Businesswomen Come Together Under UNESCO

Business Women Convened Under UNESCO A roadmap for increasing women's participation in the workforce and the current situation were discussed at the Building Women and Success in the 21st Century Workshop. The "Building Women and Success in the 21st Century Workshop" organized by the UNESCO Turkey National Commission Gender Equality Specialization Commission brought together businesswomen from various sectors. Within the scope of the event, the long-standing experience and accumulated knowledge of female employers were addressed in two separate sessions, and findings and recommendations aimed at improving Turkey's current situation were evaluated.

"We will present workshop outputs to all stakeholders as a report"

Highlighting the importance of gender equality, UNESCO TMK Gender Equality Specialization Committee Chair Prof. Dr. Zeynep Karahan Uslu stated, "The soft underbelly of gender equality is women's economic independence, productivity, and the necessity of increasing this position both in scale and proportionally. In this context, as UNESCO Turkey National Commission, we wanted to bring together female employers who have built economies above a certain scale in our country, compile their long-distilled experience and accumulated knowledge, their findings and recommendations developed due to their decision-making roles, integrate these, and thus create synergy. We will then present these workshop outputs to all stakeholders as a report."

"Growth of female entrepreneurship and development of female employment are progressing slowly"

Noting that all stakeholders need to continue working for Turkey to reach a more advanced point in gender equality, Uslu said, "We see positive changes in the levels of discrimination faced by women and girls and their living conditions in the world and in Turkey. As stated in the High Impact Seeking Entrepreneurial Women in Turkey 2020 report, women's share among employers was 11.7% in 2017, and among 138 thousand female employers, only 5 thousand 300 employ more than 20 people, and 1 thousand 730 employ more than 50 people. In summary, due to the effects of social and cultural factors, both the numerical and scale growth of female entrepreneurship and the development of female employment are progressing slowly." Source