FLO GROUP Begins Using Vodafone Kırmızı Çizgi Application

Developed by Vodafone and aimed at driving linguistic transformation toward gender equality, Red Line will help FLO GROUP employees use more gender-equitable terms in their spoken and written communication.

10 September 2024 – Vodafone's Red Line Language Transformation project, aimed at ensuring equal opportunities in social and economic life, is expanding. Vodafone Business technology solutions, Red Line targets linguistic transformation toward gender equality and, following Vodafone Turkey, will now support FLO GROUP employees in using more gender-equitable terms in their spoken and written communication.

Nazlı Tlabar Güler, Vice Chair of the Executive Board at Vodafone Turkey, said:

"With the Red Line solution provided by Vodafone Turkey, we propose inclusive language in email correspondence by flagging words that do not comply with inclusivity and suggesting equitable and correct alternatives. Red Line catches words that we frequently use in our correspondence and that conflict with gender equality concepts, suggesting more gender-equitable alternatives. In this way, we select words used in our business processes and everyday life with greater awareness. Red Line is now serving as an example for other organizations in the corporate world and is drawing broad interest. We have made Red Line available for FLO GROUP employees as well. As Vodafone, we will continue working toward a more equitable world."

Didem Balcı, Head of the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Committee at FLO GROUP and Accessories Category Director, said:

"As FLO GROUP, we advocate for equality, diversity and inclusion in all areas of life, and we believe that a strong society is only possible with equality. In this context, through our equality, diversity and inclusion committee that we have established, we have taken many steps to support our female colleagues in their career journeys. As we continue to deepen our projects to further strengthen our efforts in this area, we find meaningful the collaboration we have undertaken within the scope of Vodafone's Red Line Language Transformation project, aimed at ensuring equal opportunities in social and economic life. We believe that to achieve gender equality, we must first change the language we use. We are pleased to have made the Red Line Language Transformation project, which will provide self-monitoring against discourse that emphasizes inequality, available for our colleagues. We believe that by using more inclusive alternatives instead of discriminatory expressions in our language, we are taking another step closer to gender equality. In line with this belief, we will continue to develop new projects with our committee to eliminate gender-focused language in verbal and written communication and to raise awareness among our colleagues and society on this issue."

Recognized as a responsible implementation example

Red Line generates a pop-up alert on the side when a word that conflicts with gender equality is used and a sentence is completed in an email. The alert identifies that the flagged word is not gender-equitable and offers an alternative. The "Change" button corrects the relevant word. While Red Line raises awareness on gender equality, it contributes to transformation in both written and spoken language. Red Line's vocabulary is continuously developed based on user suggestions. The Red Line Language Transformation project achieved significant recognition by being highlighted as a "responsible implementation example" in the Sustainable Development Goals Report jointly prepared by UNGC and Accenture.