The study suggests that the gender gap is smallest in Istanbul, Tunceli, Bolu, Düzce, and Eskişehir.

ANKARA - TEPAV prepared a gender equality scorecard for 81 provinces in Turkey. In the context of the study, a Local Gender Equality Index and a Local Gender Empowerment Index were developed and cities were compared on the basis of indicators such as the level of education and services provided for women.

The study was carried out by TEPAV Research Associate Ülker Şener and Dr. Hülya Demirdirek, and was presented during a meeting in Ankara which hosted representatives from women’s organizations and female MPs.

Presenting the study, Ülker Şener stated that access to data used for international gender equality assessments and rankings was relatively easier at the national level, whereas it was still difficult to collect and access disaggregated data at the local level. In discussing the importance of measuring, evaluating, and monitoring whether local services and policies were implemented with a consideration to gender equality, Şener said,

“To take a step in this area and to guide future studies, we carried out a gender equality scorecard study at the local level. The purpose of this study is to measure the level of gender equality at city level and rank cities according to the state of women. In the context of the scorecard study, we constructed the Local Gender Equality Index and the Local Gender Empowerment Index, and compared cities on the basis of indicators which show the state of women in those cities.”

According to the study:

• The gender gap is smallest in Istanbul, Tunceli, Bolu, Düzce, and Eskişehir.
• The gender gap is widest in Ağrı, Bitlis, Kilis, Gaziantep ve Siirt.
• Women's empowerment is highest in Istanbul, Tunceli, Tekirdağ, Ankara, and Eskişehir.
• Women's empowerment is weakest in Ağrı, Bitlis, Muş, Kars, and Siirt.

Following the presentation, participants conveyed their questions and criticisms. It was decided to add a section to the report that involves the policy recommendations with the input from the audience.

Please click here to access the draft report (in Turkish) and Şener & Demirdirek's presentation (in Turkish)