This third edition of the SIGI captures and measures gender-based discrimination in social institutions − social norms, practices and laws − across 160 countries. It exposes the ongoing prevalence of discrimination in all regions of the world and across all cultures irrespective of their levels of income or development. The 2014 edition of the SIGI testifies to the global nature of gender inequality but provides evidence that national and local solutions can catalyse more equitable social transformation and improve the development potential of countries. Moreover, the SIGI offers a it takes stock of the underlying structural barriers that deny women’s rights and their access to justice, resources and empowerment opportunities.

This document seeks to capture the key conclusions of the conference and bring forward some of the main findings of the 2017 report. The first section provides a statistical overview of women’s current position in education and the labour market in different regions. The second section aims to put progress in gender equality and legal reform in a regional context. The third section identifies the main legal barriers and implementation gaps. The final sections recap key cross-cutting findings and conclusions.

The study is based on a detailed analysis of women’s legal rights and on discussions with experts and focus groups in the six countries. This methodology has allowed the collection of rich and unique input following extensive research. As we aim to build better policies for a better world, promoting approaches that unleash the talent and dynamism of women in the Middle East-North Africa region and beyond will mean better lives for us all.

Women in Business 2014 summarises the progress made by the OECD-MENA Women Business Forum (WBF) since the publication of its first Women in Business report in 2012. In 2012, five groups of actions had been identified as priorities to be carried out by governments, international stakeholders, financial and business support organisations, as well as statistical agencies. In two years, the WBF has developed inputs for three of these areas of priority actions. The WBF’s contributions are growing along with its increased recognition as a hub which spurs concrete improvements in the business climate for women entrepreneurs in the MENA region.

This report was prepared under the framework of the G7 Deauville Partnership MENA Transition Fund project on “Promoting women’s participation in parliaments and policy making” (“Project” thereafter), with a view to identifying targeted policy recommendations that can be implemented to accelerate progress towards gender equality and women’s political empowerment in Egypt