Cairo, August 26, 2025
The Egyptian Center for Women’s Rights (ECWR) has released an analytical report titled “A Gender Perspective on the New Labor Law No. 14 of 2025.”
This report comes as part of the ECWR’s ongoing efforts to assess new legislation from a gender perspective, with the aim of ensuring equality in the Egyptian labor market.
The report notes that the new Labor Law No. 14 of 2025 represents a positive step toward protecting working women. The law includes progressive provisions such as definitions of harassment, bullying, and violence, and emphasizes the need to provide a safe working environment. It also enhances women’s rights by extending maternity leave, guaranteeing the right to return to work, and granting breastfeeding breaks. These amendments contribute to strengthening women’s participation and job stability, marking tangible progress compared to previous laws.
However, the report highlights several gaps and challenges that remain, most notably:
- Reinforcement of gender stereotypes: The report notes that the law emphasizes women’s responsibilities as mothers and caregivers, while giving limited consideration to the role of fathers in child-rearing. This approach may unintentionally place the primary burden of family care on women alone.
- Risk of indirect discrimination: The report cautions that certain protective provisions -such as requiring employers to cover nursery costs and maternity leave- may inadvertently create financial burdens that could discourage some employers from hiring women of childbearing age.
- Gap in protection: The report highlights that the law lacks clear mechanisms and penalties to address workplace harassment and violence. It also excludes important groups—such as domestic workers—from legal protection, which leaves them vulnerable to exploitation.
The report concluded with a set of recommendations to ensure that the Labor Law becomes an effective tool for advancing gender equality. ECWR called for guaranteeing fair representation of women, with no less than 30% participation in councils and committees, and for replacing the current condition of “100 female workers” for establishing nurseries with a more inclusive formula covering both male and female workers.
The report further recommended extending legal protection to domestic workers, establishing clear mechanisms to combat violence and harassment, and reconsidering restrictions on women’s employment, while providing government support to employers to help prevent discrimination against hiring women.
Finally, the report emphasized the importance of introducing safeguards to protect women engaged in flexible work arrangements, and of strengthening monitoring and accountability measures to ensure the law’s effective implementation.
The full Arabic version of the report is available here
