Gender Issues in Turkish Economy
Ceren Acar
Ali Aksakal
Melis Aslan
Betül Güvercin
Pelin Kayacı
Berrak Kibar
Agenda
 Why to Study Gender
 Recap of the Status of Women in Turkey
 Data on Female Empowerment in Turkey
 Policies and Initiatives to Increase Female Employment
 Indices to Measure Gender Equality
 Comparative Analysis
 International and Turkish Agenda on Gender Issues
Why Gender Matters in Economics
The Dark Side of the Ultimatum Game

Both men and women made lower offers, on average, when the responder was
female.
Proposers are asked to
Male
Female
share $10 with the responder
Proposer
Proposer
$4.73
$4.43
Male
Responder
Female
Responder

Gender affects market outcomes.

Gender plays a role in the distribution of wealth.
$5.13
Male
Responder
Source: Solnick, S. (2001), Gender differences in the ultimatum game. Economic Inquiry,
39: 189–200.
$4.31
Female
Responder
Four Factors of Production
Land
35%
Share of
Female
Estate
Holders*
Capital
Labor
Entrepreneurship
No data
27%
8.9%
Share of
Employed
Women
Share of
Women
Entrepreneur
s

Meanwhile, female population made up 49.8% of total population in the same
year.

Gender inequality is a chronic condition of the Turkish economy.
(*) 2014, Turkey
Recap of the Status of Women in Turkey
1920-1970

The first major wave of change for gender equality started in early 20th century, with the
founding of the Turkish Republic in 1923

Women were given many civic and political rights in this era










1924: Tevhid-i Tedrisat Kanunu: Girls and boys have the equal rights to receive education
1926: Turkish Civic Law is modified, polygamy was banned, divorce and inheritance rights were
made equal
1930: Women were given the right to vote and to be elected locally
1930: Maternity leave was devised for the first time
1934: Women were given the right to vote and to be elected nationwide
1936: The Work Law to organize women’s work life was put into practice
1949: The Pension Laws were reorganized so as to be based on equal grounds for women and men
1952: The Ministry of Health started providing mother-child health services
1965: Law of Population Control: Sales and distribution of the means of birth control became legal,
right for abortion was given in the case of a medical emergency
1966: ILO agreement (1951) was signed to commit to provide equal pay between genders for equal
amount of work
Recap of the Status of Women in Turkey
1980s

In 1980s, second wave feminism reached Turkey, bringing up issues similar to the movement
that emerged in the West in 1960s




elimination of violence against women
the oppression experienced in the family
the challenge against virginity tests
a common practice for women who had been subjected to sexual assault

Also in 1980s: Awareness raising groups in Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir

1985: Turkey signed UN’s Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against
Women

1987: Feminists organized first public protest against male violence

Purple needle campaign against sexual harassment

In Fifth Five Year Development Plan (1985-90), women’s issues were accepted as an
independent political and planning problem for the first time
Recap of the Status of Women in Turkey
1990s and 2000s

1990: General Directorate for the Status and Problems of Women was established

Starting with the 1990s, feminist discourse started to become institutionalized

1990s: Women’s Studies Centers were established in universities and university programmes on women’s
studies were created (Marmara and Istanbul)

1992: State Institute of Statistics created Social Structure and Women Statistics Branch in order to create a
database based on gender

1993: Halk Bankası started providing women with a special loan with low interest rates to inspire them for
entrepreneurship

1993: Tansu Çiller became the first female Prime Minister of Turkey

2002: Turkish government reformed Turkish criminal and civil law: the rights of women and men during
marriage, divorce, and any subsequent property rights have all been equalized

2008: An agreement was made to receive cash fund from the European Council in order in order for
European Council to conduct the Preventing and combating violence against women and domestic
violence campaign
Current Status of Women in Turkey

Although Turkish women were given many rights since the foundation of the Turkish
Republic, there is still a constant struggle for gender equality.

e.g. Turkish women received the right to be elected nationwide in 1934 but until 2009,
there were only 236 female representatives in the National Grand Assembly in opposition
to 8794 male representatives.
Gender Related NGOs in Turkey

KAGIDER (Women Entrepreneurs Association of Turkey)






Est. September 2002
Nation-wide, nonprofit NGO
Has over 200 members
Mission: To Develop entrepreneurship among women to strengthen their status
economically and socially
Equal Opportunities project with the World Bank
Türkiye Kadın Dernekleri Federasyonu

Est. 1976
Ministry of Family and Social Policies

Established in 2011

A government ministry of the Republic of Turkey
Sema Ramazonoglu

Responsible for family affairs and social services
Current Minister

The ministry features following branches of service:

