Egyptian FRA Further Increases Women Representation on Boards
12 July 2021
The Board of Directors of the Egyptian Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA) issued new resolutions which include rules for listing securities by raising the percentage of female representation in the boards of directors of companies whose securities are listed on the Egyptian Stock Exchange.
The new decrees are an additional milestone taken to accelerate and cement the role of women as dynamic leaders and decision-makers in the Non-Banking Financial Sector (NBFS) in Egypt. The amendments impose that EGX-listed and regulated companies should raise the percentage of women representation on their boards to 25% or have at least two women as members of the board. More information here.
The FRA’s regulatory decrees are set to help in implementing the National Strategy for the Empowerment of Egyptian Women 2030, which targets a 30% share of senior management roles for women by 2030.
In September 2019, the FRA Board proposed amendments to the EGX Listing Rules to ensure women’s representation on the boards of the Non-Banking Financial Institutions (NBFls). Dr. Omran issued decrees (number 123 and 124) of 2019 that require both listed companies and non-bank financial institutions to have at least one woman on the board by the end of 2020. More details here.
SSE Gender Equality Advisory Group
The United Nations Sustainable Stock Exchanges (SSE) initiative is launching a new workstream to support exchanges in their efforts to foster gender equality. This project is born out of stakeholder demand for the SSE to update its 2017 guidance on How Stock Exchanges Can Advance Gender Equality. This new workstream builds on the research presented in the SSE’s analysis of the state of gender equality in G20 markets published earlier this year on International Women’s Day.About the SSE
The SSE initiative is a UN Partnership Programme organised by UNCTAD, the UN Global Compact, UNEP FI and the PRI. The SSE’s mission is to provide a global platform for exploring how exchanges, in collaboration with investors, companies (issuers), regulators, policymakers and relevant international organizations, can enhance performance on ESG (environmental, social and corporate governance) issues and encourage sustainable investment, including the financing of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The SSE seeks to achieve this mission through an integrated programme of conducting evidence-based policy analysis, facilitating a network and forum for multi-stakeholder consensus-building, and providing technical assistance and advisory services.
