Given Egypt’s importance as a partner for development co-operation organisations, this chapter explores the current landscape of official development assistance for gender equality, with a particular focus on women’s economic empowerment. Drawing on OECD development finance data, it analyses the degree to which aid targets women’s economic empowerment, and the role of civil society. It also provides the scope for greater actionable recommendations for Egypt and its development partners to strengthen their development co-operation programmes and projects to advance gender equality and women’s empowerment in the country.
Women’s Economic Empowerment in Egypt
Abstract
Women’s economic empowerment is an important objective for many development partners working in Egypt, representing 44% of all ODA committed to Egypt 2022-23 – the highest share of the decade. However, several infrastructure, energy and banking programmes financed with development assistance have yet to fully integrate gender equality considerations, representing an opportunity to enhance their inclusivity and long-term impact. Integrating gender equality considerations can also help ensure programmes do not perpetuate existing inequalities.
The importance of partnering with different actors to achieve the SDGs is recognised by development partners and by Egypt’s government alike. However, a more conducive environment for civil society organisations would strengthen their engagement and contribution to development, including facilitating their access to and use of funding.
Violence against women is a major obstacle for women’s economic empowerment. Including measures to prevent and respond to violence in all development co-operation programmes can help dismantle this barrier and accelerate progress.
Egypt is an important partner country for DAC members, non-DAC members, multilateral organisations and private foundations. For several of these partners, supporting women’s economic empowerment – and gender equality more broadly – are explicit objectives of their development co-operation strategies with Egypt. This is a recognition of the cross-cutting nature of women’s empowerment for all of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and its relevance for Egypt itself, as established in Egypt Vision 2030 (Government of Egypt, 2023[1]) and in Egypt’s National Strategy for the Empowerment of Women 2030 (National Council for Women, 2017[2]). Despite collective efforts to advance women’s economic empowerment in the country, a number of challenges remain. With development co-operation well place to contribute to addressing them, this chapter proposes measures that are crucial to ensure development assistance to Egypt achieves its intended objectives.
This chapter outlines the key partners and themes in development co-operation for gender equality in Egypt, with a particular focus on women’s economic empowerment. It starts by outlining the importance of international development co-operation for Egypt (Section 10.2), focusing in on the growing role of support to women’s economic empowerment, while Section 10.3 highlights that despite this, there is still scope to do more to target the issue and also to avoid potential negative impacts on women. Section 10.4 explores the role of civil society organisations (CSOs) as partners for development co-operation, and the value of women’s rights groups for working with women to enhance their economic empowerment. Section 10.5. highlights how gender-based violence – being largely invisible, taboo and under-reported – can be maintained or even increased by development co-operation activities if not considered adequately in their design. The chapter concludes with recommendations for addressing these risks and furthering the opportunities for women’s economic empowerment through development co-operation. The chapter draws on data from the OECD Creditor Reporting System, which include details of development co-operation projects reported annually by over 50 countries, more than 60 multilateral organisations and over 40 foundations. It is the most reliable and complete source of data on international development assistance.
Egypt is a major focus for official development assistance. International development co-operation contributes to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development by supporting inclusive and sustainable economic growth, poverty eradication and the improvement of living standards in partner countries (OECD, 2023[3]). Egypt ranked third in the world in 2022 for its volume of bilateral official development assistance (ODA)1 received from all official providers (OECD, 2025[4]). ODA net disbursements to Egypt have fluctuated over recent years, but reached USD 6.1 billion in 2022, which represented 1% of Egypt’s gross national income that year. The top bilateral providers were Saudi Arabia2 (USD 5.3 billion) and the EU Institutions (USD 0.5 billion), followed by Japan and France. General budget support was the preferred modality used for ODA, notably by Saudi Arabia (OECD, 2025[4]).
Multilateral organisations are also important development partners for Egypt. Key partners include the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the Arab Fund (AFESD), the OPEC Fund for International Development, and the Islamic Development Bank (OECD, 2025[4]). United Nations (UN) entities have also been supporting development efforts in Egypt under the leadership of the UN Resident Coordinator. The UN has been operational in Egypt since 1948, and currently has 32 agencies, funds and programmes in the country, including the World Food Programme, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and UN Women, among others (UNSDG, 2023[5]). Thematic funds like the Global Fund, the Green Climate Fund, and the Global Environment Facility, as well as foundations such as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Ford Foundation are other noteworthy partners.
The large number of development partners operating in the country, each with their own country strategy, makes co-ordination complex but important for the effective use of international development finance. A Development Partners Group, co-chaired by the UN Resident Coordinator, is one co-ordination mechanism that facilitates collaboration and aims to ensure synergy and avoid duplication among partners (United Nations Egypt, 2023[6]). It includes a thematic group focused specifically on gender (the Gender and Development group, or GAD). Egypt’s Ministry of Planning and Economic Development has also been organising multi-stakeholder platforms to strengthen dialogues and partnerships through regular consultations with its development partners, including on its gender equality efforts (Ministry of International Cooperation, 2025[7]; Ministry of International Cooperation, 2025[8]). The launch of an Integrated Automated Information Management System (AIMS) in 2023 also facilitates tracking and reporting of development projects (Ministry of International Cooperation, 2024[9]). These various initiatives align with the government’s commitment to strengthen partnerships and leverage the comparative advantages of each development partner, including in human development areas (Ministry of International Cooperation, 2024[10]).
