I think it is time to separate women’s affairs from the Ministry of Family and Social Policy.

Women’s issues exist in Turkey. I don’t know if you have noticed this amid the senseless everyday political polemics, but I am sure the administration hasn’t. The present hustle will eventually end, but the women’s issue will remain as a source of dishonor for Turkey. The reason is quite simple: Turkey does not give the women’s issue adequate consideration. The Ministry of Family and Social Policies, which pretends to take care of women’s issues, does not count. The issue cannot be solved by the Ministry’s “we are sincerely sorry for women who are exposed to violence” shows produced just for the sake of appearance. Not without specific policies. Not without the Ministry dealing with Turkey’s industrial policy or the nonexistent education policy as well. Not without thinking from the gender perspective before signing a free trade agreement. Turkey can start solving the women’s issue only by keeping it in mind all the time. This is what it takes to improve the qualifications and the visibility of women in society. But there is only talk and no action. Why is that so?

First of all, I will give some key figures on the issue: Turkey has the smallest female labor force participation rate among OECD countries, with a mere 30 percent.  Despite being the 17^th largest economy,  it ranks 68^th in the United Nations Gender Equality Index. It is 120^th among 136 countries in the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap ranking. Turkey cannot achieve the $25,000 GDP per capita target without raising the female labor force participation rate to around 50 percent. In other words, Turkey will remain stuck in the middle income gap unless it increases the visibility of its women.

So, what needs to be done? I see three steps to the way out. First is to enhance educational  opportunities for women. Turkey is going in the right direction on this account. The rate of university graduates is only 9 percent among the women in the 50-55 age group, whereas today it has reached 20 percent in the 25-29 age group. There is progress. Turkey will need more engineers and basic scientists in the period ahead and hence mechanisms to attract more women to such fields. Offering more scholarships to women could be a good starting point. Second, among 31,000 city council members, fewer than 1,500 are women. They have a fifty-percent share in the population,  but less than a five percent share in city councils. This is just a shame for Turkey. I recommend that women check how political parties nominate candidates to run in local elections. I am sure some part of the issue has to do with the apathy of Ankara; but the sex distribution of city councils shouldn’t be about that!

Third, the gender issue has to be taken into account when designing industrial policy and, more broadly, the economic policy. Sectors that can increase women’s employment should be given weight in particular. From this perspective, Turkey has to give more attention to the textiles and ready-made clothing sectors. It also must design separate adjustment programs for sectors that can enhance women’s visibility. When signing free trade agreements, it should avoid concessions that will further employment loss among women. Turkey’s number one priority should be to integrate women’s labor into the growth process. Otherwise, it cannot overcome the middle income trap. Just mark my words. I recommend you check the Gender Equality Scorecard that TEPAV has developed for 81 cities. See how your city rates. Criticize and reprove the local government of your city for being so short-sighted.

In the 1980s we got mad when Turgut Bey separated the Treasury from the Finance Department. Now we realize that it was a good call. So I think it is time to separate women’s affairs from the Ministry of Family and Social Policy. A woman’s place is primarily in the workplace. The women’s issue in Turkey has nothing to do with social assistance or social policy. It has to do with economic policy.

This commentary was published in Radikal daily on 04.02.2014