On Wednesday, Minister of International Cooperation Rania Al-Mashat indicated that women are agents to change in driving the climate agenda forward.
Al-Mashat made this statement during a fireside chat with EBRD’s President Odile Renaud Basso in a hybrid event held at EBRD’ auditorium in London on the occasion of this year’s International Women’s Day.
Their meeting shed light on the role the public and private sector play in advancing the gender equality agenda, and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, fragility and conflict, and the impact of these shocks on women and gender equality.
They discussed gender equality and the women empowerment approaches in the connection of the climate crisis is one of the greatest global challenges of the 21st century, as women are more disproportionately affected and more vulnerable to the effects of climate change.
They also noted that in the agriculture sector where women are regarded as the backbone of the sector, representing 45 percent of women in the workforce.
However, the minister pointed out that women and girls are recognized as effective change-makers for climate adaptation and mitigation, as women are at the forefront of climate change decision-making in their homes through either recycling used cooking oil, crop production and reducing food waste.
The minister added that improving gender equality contributes to policy choices that lead to better environmental governance, as there are opportunities for the private sector to be enhanced through bridging technological gaps for rural women so that more women can be engaged in the green transition and promote inclusive climate action.
Al- Mashat affirmed that the issue of gender has been at the forefront of every discussion with other stakeholders.
The minister added, “In the age we live in today, we are always prone to crises, whether it's a conflict or a pandemic, and for that reason, the international community and the private sector must come forward in realizing the importance of gender component to design comprehensive strategies, as women’s participation is macro-critical.”
At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Egypt was the first country to issue a policy paper titled “Egypt’s rapid response to women’s situation during the outbreak” and a Women Policy Tracker on responsive policies, which has been highlighted by UN Women, the minister noted.
Localizing the SDGs, as part of the call for “glocal” (global/local) action to prepare for the Decade of Action, necessitates the need for effective monitoring and implementation.
She explained that her Ministry’s model of ODA-SDG mapping ensures that adequate gender financing from a variety of development partners is directly channeled to achieve the objectives of gender equality, which strengthens the collection of gender disaggregated data and improves accountability.
The minister added that COP27, which will be held in Egypt’s Sharm El-Sheikh, can become a key moment for gender-responsive climate action.
Egypt’s local startup ‘Tagaddod’ is an example of inclusive climate action through the participation of Egypt’s private entrepreneurs, which is a pioneering renewable energy and waste management startup that enables waste collection through tech-based solutions.
Odile Renaud-Basso, EBRD’s President, commended the Ministry of International Cooperation’s role in fostering effective cooperation that helps define the role of each development partner to deliver its gender objectives.
She added that the EBRD is focused on linking climate change and gender equality as key priorities, as she stated, “It is not just for the sake of gender equality, but it is fundamental for the success of the green transition, having women fully on board is absolutely needed if we need to succeed in that.”
The event coincides with the launch of the new country strategy between Egypt and the EBRD, that sets out a comprehensive framework of development cooperation that is based on a holistic scheme of inclusive-green-growth nexus and promoting equal opportunities for women and girls.
Promoting gender mainstreaming in all aspects of development, the strategy is a combination of green growth and inclusive growth objectives, which is a novel development model that enables Egypt to start out on the path towards more comprehensive sustainable development.
EBRD signed 52 inclusive or gender additional investments in Egypt for 9 years, totalling to over €2.62 billion in investment amount, which include promoting green jobs for women, increasing women’s employment and participation in decision making roles, as well as in governance.
Examples of EBRD’s projects include the Women in Business programme in Egypt, which has provided opportunities for many women, 34% of small Egyptian businesses accessing their advisory projects were led by women.
Contributed by: Israa Farhan
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