Policy Briefs
Information and Communication Technology in the Workplace in Egypt: An Opportunity for Strengthening the Labor Market
No.
PB140
Publisher
ERF
Date
December, 2024
In a nutshell:
- Around two-fifths of the workforce in Egypt used computers at work or the internet for work purposes via mobile and inter-connected devices in 2023.
- There has been a shift toward mobile and internet-reliant technologies across the workforce, reflecting broader changes in the digital landscape from 2012 to 2023.
- The use of computers and the internet is much more common in formal jobs, namely the public sector and formal private sector wage employment. However, it has also spread among own-account workers who experienced a marked increase in their computer and internet usage by 2023.
- Women’s use of computers at work and the internet for work purposes is more than men, primarily due to their higher representation in formal jobs. Additionally, within formal jobs, women used computers and the internet more than their male peers.
- Women in the labor force are more likely than men to have strong or very strong computer skills, with unemployed women leading in computer proficiency, reflecting that unemployment primarily affects the educated, especially educated women in Egypt.
- Promoting formal opportunities of employment hinges on untapping the potential of computer skills in the Egyptian labor force through investments in digital-intensive sectors and supporting digital entrepreneurship.
Research Fellows
Irène Selwaness
Associate Professor, Faculty of Economics and Political...
Authors
Rawane Yasser
Researcher, Agence Française de Développement (AFD)
Speakers
Cecilia Poggi
Labor Economist and Research Officer, Research Department,...