Development co-operation financing for women’s economic empowerment is growing
There is growing recognition of the importance of gender equality in international development co-operation with Egypt. Over USD 1 billion of bilateral allocable3 ODA committed from members of the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) to Egypt included gender equality objectives on average over 2022-23 (USD 1 166 million).4 This represented 44% of all ODA committed to Egypt in the period – the highest share of the decade – indicating a growing recognition of the importance of gender equality in Egypt’s international development co-operation. ODA projects in the economic and productive sectors that included gender equality objectives – the measure used by the OECD to define development co-operation for women’s economic empowerment5 – amounted to USD 745 million on average in 2022-23. The largest providers by volume were Japan, France, Germany, the United States and the EU institutions (Figure 10.1). Several DAC providers explicitly prioritise gender equality and women’s economic empowerment in their Egypt country strategies (Box 10.1). They place gender equality mostly as a “significant” objective in their ODA for women’s economic empowerment, signalling that gender considerations are mainstreamed across their activities, but were not the main goal of projects.6 In addition to the USD 745 million for women’s economic empowerment that included gender equality objectives, another USD 1 106 million were committed to the economic and productive sectors, but for activities that did not include any gender equality considerations. This suggests that many projects in these sectors could benefit further from integrating gender considerations to ensure they effectively address existing inequalities. While an additional USD 452 million were committed in the economic and productive sectors, due to incomplete reporting by DAC members it is not possible to know the extent to which these activities integrate gender equality objectives.
The UN delivered over USD 209 million of activities in Egypt in 2023 (United Nations Egypt, 2023[6]). Of this, USD 15.4 million went to women’s empowerment, which included work related to protecting women from violence, boosting economic empowerment, capacity building and civic engagement. A newly signed 2023-2027 UN Sustainable Development Co-operation Framework, which is the main instrument organising the co-operation between the UN in Egypt and the Government of Egypt, focuses on five pillars, one of which is socio-economic empowerment of women and girls (United Nations Egypt, 2023[6]).
Bilateral allocable ODA for economic and productive sectors in Egypt, with and without gender equality objectives, top 10 DAC members, average 2022-23
Note: The OECD uses aid for economic and productive sectors that integrates gender equality objectives as a proxy to monitor international finance for women’s economic empowerment.
Source: OECD (2025[11]), GenderMarkers: Aid (ODA) activities targeting gender equality and women's empowerment (dataset), http://data-explorer.oecd.org/s/a9.
France has a 2022-2025 Egypt strategy that prioritises support for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and women’s access to financial services and advice. This strategy builds on France’s 2021-2025 regional strategy for North Africa, where supporting and reinforcing gender equality is a key objective (AFD, 2022[12]; AFD, 2021[13]).
The EU-Egypt Strategic and Comprehensive Partnership was sealed in 2024 to support inclusive growth in Egypt, with a focus on women’s empowerment as a cross-cutting issue. The EU combines targeted interventions with gender mainstreaming in its development co-operation. For example, while the EU Tamken project is dedicated to enhancing women’s economic empowerment, entrepreneurship, education and health, the Equal Opportunities and Human Development project, Addressing the Economic Drivers of Irregular Migration, and the EU for Egypt's Immediate Socio-Economic Response to the COVID-19 Outbreak, mainstream gender equality among other objectives. In addition, women benefit from the EU-funded Haya Kareema and the Family Development Projects, improving access to services, protection and economic opportunities (EU-EEAS, 2022[14]).
Switzerland has developed strong ties with Egypt during the last 40 years of bilateral co-operation. Its Co-operation Programme for Egypt 2021-2024 included economic development as a policy objective, and focused on facilitating access to financing, increasing the participation of women and young people in the labour market, and promoting vocational skills development locally with the participation of Swiss companies and other stakeholders (SDC, 2021[15]). A 2025-2028 co-operation programme for Switzerland in Egypt is under discussion (Ministry of International Cooperation, 2024[16]).
Germany, Japan and Korea do not include women’s economic empowerment explicitly in their Egypt country strategies, but do have programmes related to this area. Germany’s co-operation strategy with Egypt has a focus on improving the inclusion and participation of youth, particularly young women, and on promoting women’s rights (GIZ, 2021[17]). Japan has supported women’s economic empowerment in Egypt, for example through the KUSANONE grant in 2020 which trained women in Old Cairo in the skills needed for self-employment (Embassy of Japan in Egypt, 2023[18]). Korea has supported the Women’s Economic Empowerment in Egypt project implemented by UN Women, in partnership with the National Council for Women (UNFPA Egypt, 2021[19]).
Development co-operation for women’s economic empowerment covers diverse areas
Activities financed by ODA for women’s economic empowerment in Egypt cover a range of themes. Based on analysis of the 24 largest projects for women’s economic empowerment in Egypt over 2020-21, the most common theme is support to women-owned and women-managed businesses. This is both a recognition of the large role that MSMEs play in the Egyptian economy, and of the obstacles that women face in accessing financing for their businesses. For example:
The Women-owned Businesses Support programme by the French development co-operation agency (AFD) looks at improving employment opportunities for women by developing a financial offer for MSMEs managed or owned by women and providing technical assistance for female entrepreneurs (AFD, 2019[20]).
