Unlike the majority of ancient societies, Egypt held women at a very high eminence rendering them equitable status with men. Ancient Egyptian women possessed equal legal as well as political rights as men, the matter that has been expressed through a lot of Egyptian art and manuscripts. At a certain point in history Egyptian women ruled the country as queens and pharaohs. Unfortunately, moving into the present time the status of women in Egypt shows a profound retreat. Empowering women and incorporating them as vital members and partakers in all realms of life is not a luxury anymore but rather a necessity. Regrettably, gender inequality in Egypt remains to be a fundamental barrier hindering the accomplishment of this goal. It is the aim of this paper to shed light on the current situation of women in Egypt through comparisons with other neighbouring countries as well as with global indices at present. Conclusions show that despite some improvements, a lot remains to be done in order to ensure gender equality that is required to endorse sustainable development goals in Egypt. Read more

This paper aims to investigate the challenges facing highly educated Egyptian women, who abandon a high paid job in the private sector to start their own business. This study, based on a qualitative research, focuses on demonstrating that educated women, with a good paid job in the formal private sector, encounter the same challenges as the rest of women in starting, running, and maintaining their business. The study employs in-depth interviews with 10 women from Cairo, Egypt, highly educated, formerly employed in highly paid jobs in the private sector, that converted to entrepreneurship. Data have been analyzed using QDA Miner software. The results reveal the same difficulties women face in starting, running, and maintaining their business, regardless of their level of education, revealing that among major obstacles in women entrepreneurship, in Egypt, are the socio-cultural constrains that define the role of women in the society. Read more