I received it Dr. Maya Morsi She assumed her duties as head of the National Council for Women on February 1, 2016. She is the third head of the council since its establishment in 2000, and the youngest woman in terms of age to hold this position. She is one of the most prominent candidates to assume the Ministry of Social Solidarity portfolio in the new government.
previous jobs
She served as the Head of the Regional Task Force for Women’s Empowerment Programs and Policies at the UNDP Regional Center for Arab States from 2013-2016, and as Head of the Office United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women In Egypt from 2010 to 2013.
National Coordinator for UN Women Projects and Liaison with the League of Arab States during the period 1999-2010.
She began her career in international organizations including USAID and UNDP.
Dr. Maya Morsy is a public policy expert and women’s rights and human rights advocate.
As President National Council for Women Dr. Maya Morsi chairs: the Ministerial Council of the Women Development Organization of the Member States of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, the Executive Office of the Council of the Women Development Organization of the Member States of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and the Executive Council of the Arab Women Organization.
She has a distinguished balance of experience, gained through her work for more than 26 years in many national, regional and international organizations, including the National Council for Women, the United Nations, and the United States Agency for International Development, in addition to academic institutions and the private sector.
Through this experience, she was able to strengthen the strategic partnership with the League of Arab States, the European Union, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, the African Union, the Union for the Mediterranean, governmental institutions, civil society, academic institutions and the private sector.
She has successfully managed and led more than 50 programmes, and prepared more than 45 training manuals, books, articles, research papers and policy papers in the fields of: public policy, development, gender equality, women’s empowerment, peace and security, human security, and financing for development.
Local, regional and international areas of expertise and competence
Public policy, public administration, business administration, human resources management, social and economic policies (welfare systems, financial incentive programs, conditional cash transfers), human security, human rights, international treaties, strategic planning, political and democratic transition, electoral assistance, gender and transitional justice, rights-based approach, gender equality and women’s empowerment, gender statistics and promotion of gender mainstreaming in public policy, gender-responsive planning and budgeting, performance-based budgeting, financial inclusion, impact monitoring and evaluation, fair trade, entrepreneurship and social innovation, academic/action-oriented research (or action research), and behavior modification concepts (theories).
Most important awards
The first Egyptian woman to receive the “Woman of the Decade in Empowerment and Public Life” award during her participation in the “Women’s Economic Forum” in India in April 2018.
One of the 50 most influential women in Egypt in 2016, organized by Tomorrow’s Money for the Better Summit.
UAE Women Entrepreneurship Award 2019.
Honored by the First Lady of Egypt in 2020.
Her career before joining the council
Prior to joining the Council, Dr. Maya Morsy served since 2013 as the Head of the Regional Task Force for Women’s Empowerment Programs and Policies at the UNDP Regional Hub for Arab States. Her responsibilities included providing policy advice and technical support for women’s empowerment, mainstreaming gender in planning and public budgets, and monitoring, evaluating and following up on national plans and regional strategies for the advancement of women in the Arab region. Her work included a wide range of regional partners, including the League of Arab States and the Arab Women Organization, as well as many partners at the national level, including governmental and civil society bodies and institutions, national women’s councils and national mechanisms for the advancement of women’s affairs in all Arab countries.
Dr. Maya Morsy’s career spanning over twenty years in the field of women’s advancement and advocacy for their basic rights also included working as the Director of the UN Women National Office in Egypt (2000-2013), Coordinator of UN Women Projects in Egypt (1999-2000), Project Officer for Girls’ Education and Empowerment at the Ministry of Education in Egypt (1998-1999), and Project Officer for Sustainable Human Development Project implemented by the United Nations Development Program in cooperation with the Ministry of Local Administration in Egypt (1995-1998). She also taught in the Department of Public Administration and Communication in the joint undergraduate program between Seattle University and the Arab Academy for Science and Technology of the League of Arab States (1997-1998).
During this journey, Dr. Maya Morsi contributed to many pioneering initiatives such as developing the Arab Strategy for Women, Security and Peace, the Strategy for Combating Violence against Arab Women, and the Arab Action Plan for Implementing the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, including the development of Arab indicators to monitor the implementation of the Convention. She also assisted relevant authorities in a number of Arab countries, most notably Egypt, in developing general budgets and national plans to take into account gender considerations and gender equality. She also participated in designing and implementing many national initiatives and projects aimed at advancing women in Egypt, including projects to support women’s security and economic empowerment, provide them with small loans and training to increase their productive capacities, women’s literacy initiatives in the poorest governorates, girls’ education initiatives (one-classroom and community schools), women’s political empowerment programs, training female parliamentarians and providing them with technical support, establishing the Women’s Media Observatory, the Safe Cities Project free of Violence against Women and Girls, the National Project to Combat Female Genital Mutilation, establishing and training equal opportunity units in ministries, and equal opportunity initiatives within private sector companies.