Monitoring Reports

Egypt Women on Boards annual monitoring report 2022 results marked another milestone in achieving the 30% women on boards goal. The 2022 women on boards indicator reached 19.7%, witnessing an increase of 3% compared to 16.7% in 2021. Sustaining the 3% annual increase pattern achieved in the past three years will enable the analyzed categories to reach the 2030 strategy goal of 30% women on boards by 2026.

Progress in women on board representation has been achieved across the four categories included in the 2022 report. The non-banking financial sector (NBFS) companies led with 22% female representation in 2022 compared to 18.6% in 2021, achieving a positive growth rate of 18.2%. Followed by the Egyptian Exchange listed companies that witnessed improvement, reaching 17.3% in 2022 compared to 15.2% in 2021, marking a growth of 13.8%. Then came the banking sector with 16.5% in 2022 compared to 14.2% in 2021, marking a growth rate of 16.2%. Finally, the public enterprise sector realized an improvement achieving 9.3% in 2022 compared to 8.1% in 2021, marking a growth rate of 14.8%.

The 2022 annual monitoring report covers the gender data and information of almost 1000 companies and banks, with 236 EGX listed companies, 34 banks, 676 NBFS companies, and 82 public sector enterprise companies (holding and affiliate companies). The number of companies and banks witnessed minor changes between 2021 and 2022, except for the number of holding and affiliated companies in the public enterprise sector. This sector witnessed significant changes in recent years due to the implementation of reform and merger measures which contributed to the decrease in the number of holding and affiliate companies. In 2022, the maritime and land
transport holding and affiliate companies were transferred to the Ministry of Transport, resulting in a significant decline in the total number of companies.

The total number of women on boards across the four categories has witnessed positive progression. The number of women on boards of EGX-listed companies increased from 289 to 324 between 2021 and 2022, with a positive growth rate of 12.1%. The banking sector witnessed an increase in the number of women on boards from 41 in 2021 to 54 in 2022, with a 31.7% growth rate. The number of women on boards of public enterprise sector companies increased by a growth rate of 22.2% and from 35 women in 2021 to 44 in 2022. The number of women on boards of the non-banking financial sector has also realized positive growth, increasing from 712 in 2021 to 924 in 2022.

The representation of women on boards varied across the categories included in the report. Non-banking financial sector (NBFS) companies achieved an 18.6% representation of women on boards in 2021 compared to 14.7% in 2020, achieving a growth rate of 26.5%. EGX listed companies’ indicators increased from 11.6% in 2020 to 15.2% in 2021, marking a growth rate of 31%. The banking sector has also realized a slight improvement, increasing from 13.7% in 2020 to 14.2% in 2021, witnessing a growth rate of 3.6%. On the contrary, public enterprise companies, currently undergoing structural reforms, witnessed a slight decline in the representation of women on boards from 8.7% in 2020 to 8.1% in 2021, realizing a negative growth rate of -6.9%.

On the other hand, companies with zero women on board decreased dramatically across all categories except for the banking sector. The percentage of EGX listed companies decreased from 42.7% in 2020 to 14.9% in 2021, NBFS companies’ percentage decreased from 47.5% in 2020 to 19.7% in 2021, and public enterprise decreased from 71.9% in 2020 to 62.8% in 2021. However, banks with zero women on board slightly increased from 20.6% to 23.5% between 2020 and 2021, an increase of only one bank.

The overall performance of female representation on boards indicated a positive and progressive trend. EGX listed companies marked a positive increase in female representation from 10.1 percent to 11.2 percent between 2019 and 2020. The public enterprise sector has also encountered an improvement reaching 8.7 percent in 2020 compared to 6.1 percent in 2019. The Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA) companies have also significantly improved female representation on boards, reaching 14.7 percent in 2020 compared to 11.2 percent in 2019. The banking sector has faced a slight decline in female representation on boards indicators, dropping from 14.7 percent in 2019 to 13.7 percent in 2020.

The Women on Boards Observatory is recognized as a specialized observatory within the framework of the National Council for Women, advocating for 30% women on boards in Egypt by 2030. The flagship activities of the observatory include the annual Egyptian Women on Boards monitoring report and the Egyptian Board Ready Women database.

The Women on Boards Observatory is recognized as a specialized observatory within the framework of the National Council for Women, advocating for 30% women on boards in Egypt by 2030. The flagship activities of the observatory include the annual Egyptian Women on Boards monitoring report and the Egyptian Board Ready Women database.