This image shows a sewing workshop likely located in Egypt, demonstrating a training program designed to empower local women through vocational skill acquisition.
BasharSoft is an Egyptian HR technology (HRTech) company that develops digital recruitment and employment platforms connecting job seekers with employers. It is best known as the operator of WUZZUF, Egypt's largest online job portal for white-collar professionals, and Forasna, a recruitment platform focused on blue-collar and skilled labour jobs.
The report, which analyzed applications submitted by more than 400,000 job seekers through WUZZUF in 2025, found that female candidates receive 6.2 percent more employer views and 1.4 percent more interview invitations per application than their male counterparts, suggesting that structural barriers, not hiring interest, remain the main obstacle to increasing women's participation in Egypt's labour market.
The report found that women comprise 53 percent of university graduates but only 33 percent of university-educated workers and 29 percent of Egypt's total workforce. The findings highlight the untapped economic potential of female employment at a time when Egypt is seeking to boost labour productivity and private-sector-led growth.
Despite their relatively low participation, women appear to perform better than men during the early stages of recruitment. According to the report, applications submitted by women receive 6.2 percent more employer views and generate 1.4 percent more interview invitations per application than those submitted by men.
However, women remain less active in the job market overall. They represented 41 percent of job seekers on WUZZUF in 2025 but accounted for only 29 percent of total job applications, applying for an average of 10.6 vacancies compared with 14 applications submitted by male job seekers.
The report identified limited access to flexible work arrangements as one of the main barriers to greater female participation. While 18 percent of women prefer fully remote jobs, only seven percent of vacancies advertised on the platform offered remote working options.
It also pointed to a concentration of women in the early stages of their careers. Students and fresh graduates account for 51 percent of female users on WUZZUF, compared with 37 percent of men, while professionals with managerial or extensive work experience represent 45 percent of women, versus 57 percent of men.
On salaries, the report found that women's pay expectations generally align with prevailing market ranges, whereas men's expectations exceed advertised salary ceilings by as much as 12 percent.
The analysis also revealed significant differences in advertised wages depending on how vacancies are positioned. Gender-neutral job postings offered the highest average salaries at EGP 19,000 per month, compared with EGP 18,000 for male-targeted roles and EGP 13,000 for female-targeted positions.
The report marks the first in a planned series of labour market studies by BasharSoft, aimed at providing employers, policymakers, and job seekers with data-driven insights into employment trends in Egypt.
"This report represents an important step toward understanding women's participation in Egypt's labour market through real data rather than assumptions," said BasharSoft Founder and CEO Ameer Sherif, adding that the findings are intended to support more informed policymaking and business decisions while promoting greater economic inclusion.
Egypt’s workforce is large and expanding, reflecting the country’s status as a populous North-African nation with a significant youth demographic. The total labor force rose to 34.154 million individuals in 2025, marking a 6.6 percent increase from 32.041 million in 2024, according to data from the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS).
The workforce included 26.683 million men and 7.471 million women, reflecting a persistent and pronounced gender imbalance. The labor force participation rate increased to 46.2 percent of the working-age population aged 15 years and above, compared to 44.2 percent in 2024, with male participation remaining significantly higher at 70.6 percent, while female participation stood at just 20.7 percent.
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