Launch of the Women’s Economic Empowerment Forum (WEEF)

7-8 October 2017 Cairo, Egypt

The MENA-OECD Competitiveness Programme launched a new regional Women’s Economic Empowerment Forum (WEEF) under the aegis of co-chairs H.E. Sahar Nasr, Minister of Investment and International Co-operation of Egypt and H.E. Marie-Claire Swärd Capra, Ambassador of Sweden to Algeria.

The Forum’s main objectives are to:

Provide a regional platform for government and non-government representatives from OECD and MENA economies to foster discussions, exchange experiences and good practices on methods and actions that enable women’s economic empowerment
Monitor countries’ policy actions and regulatory developments, to advance equality, non-discrimination and women’s economic and social inclusion.
Advance gender mainstreaming in critical policy areas such as investment, trade, employment, skills, entrepreneurship or support to conflict affected economies.
Identify strategic data collection needs to assess women's economic empowerment and provide support for strategic gender data development and collection.

»View the event photos

‌‌‌‌The Forum opened with the release of the new OECD publication Women’s Economic Empowerment in Selected MENA Countries: The Impact of Legal Frameworks in Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Libya, Morocco and Tunisia. This report examines how current legal provisions in Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Libya, Morocco and Tunisia are impacting women’s ability to fully participate in economic life, both as employees and entrepreneurs. It is based on a comparative analysis of the various rights set out in constitutions, personal status laws, labour laws, in addition to tax and business laws. The report recognises the considerable progress made with the adoption of constitutional and institutional reforms to strengthen women’s status, and provides key recommendations to further advance gender equality.

>> More information about the publication

>> Key Messages brochure

MEETING DOCUMENTS & FURTHER READING

Agenda: English | French | Arabic

Read the Summary: English | French

Press Release: Legal and social barriers holding back women’s empowerment in Middle East and North Africa

Read the MENA-OECD WEEF flyer: English | French | Arabic

Fostering Women's Economic Empowerment

The MENA-OECD Competitiveness Programme