The role of women in working life in Turkey

Abstract

Today’s transformations undergone in working life cause conflicts between individuals’ roles in working life and daily life. As the responsibilities and roles in working life increase, meeting the requirements of being a spouse, mother, father, etc. become harder; in the same manner, prioritizing family life generates certain problems in working life. In Turkey, in spite of some gender equity reforms over last ten years, the Turkish welfare regime still has some inequality problems in terms of generations and genders. However, women’s low activity rate is still the most critical characteristic of the labour market. This study aims to examine the major features of Turkish welfare regimes and family policies. Some historical reasons and social norms which effect the gender-based discrimination and segregation of work in the labour market are also analysed. For better seeing the relationship between work–life balance and gender equality in working life in Turkey, mostly comparative data on family policies, the labour market, and demographic indicators from the OECD, EU, and the Turkish Statistic Institute are used.