AUC EGYPT WOMEN ON BOARDS OBSERVATORYRELEASES 2025 MONITORING REPORT
The Women on Boards Observatory (WoB), managed by the Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation (CEI) at the Onsi Sawiris School of Business at The American University in Cairo (AUC), released the eighth edition of its Annual Monitoring Report 2025 during an event held at AUC’s New Cairo campus on May 19. The event brought together representatives from partner organizations, policymakers, academics and business leaders to assess the progress achieved in the representation of Egyptian women on corporate boards.
The report revealed continued progress in women’s representation on corporate boards in Egypt, while warning of a noticeable slowdown in growth over the past two years. The report describes 2025 as a “turning point” in the eight-year journey toward achieving the national target of 30% women representation on boards by 2030.
In his welcome note Sherif Kamel, dean of the Onsi Sawiris School of Business, emphasized that achieving 30% women on boards by 2030 is not only a national pledge but also a strategic necessity. “Diverse boards drive stronger governance, innovation, and competitiveness. With more than 1,160 board-ready women identified by the AUC Egypt Women on Boards Observatory, the talent pipeline is clear — what remains is bold, decisive action to turn commitment into measurable and accelerated progress.”
According to the report, women’s representation across listed companies, banks, non-banking financial services (NBFS), and public enterprises reached 24.8% in 2025, up from 24.3% in 2024, reflecting a 148% increase since the indicator’s launch despite a modest annual growth rate of 2.1%. The NBFS sector continued to lead progress, recording 26.9% women’s representation on boards, followed by EGX-listed companies at 22.3% and banks at 22.1%, while the public enterprise sector remained the lowest at 11.8%.
In his remarks, Omar Radwan, chairman of the Egyptian Exchange (EGX), noted that the number of women serving on the boards of EGX-listed companies reached 451 in 2025, highlighting continued progress in strengthening female representation within the sector. “More than 60% of companies now have at least two women directors, and deeper representation is also increasing. While gaps remain, the direction is clear: diversity is becoming embedded in governance culture and is key to building stronger capital markets,” he said.
The report highlighted several key milestones, including the presence of at least one woman on the board of every bank operating in Egypt. It also found that, across most sectors, the majority of companies and banks now have at least two women serving on their boards.
Despite this progress, the report warned that Egypt remains nearly 6% short of its 2030 national target of 30% women representation on boards. To bridge this gap, around 77 additional women need to be appointed annually across listed companies, banks, non-banking financial institutions and public enterprise companies, amounting to a cumulative need of 383 women over the next five years.
The report called for revisiting existing quotas and governance frameworks issued by the Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA), the Egyptian Exchange (EGX) and the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE), stressing that current requirements of either 25% representation or at least two women on boards are no longer sufficient to meet Egypt Vision 2030 goals. It also emphasized the need for stronger enforcement mechanisms, institutional commitment and incentive-based measures to accelerate progress.
The report noted that the abolition of the Ministry of Public Business Sector in February 2025, alongside the listing of several state-owned companies on the EGX in April 2026, could pave the way for stronger governance reforms and higher compliance with board diversity requirements. According to the Observatory, the challenge is no longer the availability of qualified women leaders, but rather accelerating appointments and strengthening demand for inclusive leadership.
Commenting on the report, Hala Barakat, director of AUC’s CEI, highlighted the Observatory’s collaboration with regulators and national partners over the past eight years to advance women’s leadership in corporate governance and support the preparation of qualified women for board positions. “However, the slowdown in growth over the past two years signals the need for renewed momentum to advance toward Egypt’s national target of 30% women representation on boards by 2030. Egypt today has both the talent pipeline and institutional foundations needed. The priority now is accelerating appointments and aligning governance frameworks withnational ambitions for inclusive .econome
