1 00:00:12,379 --> 00:00:18,419 Throughout history, Egyptian women have proved themselves true partners to men in many things. 2 00:00:18,419 --> 00:00:23,991 In spite of this, and today in 2011, we still find people in Egypt who look at women 3 00:00:23,991 --> 00:00:27,495 with a conflicted and unjust viewpoint. 4 00:00:27,495 --> 00:00:30,531 I have 3 different work experiences: 5 00:00:30,531 --> 00:00:36,570 Regarding the first experience - from my point of view as a woman - 6 00:00:36,570 --> 00:00:39,938 I'll be talking about the difference between my work and that of men. 7 00:00:39,938 --> 00:00:44,912 Okay, so I was already lucky that I received my first job offer right after graduation. 8 00:00:44,912 --> 00:00:48,027 The head of the department where I worked was a woman 9 00:00:48,027 --> 00:00:50,693 so, maybe she didn't really have a problem with whether I was a woman or a man. 10 00:00:50,693 --> 00:00:52,700 They preferred to have a man for the job, 11 00:00:52,700 --> 00:00:56,190 but they noticed that all the men who applied for jobs 12 00:00:56,190 --> 00:00:59,560 were less competent and active than the women. 13 00:00:59,560 --> 00:01:00,787 I got the job. 14 00:01:00,787 --> 00:01:06,466 But what was notable throughout the six years that I spent in my first job 15 00:01:06,466 --> 00:01:09,745 - which was in a journalism institution that has a website - 16 00:01:09,745 --> 00:01:13,443 was that there was a gap in salaries between men and women. 17 00:01:13,443 --> 00:01:19,005 Men always received higher salaries, even if they worked less. 18 00:01:19,005 --> 00:01:23,184 Even if they had a lesser position. 19 00:01:23,184 --> 00:01:29,423 The logic we were told stood behind it was that they were responsible for their families and homes 20 00:01:29,423 --> 00:01:34,035 and consequently they are more deserving of a higher salary. 21 00:01:36,820 --> 00:01:40,734 I don't think that the Egyptian society does not accept women's work 22 00:01:40,734 --> 00:01:43,096 but I believe that the problems facing women regarding work 23 00:01:43,096 --> 00:01:45,772 do not pertain to the society not accepting their work. 24 00:01:45,772 --> 00:01:49,643 They rather have to do with women having to deal with specific cases preventing them from doing so. 25 00:01:49,643 --> 00:01:56,382 For example, I have many friends, who willingly chose to stay at home for over a year - at first - 26 00:01:56,382 --> 00:01:58,586 with their young children. 27 00:01:58,586 --> 00:02:02,281 And when they tried after to get back into the job market, they faced problems, 28 00:02:02,290 --> 00:02:06,226 like wanting to find training or guidance, 29 00:02:06,226 --> 00:02:08,962 and they have no idea who can help them find these things. 30 00:02:08,962 --> 00:02:13,500 Some of them try to find opportunities of free grants, for example, 31 00:02:13,500 --> 00:02:16,637 that will help them get back to the job market, 32 00:02:16,637 --> 00:02:19,807 but they don't have anyone to provide good guidance in how to obtain these grants. 33 00:02:21,004 --> 00:02:28,275 In lots of other cases, there are ladies who think of having their own projects at home 34 00:02:28,275 --> 00:02:31,252 and they, too, need some form of help, 35 00:02:31,252 --> 00:02:35,464 someone to tell them what the steps to achieving their goals are. 36 00:02:39,526 --> 00:02:45,832 We need a stronger role for women in Egypt in the upcoming period. 37 00:02:45,832 --> 00:02:48,669 Since we are about to go into elections, 38 00:02:48,669 --> 00:02:52,206 which could be the first REAL elections to be held in Egypt, 39 00:02:52,206 --> 00:02:56,710 we need to have more political awareness for women. 40 00:02:56,710 --> 00:03:02,580 There should be easy tips on women's websites, 41 00:03:02,850 --> 00:03:07,154 so that women, since they will login to the website anyways, 42 00:03:07,154 --> 00:03:12,959 could do something useful, like read something that would tell them how to vote 43 00:03:12,959 --> 00:03:15,835 or what the PR list system is like, how the individual list system works, 44 00:03:15,835 --> 00:03:19,299 how the elections will proceed. 45 00:03:19,299 --> 00:03:23,604 Women need to know all of this quickly before the elections 46 00:03:23,604 --> 00:03:29,210 so, this might be a good idea: that we put such information on websites for women. 47 00:03:29,210 --> 00:03:30,811 We're now entering a new era, 48 00:03:30,811 --> 00:03:33,347 Where we can see a new Egypt that has no corruption or despotism. 49 00:03:33,347 --> 00:03:36,183 We also want to see a new way of perceiving women in Egypt. 50 00:03:36,183 --> 00:03:42,114 "Egyptian Women Voice" is a new website that raises awareness, and helps women solve their problems. 51 00:03:42,114 --> 00:03:44,079 Follow us!