Egypt’s Minister of Planning and Economic Development, Ahmed Rostom, has taken part in a high-level panel discussion themed “The economic return of women’s empowerment”, held on the sidelines of the 2026 Spring Meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank Group (WBG) will take place from April 13 to 18, in Washington, DC.
The session brought together prominent global figures, including senior officials from the WBG, the European Central Bank, the World Economic Forum, and leading international institutions.
In remarks during the discussions, Rostom outlined Egypt’s ongoing reforms under Egypt’s Vision 2030 aimed at empowering women as key contributors to productivity and sustainable development.
He also stressed that a solid political will, backed by President Abdel Fattah El Sisi, has driven progress in boosting women’s participation in the labor market and expanding their representation in parliament.
Rostom underscored that closing gender gaps is central to economic growth, noting that the government is translating women’s empowerment goals into concrete legislation and policies.
These include labour law reforms, enhanced workplace protections, and improved access to finance.
He also highlighted Egypt’s adoption of data-driven governance, including, for the first time, measuring public spending targeting gender-responsive initiatives in the 2024/2025 fiscal year to ensure tangible impact.
The minister noted that these efforts have contributed to Egypt’s improved ranking in the World Bank’s 2026 “Women, Business and the Law” report, reflecting progress toward inclusive and sustainable development.
Concluding his remarks, Minister Rostom stressed that the gender gap represents a loss of workforce potential.
The Egyptian government will carry on with enacting legislation to support women’s economic empowerment, expand their employment opportunities in promising and fast-growing sectors-particularly digital transformation and the green economy – and ensure effective integration between social protection programs and economic empowerment initiatives, Rostom said.