The Improving Access to Finance for MSMEs Programme, funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), aimed at improving access to financing for women-owned MSMEs (JICA, 2021[21]).
UN Women implements the Women's Economic Empowerment in Egypt Programme in collaboration with the Korean International Cooperation Agency, the National Council for Women and three Egyptian ministries (UN Women Egypt, 2022[22]). The programme aims to make the private sector more gender-responsive, and includes training and business development services for women entrepreneurs in areas such as legal registration, marketing, financial management, teamwork and soft skills. It also supports companies to develop specific action plans promoting gender equality and women’s empowerment.
Saudi Arabia gave a grant to the Bank of Alexandria in 2020 with the specific objective of reviving local artisanship and reinvigorating the new artisan economy, with 30% of the grant going towards women-owned enterprises (Zawya, 2020[23]).
The EU is also an important partner on gender equality for the OECD in Egypt: the EU-OECD programme on access to finance for women’s entrepreneurs in eight Southern Mediterranean countries (2024-2027) includes activities in Egypt (EU-OECD, 2024[24]). In the framework of the Egypt-OECD Country Programme, the OECD is carrying out several projects that include gender considerations, including an SME policy review, and developing a toolkit on Promoting Women’s Empowerment and Leadership in the Green and Digital Transitions.
Urban management and urban safety are other common development co-operation themes relevant to women’s economic empowerment in Egypt. The Participatory Infrastructure Project, funded by the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) and the EU Institutions, has led to the implementation of 29 infrastructure projects in 9 informal settlements in Cairo, Giza and Qalyubeya Governorates (GIZ, 2023[25]; GIZ Egypt, 2022[26]) . The project emphasises local community ownership by ensuring their involvement in the Local Area Development Plans, as well as benefits for women and youth. Another example is the Integrated Land and Urban Management Hayenna project, supported by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), which aims to tackle the challenges of informal settlements (SDC, 2018[27]). The project was pursued in collaboration with the UN-Habitat Egypt Office (UN-Habitat, 2023[28]), the governorate of Qena, and the Egyptian Ministry of Housing, Utilities and Urban Communities. It includes activities related to urban planning, design and land management, public finance management, and support to urban policies and regulations (Ministry of International Cooperation, 2022[29]). It employs a Participatory and Inclusive Land Readjustment approach which seeks to empower different stakeholders to arrive at an inclusive outcome. In co-ordination with UN Women, the project also promotes safe cities to ensure women and girls can engage in public affairs and economic activities (FDFA, 2018[30]). The Safe Cities Programme, which has existed since 2012 with the support of the UN and several governments, also works to strengthen institutional frameworks for prevention and response to violence against women and girls in urban areas, while improving services for survivors (UN Women Egypt, 2023[31]).
Rural development is another common theme in development co-operation for women’s economic empowerment in Egypt. For example, the EU annual action programme 2020 in Egypt aimed to improve living conditions and revenues for smallholder farmers and their communities in three governorates. The project specifically mentions the high unemployment rate for rural women and the intention to explore innovative solutions for generating income for this group (European Commission, 2020[32]). Through the project Promoting Climate Smart Agriculture and Agricultural Biodiversity in Upper and Lower Egypt, Global Affairs Canada promotes economic empowerment of rural women by enhancing climate resilience through sustainable agricultural practices (Government of Canada, 2024[33]). Key activities include training smallholder farmers, supporting micro-entrepreneurs with technical and financial services, strengthening agricultural value chains, and advocating for smallholder food production at multiple governance levels.
COVID-19 recovery is another theme for women’s economic empowerment in Egypt as women suffered disproportionate job and income losses during the pandemic (ILO, 2021[34]). Women in the MENA region were also at the frontline of the COVID-19 response and carried the burden of home schooling and unpaid care of the sick and the elderly (OECD, 2020[35]). Recovery responses by DAC members included elements of women’s economic empowerment. For example the EU Decision ENI/2020/042-776 to support Egypt's immediate socio-economic response to the COVID-19 outbreak (European Commision, 2021[36]) involved the National Council for Women as a key stakeholder, designing tailored measures for mitigating the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on women workers in the informal sector. Another example is the Improving Livelihoods, Nutrition, and Empowerment for Rural Women and Their Families in Minya Governorate project, supported by Canada and implemented by the Ministry of Social Solidarity and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO, 2024[37]). Targeting 2 000 vulnerable rural women, the initiative combined food security, income generation and empowerment through agricultural activities, addressing the pandemic’s impact on diverse socio-economic groups.
Every development intervention has an impact on gender equality, whether intended or not. The 2024 DAC Recommendation on Gender Equality and the Empowerment of All Women and Girls in Development Co-operation and Humanitarian Assistance recognises that development co-operation programmes and projects can be unintentionally harmful for women and girls if they perpetuate inequalities, power imbalances and negative stereotypes that exist in the context where they are implemented (OECD, 2024[38]). On the other hand, if designed and implemented for transformative change, programmes can support an enabling environment for gender equality.