Family and Public Services (Aile ve Toplum Hizmetleri)

Children Services (Çocuk Hizmetleri)

Disabled and Elderly Services (Engelli ve Yaşlı Hizmetleri)

Status of Women (Kadının Statüsü)

Social Aids (Sosyal Yardımlar)

Services for Casualty Relatives and Veterans (Şehit Yakınları ve
Gazi Hizmetleri)
Projects
1) Domestic Violence
2) Disabled and Elderly
Care
3) Vocational Education
for Women
Most Important Issues in Gender Equality

Social and cultural oppression

Being denied educational opportunities

Being denied the right to work

Discrimination at work place

Equal pay
I believe/support that women should be more active in
business life
75%
65%
59%
Male
Female
14-17
69%
18-24
66%
65%
67%
25-34
35-44
44+
Women need their man’s permission to work
69%
62%
57%
66%
72%
47%
Male
Female
AB
C1
C2
DE
Men should do housework too
56%
47%
47%
14-17
18-24
43%
43%
42%
25-34
35-44
44+
30%
Male
Female
Sex Ratio in Schooling, %
12-year mandatory
schooling law in force
5-year mandatory
schooling law in force
86
75
87
76
89
90
69
91
92
92
94
98
89
99
89
104
93
94
95
95
89
90
87
88
100
75
74
71
76
75
78
79
74
72
74
75
79
77
86
80
78
101
90
86
74
70
91
93
96
100
103
83
79
80
1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
Primary School (8 years)
High School
Higher Education
Literacy Rate (Age 6+)
99%
100%
96%
94%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
193519401945195019551960196519701975198019851990200020072008200920102011201220132014
Total
Male
Female
Adolescent Fertility Rate, births per 1000 women aged 15-19
80
70
60
50
40
41
40
38
36
35
33
32
30
28
2011
2012
2013
2014
30
20
10
0
2006
Turkey
Germany
Singapore
2007
2008
2009
Brazil
France
Malaysia
2010
Russian Federation
Iran, Islamic Rep.
Greece
Qatar
Policies and Initiatives to Increase Female Employment
Major Policy Aims
 Increasing women’s employment by providing vocational and
entrepreneurial training, as well as sufficient education
 Providing extensive and inexpensive childcare services
 Building social capital and raising awareness to overcome the obstacles
originating from the «traditional» perception of female roles
Promoting Women's Employment Operation (2009-2013)

An operation held mainly by İŞKUR, funded by EU and Turkish funds.


Location


«To promote women’s participation into the labour market and increase female
employment, including those formerly employed in agriculture»
Nationwide, Amasya, Ardahan, Artvin, Bayburt, Bingöl, Bitlis, Çankırı, Çorum, Diyarbakır,
Elâzıg, Erzincan, Erzurum, Gaziantep, Giresun, Gümüşhane, Hakkâri, Hatay, Kahramanmaraş,
Kars, Kayseri, Malatya, Mardin, Mus, Ordu, Osmaniye, Rize, Samsun, Şanlıurfa, Sinop, Sivas,
Tokat, Trabzon, Tunceli, Van, Yozgat
A budget of €22.7 million (EU contribution €19.3 million)
Promoting Women's Employment Operation- Results
 131 projects were supported.
 In the pilot areas, women were offered career information, vocational
guidance and counselling services as part of an awareness-raising
campaign. Networking activities were also encouraged between
groups of women sharing common characteristics, such as age,
educational level, working experience, family workload, religious and
cultural backgrounds and place of residence.
9.856 women attended vocational training programs.
 914 women were employed.
 780 women took entrepreneurship courses.
 113 women became entrepreneurs


144 women completed the training
to become intermediate textile
workers.

120 were employed.

The already established training
center was further improved and
became one that trains intermediate
workers for other sectors as well.

The increase in the supply of
intermediate workers enabled the
establishment of a new textile
factory that would employ 400
workers, along with another factory
of 500 workers.
Local Initiatives
 Increasing Female Employment by Istanbul Development Agency (2015)

Aims at increasing entrepreneurial activity of women and re-designing of a more femalefriendly workplace.

With a budget of 15,000,000 TL
 Çankırı Municipality Female Employment Center

In collaboration with METU and EU, providing training on handcraftsmanship, literacy and
computer use.

So far 300 women have been trained.

