Insights

While the Gender in MENA page does not present an extensive country-by-country breakdown for Egypt, it highlights several entries and initiatives that involve Egypt in the regional gender conversation:

1. Inclusion in regional case studies
   Among the “Highlights” on the page is the report “Women’s Entrepreneurship in Climate Tech: Insights from Egypt, Morocco, and Tunisia.” This suggests that Egypt is considered a focal case within regional research on women-led entrepreneurship, particularly in emerging technological sectors.
2. Strategic programming via Regional Gender Action Plan (RGAP) 2025–2030
   The World Bank, in alignment with its broader Gender Strategy, has launched a Regional Gender Action Plan 2025–2030 for MENA, aimed at translating its policy ambitions into measurable results across the region. While this plan is region-wide, its implementation framework is expected to influence Egypt’s gender programs and investments.
3. Acknowledging the low baseline in Egypt’s region
   Since the MENA average FLFP is 19 %, with the male rate at 71 %, and given that many Egyptian women face the same structural and normative barriers identified regionally, these figures underscore the scale of Egypt’s gender inclusion challenge. In other words, Egypt’s own female labor participation rates must be understood relative to—and often underperforming—these regional benchmarks.

Implications and Pathways for Egypt

Given the regional data and Egypt’s inclusion in highlighted research, several policy and strategic implications emerge:

• Closing the participation gap
  With the male participation rate more than three times higher than women’s in the region, Egypt (like other MENA countries) must adopt targeted policies to promote women’s labor force entry, retention, and upward mobility.
• Youth as a critical target
  The 40 % youth female unemployment rate snapshot across MENA indicates that interventions in education-to-employment transitions, skills development, and youth-focused labor programs are vital. Egypt’s policy frameworks should prioritize these demographics.
• Institutional and normative reform
  The World Bank underscores non-structural barriers—norms, legal constraints, infrastructure, childcare—as central obstacles. Addressing them requires collaboration across ministries (transport, social affairs, labor) and strengthening social protection, public services, and regulatory reform.
• Leveraging Egypt in regional programs
  Egypt’s role in regional case studies—such as climate-tech entrepreneurship—offers the opportunity to produce replicable models of women’s economic inclusion that others in the MENA region may follow.
• Accountability through measurable results
  Under the Regional Gender Action Plan and the broader World Bank Gender Strategy (launched in 2024), Egypt’s gender programming must emphasize data, results, and accountability—designing programs that can be tracked, evaluated, and scaled.

The World Bank’s findings offer a sobering yet actionable reflection on the structural inequalities limiting women’s economic participation across MENA. For Egypt, the message is particularly urgent: without bold, sustained investment in gender-inclusive policies, the country risks leaving half its population underutilized in the workforce—at a time when economic resilience and innovation are more critical than ever.