For women’s economic empowerment to be sustainable, activities targeting it need to be aware of and address unequal power relations and harmful practices and norms that uphold inequality, both visible and invisible (OECD, 2022[39]). The gender equality continuum (Figure 10.2) categorises the impact of development activities on a scale from harmful to transformative and is a helpful tool to enable governments to define and identify what impact an intervention will have. If a gender analysis (Box 10.2) is not carried out and/or does not inform the design of an activity adequately, that activity can be harmful and create risks for women and girls, even if unintentionally. An activity can also be gender neutral or blind in its design if it ignores existing gender inequalities, which may end up being perpetuated in the process. Gender sensitive projects, on the other hand, consider existing inequalities and power imbalances in their design; however they do not intentionally work to change them. Gender responsive ones go further and can actually strengthen equality. Finally, interventions that change gender norms and power relations throughout their implementation are transformative and help achieve true and sustainable gender equality.
Source: OECD (2022[40]), Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women and Girls: Guidance for Development Partners, https://doi.org/10.1787/0bddfa8f-en.
There is room for greater integration of gender equality considerations in some ODA-funded programmes and projects. Despite the high level of support for women’s economic empowerment in Egypt, several ODA-funded activities in the economic and productive sectors offer room for greater integration of gender equality considerations, particularly in project design and implementation. This is despite the fact that several DAC members place a strong focus on women’s economic empowerment in their development co-operation strategies (Box 10.1) and have set quantitative targets for their ODA to include gender equality objectives (OECD, 2022[41]).
The analysis of development co-operation from DAC members in Egypt points to several opportunities for furthering women’s economic empowerment, particularly in infrastructure and energy programmes. One example is the Luxor-High Dam Railway Modernization Project funded by the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), a USD 251.6 million project to provide and modernise railway signalling systems on Luxor and High Dam (OECD, 2025[11]). A second example is the Development Policy Loan for Power Sector Reform, funded by JICA, which is a USD 227.8 million programme to strengthen the power sector’s financial sustainability and promote renewable energy and energy efficiency for green growth. While these projects are not explicitly gender-focused (they reported to the OECD that they did not include any gender equality objectives),7 they have the potential to support women’s economic empowerment through inclusive job creation and improved access to services. Ensuring that infrastructure is responsive to the needs of women and girls is crucial to enhance their access to essential services that are critical for security and self-sufficiency (UNOPS, 2020[42]).
Incorporating gender considerations during planning, decision making and implementation of infrastructure projects can help identify their potential impact on women and prevent negative consequences. It is often assumed that women and men will benefit equally from new infrastructure projects, yet this assumption does not acknowledge the distinct impacts on women and men according to their needs and social roles (OECD, 2021[43]). Thoroughly assessing gender-differentiated needs and impacts of large infrastructure and energy projects can ensure they benefit men and women equally and do not perpetuate pre-existing inequalities further (Box 10.2). Women are under-represented in infrastructure decision making and workforces; including gender considerations in project design can help facilitate equal access to jobs and to the opportunities created by the investment (OECD, 2021[43]). Furthermore, construction and extraction processes often bring an influx of temporary workers to an area, increasing the risk of gender-based violence and harassment (OECD, 2021[43]). By making projects gender responsive, or at least gender sensitive, the extent of the potential disruption can be mitigated. This can be done by involving women in the decision-making process through meaningful stakeholder engagement platforms where women’s infrastructure preferences, concerns and needs are heard (OECD, 2021[43]). Partners can also encourage their contractors to specifically target women in their outreach and job advertisements, and to offer training on the job (CDB, 2018[44]). Another example is ensuring fair remuneration and equal wages regardless of gender, as well as decent and regulated employment conditions (ILO, 2011[45]). Finally, engaging local women’s rights organisations can bring additional ideas for increasing women’s participation in the workforce or oversight committees (UN Women, 2022[46]).
Several ODA-funded projects in the banking and business sector also report not including any gender equality objectives (OECD, 2025[11]).8 Examples include loans from the European Investment Bank totalling USD 2.4 billion to the National Bank of Egypt to support SMEs and Midcaps affected by the COVID-19 crisis (EIB, 2020[47]) and to Banque Misr, also for SMEs and Midcaps (EIB, 2020[48]). Even if not explicitly gender-focused, these have the potential to support women’s economic empowerment through increased access to finance, as they can be large volume projects which often consist of concessional loans to support SMEs.9 Globally, women entrepreneurs face greater difficulties than men in accessing finance to start a business (OECD, 2023[49]) (Chapter 8). Applying a gender lens to the projects would give them the potential to reduce these inequalities and advance women’s economic empowerment. Concessional loans for banks to support SMEs can be made gender responsive by targeting banks that have a dedicated strategy for supporting women-owned SMEs. If these do not exist, development partners can encourage banks to move in this direction as a collective effort to tackle the obstacles women face in accessing finance. An example of good practice is the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development’s Women in Business programme, which consists of a EUR 4.3 million loan (USD 4.5 million) granted to the Egyptian microfinance institution Reefy, aimed at supporting women-owned MSMEs through the introduction of new financial products, lending practices and gender-responsive business models (EU MedBridge, 2021[50]). The regional EU-OECD programme on access to finance for women entrepreneurs (2024-2027) (see Section 10.2) aims to analyse the constraints that women entrepreneurs face in accessing finance and will offer capacity building, mentoring as well as policy dialogue support in Egypt and other countries of the region. The programme will work closely with financial institutions, women business support networks and policymakers.
