Unevenness in Turkey’s Business World by Ege Havlucu

We are in the 21st century, the humankind has seen conflicts, wars, and genocides whose  roots go all the way back to inequality, nevertheless people around the world still go through  so much unfairness in different fields that taking it to the streets and protesting about it is not  enough. One of the major areas that inequality reflects on is gender with only six countries  giving the man and woman equal legal entitlements. While these six countries are able to  provide the same workplace, work conditions, and opportunities for both genders, that’s not  the case for Turkey. While the 63,1 percent of the men in Turkey are reported to be employed,  that percentage being as low as 28,7 for women makes the unevenness in Turkey’s working  life a distinct problem. 

Stereotypes about family and parenting in Turkey are on the top of the list for posing  obstacles on women wanting to get a start in business. Even though these beliefs are mostly  seen on the eastern side of Turkey, they continue to keep their validities even in the western  side. These wrong beliefs about women are that women are to take care of the house and the  children, they should be fulfilling all of their husband’s demands, and the list goes on. Overall, 

these assumptions restrict the rights women have in their family as well as in their working life  as the person who decides if they are allowed to work or not are their partners. 

In most parts of Turkey, it is believed that women are not as capable as men in work  life. Thus, employers choose to give the high paying, status elevating jobs to men while giving  the low-middle salary, routine jobs to women. So, when a woman manages to get a “job which  is mostly attributed to men”, they get under pressure because they are in the minority. In  addition to it, they do not get appreciated and are paid less than men no matter how much more  they contribute to the company or firm they work for. 

Another significant problem preventing women from being equal to men in working life is that both genders cannot get the same education. According to the (ERG)’s 2017-2018  reports, the gap between the men and women’s dropping out of school rate in Turkey is the  highest one in Europe, which is mainly caused by eighter marriage or familial issues. Thereby  the number of educated men being more than women in Turkey makes the percentage of people working in qualified jobs mostly men.

All things considered; the wrong assumptions about the role of women in society, the  fact that women in Turkey do not get to work under the same circumstances and get the same  education as men do, generate an uneven atmosphere in Turkey’s working life. I believe changing these stereotypes for the better is crucial in order to provide an even and just  environment for the country’s future generations, which is only possible if people comprehend that no matter what our physical differences are, men and women should be seen equal under  the law.