It dealt with the conditions of women between legislation and social reality and the extent to which legal protection is provided for their role in society.

It was held on Wednesday April 20^th 2016 in Alexandria and was attended by 17 female workers and labor leaders (education/nursing/Alexandria Women’s coalition/journalists/Trading/ Al Wodoh Association). The workshop dealth with the rights of workers in the constitution and in international conventions and local laws and the extent that workers receive legal protection through them. On the other side it dealt with the extent to which these laws are put into effect. All participants asserted that the real problem does not lie in the lack of laws that protect them bu tin the putting of these laws into effect and the mechanisms of implementing them. The participants explained that the reason laws are not put into effect and not implemented is:

Lack of awareness of the women about their rights and how to reach them

Traditions that place women at  lower level

Lack of seriousness on the side of the government in setting up implementation policies for these laws

Women’s lack of awareness of the mechanisms and methods necessary to put laws into effect

Fear of workers from punishment for demanding their rights

There is a side-lining of women from decision making positions inside their establishments

The absence of the role of women in union work to a large extent which led to women’s issues and demands being absent from union programs

Women’s interests have been affected by this absence and working women have become more prone to exploitation in the different work sectors whether private or public in terms of discrimination in employment, wages, promotions of even on the level of laws.

Society’s negative culture has reflected on the conditions of working women depriving her from employment opportunities and violations of her rights and intentional ousting from all decision making positions

It is worth mentioning that the workshop took place in Alexandria because of the number of female workers and union workers in factories and companies and the presence of many issues and legal and union violations and their need to gain knowledge about their legal situation and how to handle it