Egyptian women are becoming a major part of the domestic labor force. The percentage of women employed in the governmental sector grew from 39% in 2014 to 45% in 2021.
Although such rising numbers are promising for gender equity domestic targets, many working women in Egypt face tremendous pressure to maintain a balance between their careers and extensive family, parenting, and household responsibilities.
This inter-relationship between women’s work and family roles creates enormous ongoing stress on many Egyptian women and negatively impacts their daily lives.
UN-Habitat, in cooperation with the General Organization for Physical Planning in Egypt, organized two-day training on time and stress management in response to this growing problem. It was attended by 17 female employees working in the urban planning sector.
Through a range of interactive activities, female participants learned how to address different types of stress effectively, in addition to prioritizing their daily tasks. The training is part of ongoing series of capacity-building activities under a project aiming to strengthen development planning and management in Greater Cairo.
Sustaining the local women workforce by presenting them with such self-development opportunities is expected to yield a multitude of benefits that extends across the work environment and positively impact women’s daily lives.
The project ensures the development and ongoing effective implementation of the strategic vision for Greater Cairo. It has contributed to its implementation by developing priority projects, participatory processes, capacity building, and backed legal frameworks.
The capacity building program also aims to introduce innovative urban planning tools and skills development sets to enable effective implementation of the project and support effective urban sector at the central and local levels, expected to benefit seventy trainees.
