The most egalitarian province is Mugla and the province with the highest female participation rate in production is Sinop.

Under the leadership of The Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey (TOBB) and the Industrial Development Bank of Turkey (TSKB), in collaboration with TEPAV, the 2019 “Gender Equality Scorecard of Turkey’s 81 Provinces” results were shared on Tuesday, December 1st, 2020, during an online webinar meeting. Representatives of national and international non-governmental organization, public institutions, and foreign missions, along with academics and students attended the meeting.

The event began with the opening remarks of TEPAV’s Managing Director Güven Sak. Dr. Sak stated that the gender equality study, which has been carried out by TEPAV in 81 provinces since 2014, was realized in order to continue the growth process and increase the participation of women in the labor force, especially when considering the current decrease of migration from rural to urban areas. Expressing his happiness with the work conducted with the support of TOBB and TSKB in 2020, Sak emphasized that the private sector specifically will rely on and start using the data on gender equality in the upcoming period. He concluded by stating that with each passing day, the issue of female participation in Turkey’s labor force becomes an increasingly more important issue and thanked the participants alongside TEPAV’s partners TSKB and TOBB.

The second opening speech of the meeting was made by TSKB’s Executive Vice President Meral Murathan. Murathan emphasized that understanding gender equality is critical in understanding the parameters of the environment, social fabric, and governance. Furthermore, the special report covering Turkey’s 81 provinces, in terms of gender equality, will meet sustainable development objectives and provide an attainable path to realize the steps required to be taken. He stated that together, with the collaboration of other institutions, the report will set an example of qualified development in Turkey. Murathan concluded by thanking TEPAV, TOBB, the French Development Agency (AFD), and the other contributors to the study.

After Meral Murathan’s speech, Turkey’s AFD Group Director Serge Snrech made his opening remarks. Speaking about AFD’s activities to ensure gender equality, Snrech talked about the importance of analytical studies that allow making comparisons in the field of gender equality in action design.

Last but not least, the final opening remarks were made by the President of the Women Entrepreneurs Council of TOBB, Nurten Öztürk, who stated that one of the important parameters showing the development level of countries today is the value given to women’s rights, gender equality, and the steps taken towards this direction. She mentioned that women having equal social, economic, and political rights to men will not only result in improving social life, but also strengthen the pursuit of world peace. Pointing out that the statistics of female labor force participation remain well below the population rate, Öztürk emphasized that according to the Turkish Statistical Institute, the rate of women participating in the labor force is only 32 percent and the rate of women employed among women participating in the labor force is 27 percent, and that increasing these figures is not an option but an obligation.

Following the opening remarks, TEPAV’s Academic Advisor Dr. Asmin Kavas Bilgiç explained to the participants the previous scorecard studies created by TEPAV by adapting the UNDP GII index to suit the provinces, and the current scorecard conducted under the leadership of TOBB and TSKB, in cooperation with TEPAV, with its new indicator set and methodology applied to calculating gender equality in Turkey’s 81 provinces. Kavas Bilgiç stated that the current first ever locally produced report study in Turkey, using local indices sets, resulted from the close collaboration of stakeholders and institutions which increased access to data and thus allowed to increase the number of indicators from 4 to 11 that make up the overall index.

After the general information given on the report, a presentation was made by TEPAV’s Project Coordinator Ayşegül Taşöz Düşündere, explaining the data regarding the study. According to the released results of the report, Turkey’s most egalitarian provinces were, in descending order, Mugla, Izmir, Yalova, Istanbul, Kirklareli, Canakkale, Sinop, Tunceli, Aydin, and Balikesir. Düşündere stated that while 45 out of the 81 provinces were lower than the national average value for gender equality, 38 provinces exhibited a higher than average performance. According to the report which evaluates Turkey’s 81 provinces in gender equality in terms of “participation in education”, “participation in production activities” and “representation in politics and economy”, the speaker emphasized that Turkey needs to show the most progress in the field of gender equality in “participation in production activities”. In conclusion, Düşündere highlighted that the participation rate of women in political life both on the provincial levels and national level were located below the European Union average.

Click here to access the “Gender Equality Scorecard of Turkey’s 81 Provinces”