The first step towards gender responsive or transformative interventions (Figure 10.2) is to conduct a gender equality analysis. This systematic and analytical process helps to understand the existing norms, practices, power relations and intersecting elements of gender inequality and reveal ways in which development co-operation activities may impact women and girls. The assessment can also help identify opportunities and risks of an intervention. A series of questions to ask during this assessment is provided in the OECD guidance for development partners on gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls (OECD, 2022[39]).
The analysis is typically carried out by the development partner(s) funding the intervention, but engagement by the partner country government can strengthen ownership and increase effectiveness. This process may involve teams from across the government, as well as other partners that may be part of the project, such as the private sector and CSOs. Local women’s rights organisations are often well placed to inform such assessments thanks to their understanding of the local context and specific needs, so meeting with them and organising community consultations can be highly informative.
Other development partners may have already done gender analyses that could be used to provide additional perspectives, so discussing plans for interventions within the Gender and Development Group (GAD), a subsidiary of the Development Partners Group, can enrich the process, avoid duplication, harmonise findings and potentially save time and resources.
The second step is to use the findings from the gender equality analysis to inform the design of programmes and projects. Risks and opportunities identified in the assessment should be taken into account, including their likelihood of happening and potential impact. Measures to address and mitigate the risks also have to be considered and included in the project plan.
The third step is the inclusion of data and indicators to monitor gender equality results based on the gender analysis. Indicators are developed at the design phase of a programme and monitored throughout it to determine the extent to which the policy intention is being realised during implementation. Annex 10.A1 at the end of the chapter provides more detail.
An example of the value of gender analysis comes from a project in Sierra Leone supported by the UK Department for International Development (DfID), Sierra Leone’s Ministry of Energy and the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) to improve energy access for rural communities and rural health centres, including maternal health clinics. Based on the findings from the gender analysis, a Gender Action Plan was developed. It included consultations with women at all stages of design and implementation, their inclusion in construction activities with provision of equal pay for equal work, as well the provision of stable lighting in the health clinics. This led to an increased number of women visiting antenatal and community health clinics, including to give birth in a safer environment (UNOPS, 2020[42]).
Source: OECD (2022[40]), Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women and Girls: Guidance for Development Partners, https://doi.org/10.1787/0bddfa8f-en.
The scale and ambition of the 2030 Agenda requires collective action by the whole of society to ensure achievement of the SDGs (UNDESA, 2015[51]). Including a broad range of stakeholders in designing plans, strategies and programmes ensures that priorities reflect their diverse needs, and strengthens ownership by all for implementation (OECD/UNDP, 2019[52]). This is relevant both for development partners when preparing country strategies and programmes, as well as for the government when preparing its national development strategy. Egypt Vision 2030, which sets the country’s long-term strategic plan to achieve the SDGs, was developed through a participatory approach that included civil society representatives, development partners and government agencies (Government of Egypt, 2023[1]). The 2023-2027 UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework for Egypt was also formulated in co-ordination with a wide array of stakeholders, including international financial institutions, civil society and the private sector (United Nations Egypt, 2023[6]). The co-operation programmes of several development partners in Egypt also highlight the importance of civil society and include efforts to promote an environment that enables civic engagement in policy dialogue (EU-EEAS, 2022[14]) (SDC, 2021[15]). Civil society organisations (CSOs) connect governments to people, but to do that effectively, they need an environment that is conducive to their operations and to their active engagement in development matters. As stated in Egypt’s latest Voluntary National Review, “It is not rhetoric to emphasize the importance of partnerships to achieve the SDGs” (MPED, 2021[53]).
While the private sector appears to be an important implementer of ODA-funded projects in Egypt, partnerships with civil society, especially local organisations, are less common. A mapping exercise found 277 projects involving private sector engagement in development co-operation in the country from 2000 to 2018 (GPEDC, 2018[54]). Yet, over 2022-23, only 1% of bilateral ODA from DAC members for women’s economic empowerment in Egypt was channelled through civil society organisations (CSOs), compared to 3% through private sector institutions, 4% through multilateral organisations and 92% through the public sector. Of this 1% to CSOs (USD 6.3 million), 99% went to CSOs based in the country of the development partner providing the funds, and only around USD 18 000 went to CSOs based in Egypt (OECD, 2025[11]). DAC members tend to work with CSOs they are most familiar with – because of their higher capacity to deal with the administrative burden and their role in public awareness raising in their own country (OECD, 2022[39]). However, the limited funding for Egyptian CSOs in international development co-operation may also be influenced by other factors.
Law 149 (on Regulating the Practice of Civil Work), enacted in August 2019, helped clarify many of the procedural requirements for CSOs: how to register, what reporting is needed, how foreign funding is handled (e.g. requiring notification or approval under defined timelines in some cases), etc. After the law was enacted, a significant number of associations and institutions applied to reconcile or regularise their status under the new law. Additionally, the law allows up to 25% of a CSO’s board of directors to be foreign residents (increased from 10% earlier), and foreign communities in Egypt are now allowed to establish their own associations. The government estimates that more than 35 000 CSOs and associations were registered in Egypt in 2025, with thousands actively engaged in sectors such as education, healthcare, economic empowerment and social protection.
