Among the 242 companies listed on the Egyptian Exchange, women hold only 10.8% of board seats as of July 2020.
Although this figure represents a 0.7% increase in board seats held by women from 2019, the Board Diversity Index shows that women are rarely included in the governance and management of some of Egypt’s most notable companies.
Key sectors assessed in the 2020 Board Diversity Index include, but are not limited to, banks, energy, industrial goods, shipping, textiles, travel and leisure, and utilities. Amongst these sectors, the textile and durables sectors have the highest percentage of women board directors, with 2 out of 8 companies having more than 30% female directors. However, in terms of the aggregate number of women, the energy and support services sector outperforms all sectors: 23% of all directors in the energy sector are female.
