TGDF Calls for Gender Equality

Call from TGDF on Gender Equality The Federation of Turkish Food and Beverage Industry Associations (TGDF) has called on its member companies to make concrete contributions toward achieving gender equality. In a statement signed by Demir Şarman, the federation stressed the social and economic importance of achieving equality between women and men in all areas and drew attention to the United Nations' Women's Empowerment Principles established for this purpose.

In a written statement by TGDF President Demir Şarman:

"The food and beverage industry, one of Turkey's leading manufacturing sectors, contributes significantly to our country's economy through the added value it creates and its export surplus, while also playing an important role in raising citizens' welfare through the employment it generates directly and indirectly. The food supply chain consists of many links from farm to table. Although women play a significant role in all of these, gender inequality is evident in many areas in terms of both wages and career advancement. As food producers at the center of this chain, we want to highlight this issue. On 8 March this year, World Women's Day, we established the TGDF Women's Platform, which has made a quick start on gender equality and positive discrimination initiatives in the sector. Our Federation, which has also signed a memorandum of understanding with the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, has taken action to raise awareness on the United Nations' Women's Empowerment Principles.

Women are our greatest potential strength in every area

"Societies are powerful to the degree that they ensure equal representation. The voices of the poor as well as the rich, rural residents as well as urban dwellers, workers as well as employers, and women as well as men must be heard so that our future can be shaped in a way that meets everyone's needs. Women, who make up half our population but are not represented proportionally, are our greatest potential strength in every area. In this difficult period we face as a world, realizing this potential and leveraging it is the most important step toward raising our country's welfare level. Our food supply chain is particularly an area that benefits heavily from women's labor. However, it cannot be said that women receive adequate compensation for their work. It is crucial that women have the same employment rights as men and can be breadwinners for their families, while also participating in decision-making mechanisms and bringing a perspective to commerce and economics different from male-dominated approaches.

We Call on Our Companies to Sign the Women's Empowerment Principles

"For this purpose, we ask the companies that are members of the Associations under our roof to read the Women's Empowerment Principles put forward by the United Nations, to adopt them, and to become signatories to this initiative. These principles primarily involve companies evaluating and, if necessary, improving the situation of women within their own organizations, and then passing these principles on to business partners and encouraging them to adopt them. The initiative provides evaluation and reporting tools for its signatories." The statement indicated that relevant links can be accessed through the Federation's website at tgdf.org.tr, and noted that companies that successfully complete the signing process will be listed on relevant pages if they apply to the TGDF Women's Platform.

UN's primary agenda: Gender equality

According to the TGDF statement, one of the United Nations' most important agendas is gender equality. This issue is addressed in many points within the Sustainable Development Goals. The objective is to ensure gender equality in material and non-material terms, across all areas from social life to working life. Empowering women through bringing them into working life, ensuring they have equal rights with men in the workplace, taking on similar roles, and spreading this work culture is an important approach for achieving gender equality. The UN Global Compact and UN Women, organs of the United Nations, have set out steps to guide businesses in achieving equality in working life. Known as the Women's Empowerment Principles, these rules consist of seven main areas including ensuring women have equal rights and responsibilities with men in the workplace, demanding this approach from other stakeholders in the supply chain, and measuring and reporting gender equality through appropriate indicators.