Supported by Japan’s Official Development Assistance to further improve training facilities.
A Recent Example: Filli Boya Kadın Ustalar
 A collaboration by Filli Boya, Ministry of Family and Social Policies (ASPB) and
İŞKUR.
 Applicants in 15 cities will be provided painting training.
 About 200-300 trainees are expected to be able to receive certificates from
Mesleki Yeterlilik Kurumu.
 Plans being made for extending coverage to a national level.
How to Quantify Gender Inequality?
International Indices

Gender Inequality Index (GII)

Gender Development Index (GDI)

Gender Empowerment Measure
(GEM)

Gender Parity Index (GPI)

Social Institutions and Gender
Index (SIGI)
Local Indices

Yereller Için Toplumsal Cinsiyet
Esitligi Endeksi

Yereller için Toplumsal Cinsiyet
Güçlenme Endeksi
International Indices: GII & GDI
Gender Inequality Index
(GII)
Health
•
Maternal
Mortality Ratio
•
Adolescent Birth
Rate
Empowerment
•
•
Female and
Male
Population With
At Least
Secondary
Education
Female and
Male Shares of
Parliamentary
Seats
Gender Development Index
(GDI)
Long and
Healthy Life
Labor Market
•
Female and
Male Labor
Force
Participation
Rates
•
Life
Expectancy
Standard of
Living
Knowledge
•
Mean Years
of Schooling
•
Expected
Years of
Schooling
•
GNI per
Capita
(PPP $)
How Does Turkey Fare in International
Indices?
Source: UN, “Human Development Report 2015”
 Turkey is among “High Human Development” countries, but education is an issue.
How Does Turkey Fare in International
Indices?
Source: UN, “Human Development Report 2015”
Toplumsal Cinsiyet Esitligi Endeksi
Gender Equality Index
İl
Toplumsal
İllerin
Toplumsal
Cinsiyet
Sosyoekonom
Cinsiyet
Eşitliği Endeksi ik Gelişmişlik
Eşitliği Endeksi
Sıralaması
Sıralaması
İstanbul
0.332929847
1
1
Tunceli
0.335587957
2
58
Bolu
0.350554653
3
11
Düzce
0.353204951
4
35
Eskişehir
0.357246285
5
7
Source: TEPAV, 81 İl İçin Toplumsal Cinsiyet EşitliğI Karnesi, 2014
Toplumsal Cinsiyet Esitligi Endeksi
Gender Equality Index
İl
Toplumsal
Cinsiyet Eşitliği
Endeksi
Toplumsal
İllerin
Cinsiyet Eşitliği Sosyoekonomi
Endeksi
k Gelişmişlik
Sıralaması
Sıralaması
Kilis
0.60128969
79
63
Bitlis
0.625276259
80
76
Agrı
0.626836078
81
79
Source: TEPAV, 81 İl İçin Toplumsal Cinsiyet EsiitligiI Karnesi, 2014
Turkey in Comparison
with Other Countries

The Global Gender Gap Report
2015

Turkey vs OECD Countries
The Global Gender Gap Report 2015
 The Global Gender Gap Index 2015 ranks 145 economies according to how
well they are leveraging their female talent pool, based on economic,
educational, health-based and political indicators. With a decade of data,
this edition of the Global Gender Gap Report shows that while the world has
made progress overall, stubborn inequalities remain.
 It was first introduced by the World Economic Forum in 2006.
Ten Years of the Global Gender Gap
Where is Turkey in the Big Picture?
Women and Men in
OECD Countries
Source: OECD Statistics
Labour force participation rate by gender and
age:15-64
Unemployment rate by gender and age: 15-64
Unemployment
Gender
Wage Gap
rate by gender and age: 15-64
Distribution
Distribution of
of employment
employmentby
bysector
sectorand
andgender
gender
Distribution
byby
sector
and gender
Time
spentofinemployment
unpaid work
gender
(Latest)
Time spent
Length
of Maternity
in unpaidLeave
work by gender (Latest)
Policies
Turkey

In 1985, joined the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms
of Discrimination Against Women

Since 2002, Optional Protocol

Article 10 of Turkish Constitution bans discrimination

First country with woman as the president of its Constititional
Court (Tülay Tuğcu)

Turkish Council of State has a woman judge as its president
(Zerrin Güngör)
UNDP Turkey

UNDP (United Nations Development Programme) in Turkey has worked in close
partnership with the Turkish government

Promote enabling environment to women (and men) by strengthening the
national gender equality machinery

Promotion of a Gender-sensitive Parliament
Sabanci Foundation

Also supports civil society organizations (promoting equality and active
participation of women, youth, and persons with disabilities)

20 projects of nine provinces received TL 700,000 on grants on gender
equality

Offers gender equality training (as part of the Purple Certification Program)
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