17.02.2025 21:00
Emine Erdoğan, the wife of President Erdoğan, stated, "According to TÜİK data, the female employment rate, which was around 26% in 2014, has risen to 31.6% as of December 2024. We aim to increase this rate to 36.2% by 2028. We will succeed together."
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Emine Erdoğan, the wife of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, attended the "Halkbank Women Entrepreneurs Competition Award Ceremony" held at the Halkbank General Directorate in the Istanbul Finance Center.
"TURKEY HAS A VERY SPECIAL HISTORY WHERE WOMEN HAVE ALWAYS BEEN PRESENT" In her speech here, Erdoğan reminded that there are times when the world undergoes transformation, stating that the current era is such a time of change and transformation. "A new future is being written, and countries are competing to design humanity's common future. In this race, countries where women are important actors in economic development are leading the way. Turkey has a very special history where women have always been present in social and public life. The entrepreneurial spirit of Turkish women dates back to the 13th century. In Anatolia, women have organized, participated in social and economic life, and have become the shining stars of 'world women's history,'" she said.
"THEY HAVE A HEALING EFFECT ON THE SECTOR THEY ARE IN" Stating that women have always been at the forefront in the pursuit of rights, defense of the homeland, and healing social wounds, Erdoğan said, "We are a country that recognizes how invaluable our women are and respects this reality. From the economy to industry, from sports to art, from politics to academia, our women’s hard work is present at every point we have reached. Since day one, our government has developed exemplary policies for the elevation of women in every field. It has encouraged the increase of women's employment. According to TÜİK data, the women's employment rate, which was around 26% in 2014, has risen to 31.6% as of December 2024. We aim to raise this rate to 36.2% by 2028. God willing, we will achieve this goal together." Emine Erdoğan stated that they must now think of women's employment alongside women's leadership, noting that the world is discussing the importance of women's leadership today and conducting research on this topic. Emphasizing that leadership is a transformative power, Erdoğan continued her speech: "The vision of a leader permeates everything in their sphere of influence like capillaries. Women's leadership has certain characteristic features that are urgently needed by the whole world. Research shows that women leaders have very high abstract skills. They are very successful in communication and place great importance on collaboration. They have a peaceful management approach and are more sensitive to environmental issues. In other words, regardless of the field they work in, they have a healing effect on the sector they are in. This is the effectiveness of women. As you know, entrepreneurship is at the core of women's leadership. When we think of entrepreneurs, we think of people who stand out with their intelligence and intuition. They see an existing deficiency, identify needs, and bring innovation to life. Our country has a very rich potential for entrepreneurship in all its regions. Especially, let us not forget that women entrepreneurs are important local actors for utilizing local capacity and knowledge in global competition. The more obstacles we remove in front of our women entrepreneurs, the more progress we will make in regional development. Our duty is to fill our pens with the ink of this knowledge and accumulation while writing the history of the Century of Turkey together."
"WORK AND FAMILY SHOULD NOT BE A CROSSROAD FOR WOMEN TO CHOOSE BETWEEN" Recalling that President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan declared the year 2025 as the "Year of Family," Emine Erdoğan said, "The family is the soul and locomotive of our society. At the foundation of our resilient, wise, and strong society is our family institution with solid roots. I hope that the 'Year of Family' will also serve as an important reminder for the business world. Unfortunately, we sometimes see that women struggle to keep up with work and family responsibilities. This situation can lead to stress, lack of self-confidence, feelings of inadequacy, unhappiness, and depression in women. As their quality of life decreases, they experience mental and spiritual fatigue. On a larger scale, family and social life are negatively affected. Work and family should not be a crossroad for women to choose between. We must definitely increase the number of practices that will eliminate this conflict and preserve family life." She expressed her views. Erdoğan stated that women around the world are fighting hard to survive in a competitive work environment designed for men, while the government has taken significant and healing steps in this regard, emphasizing how important it is for women to have a working life where they can maintain their female identity.
"THE WORLD'S PROBLEM AREAS ARE WAITING FOR NEW SOLUTIONS THAT WOMEN WILL BRING" Emine Erdoğan stated that many applications have been implemented in favor of women with an emphasis on gender justice, and noted, "It is certainly not possible to list them all one by one here. However, the common goal of regulations such as maternity leave, nursery support, and part-time work is to create harmony between work and family life. I hope these examples will become widespread in all sectors. It is undoubtedly very important for workplaces to create working models based on our cultural codes to remove the barriers in front of women. Moreover, we should see the advanced level that the world has reached in information and communication technologies as an opportunity. We must definitely use technological opportunities that eliminate the physical space requirement to facilitate women's participation in the workforce. Let us not forget that Turkey is a strong country that can write its own prescriptions and develop its own formulas and solutions."
Thanking the participants who joined the competition with their valuable projects, Erdoğan said, "You have excited us all with your knowledge and skills. With your ideas full of goodness, you have shown the peaks of women's potential. You have once again proven the great contribution of women to human progress. For me, each of you is a winner. Please share your experiences with all the women and young people who want to walk the same path as you. Because the world's problem areas are waiting for the new solutions that women will bring. I would like to express my hope that the number of joint projects centered on women, along with the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), will also increase." and concluded her speech.
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