However, international observers have raised concerns about the impact of this law on CSOs’ access to funding and autonomy (OHCHR, 2021[55]; ICNL, 2025[56]). For example, although the law aims to ensure that financial transactions are conducted transparently and in accordance with regulations designed to prevent fraud, terrorism financing, and money laundering, Article 23 of the law requires CSOs operating in Egypt to open a bank account subject to the oversight of the Central Bank, and Article 27 states that organisations can only spend funds received from national or foreign sources with the clearance by the authorities (ICNL, 2019[57]). While the receipt of funds by CSOs is regulated in many countries, only 10% of OECD members require a declaration of foreign funds (OECD, 2022[58]). An OECD toolkit on funding civil society in partner countries notes that rules requiring prior government approval of foreign funding pose a challenge for donors wanting to fund partner-country civil society actors (OECD, 2023[59]). The OECD advises that legal frameworks governing freedom of association allow associations to seek, receive and use resources for their activities and that any related restrictions are limited to those necessary to combatting fraud, terrorism or money laundering (OECD, 2022[58]). Regulations should not disrupt legitimate CSO activities or civil participation.
Another challenge faced by CSOs, and particularly by women’s rights organisations, is harassment – and the fear of it. In 2021, the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women raised concerns about women human rights defenders being subjected to restrictions, arbitrary detention and travel bans for their civic engagement in the country (CEDAW, 2021[60]). Protecting human rights defenders in Egypt is a matter of concern for a number of development partners and international organisations (FDFA, 2020[61]) (US Department of State, 2023[62]) (OHCHR, 2021[63]) (OHCHR, 2022[64]). Egypt’s 2014 Constitution includes commitments to human rights, and the government has undertaken various initiatives to advance these commitments, including legal reforms, dialogue with civil society, and the development of the National Human Rights Strategy for 2021-2026 (UNHRC, 2025[65]). Local women’s rights organisations and movements are key partners in advancing gender equality. Their contextual knowledge, engagement with communities and expertise in local languages make them essential partners in promoting inclusive social and economic participation. They are best positioned to deliver change that is transformative and lasting (OECD, 2022[40]). Continued efforts to strengthen and ensure their safety and feeling of safety, and to promote an enabling environment for civic engagement, can help ensure that all individuals are able to participate fully in public and economic life (OECD, 2022[58]).
Strengthening the conditions for CSOs to operate in Egypt, and partnering with local organisations in development co-operation, can have multiple benefits. These include accelerating progress towards gender equality and women’s economic empowerment, and more generally towards achieving Egypt Vision 2030 and the SDGs. In economic terms, civil society is also a source of additional financing for sustainable development. In 2023 alone, CSOs in DAC countries mobilised around USD 61 billion from private sources to support development co-operation (OECD, 2025[66]). Co-ordination within the Gender and Development Group (GAD), a subsidiary of the Development Partners Group (see Section 10.2), could also help partners based in Egypt identify opportunities for joint initiatives for women’s economic empowerment in partnership with CSOs, particularly women’s rights organisations.
The government has an indispensable role in creating an environment that is conducive for women’s rights organisations to operate and contribute to development. This includes protecting their right to freedom of association, assembly, expression and participation, both in-person and online, through laws and practices and by avoiding arbitrary or unlawful intrusion or interference in their activities (OECD, 2022[58]). Enabling CSOs to access funding resources is a key component of the right to freedom of association (United Nations, 2013[67]). While regulations are necessary to mitigate the risk of misuse of public funds, they should be risk-based and proportionate so as not to disrupt legitimate CSO activities or civil participation and advocacy (OECD, 2022[58]). Development partners working with these organisations also need to recognise that civil society actors are independent development and humanitarian actors, with their own priorities, plans and approaches, as well as implementing partners. In working with them, they also need to ensure specific measures are taken to avoid risks and to safeguard their security and dignity, especially of women’s rights defenders. The OECD/DAC Recommendation on Enabling Civil Society in Development Co-operation and Humanitarian Assistance sets the standard for development partners to work with CSOs and recommends ways to do that around three pillars: (i) respecting, protecting and promoting civic space; (ii) supporting and engaging with civil society; and iii) incentivising CSO effectiveness, transparency, and accountability (OECD, 2021[68]). An OECD toolkit offers practical guidance on funding partner-country civil society in Development Co-operation and Humanitarian Assistance (OECD, 2023[59]).
Development co-operation activities can unintentionally exacerbate inequalities, power imbalances, and gender stereotypes. Neglecting broader and contextual gender norms and power dynamics may limit the effectiveness of interventions and reduce opportunities to redress these issues (OECD, 2022[39]). Conversely, development projects and programmes can help strengthen positive norms and practices and contribute to achieving gender equality and the empowerment of women. This is relevant when attempting to prevent violence against women.
For development co-operation to achieve its full impact, continued progress in protecting Egyptian women from violence is essential, including addressing the root causes of inequality and the barriers that exist to women’s empowerment. Women face a range of challenges that can influence their decisions to enter or remain in the workforce, with violence being among the frequent factors that may affect their participation (Chapter 3 and Chapter 7 cover these issues in detail). These challenges are identified by many development partners working in Egypt (United Nations Egypt, 2023[6]; SDC, 2021[15]; USAID, 2020[69]; UN Women Egypt, n.d.[70]) and are equally recognised in Egypt’s National Strategy for the Empowerment of Women 2030 (National Council for Women, 2017[2]).
