Investing in Women is more than CSR

For promoting gender diversity in Egypt, SEKEM engaged in the event “Investing in Women – Private Sector Solutions”. The event was recently hosted in Cairo by the International Finance Cooperation in the Middle East (IFC MENA), a member of the World Bank Group. Basmah Metwally, SEKEMs Gender Diversity Officer represented SEKEM, next to representatives of several international companies operating in Egypt.

“We are doing much more than just CSR activities”, replied Basmah to the question why SEKEM doesn’t have a corporate social responsibility (CSR) department. The Gender Diversity Officer asserted that SEKEM is based on the idea of sustainable development and giving back to the community. For 40 years, SEKEM has been promoting gender diversity for realizing human development and hence building a sustainable and resilient community.

We invest in companies that are committed to creating quality employment, including for women,” said Nada Shousha, the IFC’s Country Manager. The discussion-based event focused on the importance of investing in women as a solution for the wide gender gap occurring in the Egyptian labor market. Basmah Metwally introduced SEKEMs Gender Strategy for a Balanced Society to the attendees as well as highlighted the activities, which SEKEM conducts for engendering equality among its members.

Noha Hussein

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