Social Research Center

The overall purpose of this research is to support effective policies in Arab countries to realize gender equity and to extend social citizenship, voice, rights and opportunities to women with a particular emphasis on the synergistic relation between gender inequities and poverty. The gender gap persists in most Arab countries and is a major factor in their low human development indices. SRC has made operational its significant experience and extensive regional network of scholars, activists and gender specialists.

For almost two decades, this area has had a strong and continuous record of work. This theme has attracted funding and SRC has been carrying out projects, even at times when this issue receded as a research and policy priority. SRC’s sustained contributions in this area are being particularly appreciated now with the renewed interest in agriculture in Egypt, the region and worldwide as a result of the food crisis.

The ICA studies are a component of SRC work in the area of contribution to economic development. The objective is to support the Ministry of Investment in designing its priority reforms and to provide quantitative measurements of the nature of challenges and hence allowing reform recommendations. 

SRC is actively pursuing a program of policy research and outreach for social justice and health equity in Arab countries (PR04HE/Arab). PRO4E is needed to support the adoption and successful implementation of governance and policy reforms seeking to address serious challenges on the social justice and health equity fronts that are undermining the wellbeing of social groups and the cohesion and sustainability of the society. 

The overall purpose of this thematic theme is to advocate for social policy reforms emphasizing alleviation of poverty, and to engage in such reforms through supporting policy designs and programs’ implementations. SRC poverty-related work can be described in two types of activities. One is in collaboration with government units and lead actors.  The second covers other types of research efforts

Population challenges and The ICPD agenda for development bring to the table the need for a new vision that is anchored on human rights, informed free choices, and gender empowerment.  Such a vision is captured in the centrality and the new definition and approach in pursuing reproductive health equity.