Gender-based violence may be largely invisible, taboo and under-reported, but can be maintained or even increased by development co-operation activities if not considered adequately in their design (OECD, 2022[40]). A comprehensive understanding of what drives this violence, and what structures and norms allow for the justification of this behaviour is necessary. The risk of sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment (SEAH) during the implementation of programmes also needs to be scrutinised and the relevant measures integrated in the programme’s design (OECD, 2019[71]). This is outlined in the OECD DAC Recommendation on Ending Sexual Exploitation, Abuse, and Harassment in Development Co-operation and Humanitarian Assistance (Box 10.3). An OECD toolkit to support implementation of the OECD DAC Recommendation synthesises learning and examples from DAC members and partners on ending SEAH, and can be useful to support technical and political efforts to work towards long-term, sustainable change (OECD, 2024[72]).
The OECD DAC Recommendation on Ending Sexual Exploitation, Abuse, and Harassment (SEAH) in Development Co-operation and Humanitarian Assistance was adopted in 2019 and sets out the first international standard of its kind (OECD, 2019[71]). It represents an important collective commitment to end existing SEAH in the international system. The recommendation is applicable to all government agencies (not only development and humanitarian), as well as other actors, including international organisations and civil society partners. It provides a framework for action across six pillars, whereby adherents commit to:
1. Develop policies and professional conduct standards and seek to foster organisational change and leadership on sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA) and sexual harassment (SH) in the provision of international aid.
2. Develop or support survivor- and victim-centred response and support mechanisms.
3. Establish organisational reporting and response systems and procedures for the prevention of SEA and SH.
4. Conduct training, raise awareness and communicate on SEA and SH prevention.
5. Ensure international co-ordination for SEA and SH prevention and response.
6. Develop mechanisms for monitoring, evaluation and reporting on SEA and SH prevention and response.
Since the adoption of the recommendation, OECD DAC members have increased efforts in SEAH prevention and response through the adoption of policy frameworks and systems, improvement of reporting procedures and increased investigation capacity, and increased co-ordination of systems to support victim/survivors. International co-ordination has also progressed in this area. A toolkit was designed to support further progress, and offers practices from DAC members and partners on ending SEAH (OECD, 2024[72]). However, tracking of official development assistance shows that finance to end violence against women and girls globally remains small. In 2022-23, OECD DAC members committed USD 572 million per year on average to support of ending violence against women and girls – less than 1% of their total ODA (OECD, 2025[73]).
Greater integration of gender equality considerations in development co-operation programmes, including those focused on infrastructure, energy and banking, is an opportunity to enhance their impact and to advance women’s economic empowerment. The Egyptian Government and development partners have a shared interest in dedicating some activities to gender equality specifically, while also mainstreaming it across all development co-operation policy, strategy and programming. This section presents possible policy solutions that can help address the issues described in the sections above. Drawing on good practices and OECD standards, it offers actionable recommendations for Egyptian authorities and their partners to advance women’s economic empowerment through development co-operation.
Recommendation 1. Systematically integrate gender equality considerations into development co-operation projects and programmes
Many development co-operation projects and programmes in Egypt already include a gender equality analysis. To ensure they are systematically designed and implemented in ways that help accelerate gender equality in the country, Egyptian authorities and development partners can:
Policy consideration 1. Work together to undertake a gender equality analysis as the first step of any development intervention, identifying opportunities and risks and use the findings to inform the design of programmes and projects.
Policy consideration 2. Involve women in programme decision-making processes through meaningful stakeholder engagement platforms where women’s preferences, concerns and needs are heard.
Policy consideration 3. Enable programmes or projects not dedicated to gender equality to become gender responsive, or at a minimum gender sensitive, by including at least one explicit gender equality objective backed by at least one gender-specific indicator.
Policy consideration 4. While some projects and programmes already undergo regular monitoring and evaluation, Egyptian authorities and development partners should ensure that all do, and that women are placed at the centre of evaluation processes.
Recommendation 2. Support the creation of an enabling environment for civil society to operate and engage in development
Strengthening the conditions for CSOs to operate in Egypt, and partnering with local organisations in development co-operation, can have multiple benefits, including accelerating progress towards gender equality and women’s economic empowerment, and towards achieving Egypt Vision 2030 and the SDGs. Egypt can:
Policy consideration 1. Continue efforts to strengthen and ensure the safety and feeling of safety of local women’s rights organisations and movements.
Policy consideration 2. Create an environment that is conducive for women’s rights organisations to operate and contribute to development. This includes protecting their right to freedom of association, assembly, expression and participation, both in-person and online, through laws and practices and by avoiding arbitrary or unlawful intrusion or interference in their activities.
Policy consideration 3. Enable CSOs to access funding resources, which is a key component of the right to freedom of association (United Nations, 2013[67]). While regulations are necessary to mitigate the risk of misuse of public funds, they should be risk-based and proportionate so as not to disrupt legitimate CSO activities or civil participation and advocacy (OECD, 2022[58]).
Policy consideration 4. Co-ordinate within the Gender and Development Group (GAD) to help partners based in Egypt identify opportunities for joint initiatives for women’s economic empowerment in partnership with CSOs, particularly women’s rights organisations
Recommendation 3. Include measures to prevent and respond to violence against women and girls in development co-operation programmes
For development co-operation to achieve its full impact on women’s economic empowerment, continued progress in protecting Egyptian women from violence is essential, including in development co-operation programmes. The Egyptian Government and development partners can:
Policy consideration 1. Continue to make progress in protecting Egyptian women from violence, including by following the recommendations made in Chapters 3 and 7.
Policy consideration 2. Scrutinise the risk of sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment (SEAH) during the implementation of development co-operation programmes and integrate the relevant preventive measures into programme design.
Policy consideration 3. Use the OECD Toolkit to Support Implementation of the OECD DAC Recommendation on Ending Sexual Exploitation, Abuse, and Harassment in Development Co-operation and Humanitarian Assistance to support technical and political efforts to work towards long-term, sustainable change (OECD, 2024[72]).
The availability of sex and age-disaggregated information and data is a core part of any development programme, as these are essential for understanding the different needs, priorities, opportunities and barriers that individuals face in the exercise of their rights (OECD, 2022[40]). When results frameworks explicitly include gender equality results, there tends to be greater attention, action and accountability for gender equality (OECD, 2022[40]). If a programme or project is not dedicated to gender equality but there is an opportunity to make it gender responsive, or at a minimum gender sensitive, it should include at least one explicit gender equality objective backed by at least one gender-specific indicator (or a firm commitment to do this) (OECD, 2025[74]). It is good practice to use both quantitative (numeric data: “how much”) and qualitative (“how well/effective”) indicators on gender equality, since they complement and cross-validate each other (OECD, 2022[40]).
SDG indicators are increasingly used to guide gender equality indicators in development projects and interventions (see illustrative indicators in Table 10.A1). Involving different stakeholders in the definition of gender indicators and disaggregation levels can help ensuring their availability and relevance. Egypt’s national statistical office can facilitate access to official data and increase the use of national systems. Women’s rights organisations in Egypt can also be powerful partners in this process, especially to identify intersecting factors that may help understand how these interact with gender and to offer complementary data.
Source: OECD (2022[40]), Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women and Girls: Guidance for Development Partners, https://doi.org/10.1787/0bddfa8f-en
Monitoring of ODA-funded activities can also be done in inclusive ways. Monitoring frameworks that are flexible and learning-oriented allow both positive and negative results to emerge and provide valuable insights for policy or programme improvement and future design (OECD, 2022[40]). If the project was delivered with small local organisations, it is important to keep in mind that these organisations typically find it difficult to handle the reporting burden that comes with bilateral and multilateral funding and may need simpler methods. Alternative methods used by smaller organisations are for example the provision of videos, music, case studies and vignettes as complementary reporting evidence (OECD, 2022[40]). The new AIMS launched by the Ministry of Planning and Economic Development can help with monitoring development projects, tracking progress, identifying successful practices and bottlenecks, and supporting evidence-based decision-making.
Evaluation of projects helps determine whether objectives have been achieved. To ensure evaluations adopt a gender equality approach, sufficient time and budget should be allocated for a thorough intersectional analysis that is sensitive to how rights-holders and duty-bearers themselves perceive and understand gender equality (OECD, 2023[75]). It is also important to consider ways to engage women in the analysis of data, as their participation may bring a unique perspective (OECD, 2022[40]). Evaluations that place importance on the evaluation process itself, not only the findings, can help advance gender transformative change (OECD, 2022[76]). Global Affairs Canada uses a feminist approach to its evaluation practices and they have designed a Gender Equality and Empowerment Measurement tool for evaluating outcomes for women and girls in the Middle East and Maghreb (OECD, 2022[76]; Government of Canada, 2022[77]). Feminist evaluations emphasise the voices of women and other marginalised groups by employing participatory processes, placing them at the centre of the evaluation process. The evaluation process, not just the findings, is considered important, and there is room to adapt to evolving needs and information.
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← 1. For ODA definition see https://www.oecd.org/en/topics/sub-issues/oda-eligibility-and-conditions/official-development-assistance--definition-and-coverage.html.
← 2. Saudi Arabia is a participant in the OECD/DAC, reporting to the OECD since 1966 and reporting activity-level data since 2018 (OECD, 2024[79]).
← 3. Bilateral allocable aid refers to aid where the intention of development partners can be identified. It excludes budget support, debt relief and administrative costs, for example.
← 4. This information is self-reported by donors. All members of the OECD Development Assistance Committee are required to report annually on the resources they provide to other countries, including official development assistance (ODA) as well as other official and private flows. When DAC members report their ODA to the OECD, they indicate for each activity if gender equality is a principal objective, a significant objective or not an objective. Reporting on this gender policy marker is not mandatory for DAC participants, such as Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, who currently do not report on the marker (OECD, 2024[78]). This chapter is based on the data collected through this reporting system.
← 5. The OECD has used aid for economic and productive sectors that integrate gender equality objectives as a proxy to monitor international finance for “women’s economic empowerment” since 2011 (OECD, 2022[41]).
← 6. This information is self-reported by donors. All members of the OECD Development Assistance Committee are required to report annually on the resources they provide to other countries, including ODA, as well as other official and private flows. When DAC members report their ODA to the OECD, they indicate for each activity if gender equality is a principal objective, a significant objective or not an objective. Reporting on this gender policy marker is not mandatory for DAC participants, such as Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, who currently do not report on the marker (OECD, 2024[78]). This chapter is based on the data collected through this reporting system.
← 7. Idem.
← 8. Idem.
← 9. Loans are considered concessional when they have a minimum grant element according to the ODA definition: Official development assistance – definition and coverage - OECD