Leaders of Change Supporting Gender Equality Gathered in Istanbul at the 19th Eurasian Economic Summit

Within the scope of the 19th Eurasian Economic Summit, the "Leaders of Change - I Support Gender Equality" meeting was successfully held on Wednesday, April 6, 2016, at the WOW Hotel Istanbul, moderated by Müjgan Suver, Chairperson of the Marmara Group Foundation EU and Human Rights Platform.

The meeting began with a "welcome" speech by Müjgan Suver, followed by opening remarks from the First Lady of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, Meral Akıncı, and the Prime Minister of Slovenia for 2013-2014, Alenka Bratusek.

In her speech, Meral Akıncı emphasized that gender equality would be a strong light for a culture of peace; Alenka Bratusek stated that during her tenure she was criticized not for her work but for her attire by the media, and expressed that women need to come forward more to eliminate male dominance in business and politics.

The panel section of the meeting started with Müjgan Suver's presentation titled "The Story of the 100th Monkey." In her presentation, she highlighted the necessity of a transformation in the mindset passed down from generation to generation to achieve social equality. She stated that if this transformation is achieved, it will reflect in every aspect of life, leading society and the country to an advanced democracy and a developed economy.

One of the panel speakers, Dr. Handan Toprak Benli, Mayor of Avcılar, Istanbul, described the projects undertaken by her municipality regarding gender equality. Emphasizing that they are a "women-friendly municipality," Benli explained that they established Turkey's first women's family directorate in Avcılar and provided certified training to mothers and fathers on not discriminating between boys and girls. Benli argued that gender equality cannot be achieved without the willingness of men.

İlter Terzioğlu, Deputy General Manager of Turkcell, stated that decisions aimed at ensuring gender equality are prioritized within Turkcell, where they implement an equal opportunity policy, and that out of 18,000 employees, 8,000 are women.

Ferruh Tunç, Chairman of KPMG Turkey, said in his speech that women should demonstrate success not by becoming more like men in the workplace but by acting as themselves. Tunç also emphasized the need to dispel myths about gender inequality and to break the dominant language to achieve equality for women in social life.

Leaders of Change Supporting Gender Equality Gathered in Istanbul at the 19th Eurasian Economic Summit

7.10.2016 - Views: 3000

Leaders of Change Supporting Gender Equality

Starting his speech with the screening of the "Like a Girl" campaign video, Mustafa Tankut Turnaoğlu, Chairman of the Board of Procter & Gamble Turkey, stated that in their recruitment processes and thereafter, in line with their "diversity and inclusion" strategy, they do not discriminate against any employee based on gender, race, belief, age, or other personal characteristics, but rather see all kinds of diversity as an asset.

Prof. Dr. Danica Purg, Founding Chairperson of the IEDC-Bled School of Management in Slovenia, said that "women must first be courageous," emphasizing that gender equality is a fundamental condition of human rights and a necessity for economic development. In her speech, Purg stated, "Regardless of religion, ideology, or welfare level, in every country, the agents of change who will bring about transformation are women."

Giving examples of difficulties she experienced as a woman in her personal history, Edita Tahiri, Minister of Dialogue of Kosovo, highlighted the importance of quota implementation for increasing women's participation in work and political life. Tahiri shared that she organized a quota campaign in politics after the war in Kosovo and explained that although quotas are artificial, they can be removed when people's mindset changes. She concluded her speech by saying, "We must create new role models for a new mindset."

Damir Masic, Member of the Bosnian-Herzegovinian Parliament and Political Director of the Social Democratic Party, stated that changes should be made to the current election laws and that gender equality would be more easily achieved with adequate representation of women. Masic also emphasized the need to establish mechanisms and permanent institutional structures to ensure gender equality at the state and local government levels.

Designer Letizia Reuss, pointing to the male dominance in the art world in her speech, conveyed that in recent years, the struggle put forth by women has begun to reveal this dominance and the prominence of women.

Archduchess Camilla Habsburg Lothringen, Princess of Tuscany, Austria, expressed her belief in the power of mothers regarding gender equality and stated in her speech that women, regardless of their status, must fight for their own opinions and decisions.

The final declaration of the "Leaders of Change" meeting, where panel speakers and other guests took a family photo together, is as follows:

LEADERS OF CHANGE
"I Support Gender Equality"
MEETING FINAL DECLARATION

Experience sharing and research results at the meeting have proven that companies led by women are more successful than those led by men. Nevertheless, the number of female executives in both the private sector and public sector has still not exceeded 10%.

We observe the same picture in the number of members in national parliaments and boards of directors. All decision-making bodies and meetings are still male-dominated.

In light of these facts, it is inevitable to increase the number of women in decision-making bodies in the private and public sectors. For this, until the critical number of 35%, considered the threshold for turning quality into quantity, is reached, institutions and political will must adopt quotas and similar special practices. Country parliaments, public and private sector institutions must now have a women's agenda.

· Currently, successful EU countries in this regard, Slovenian and Kosovo parliaments, Avcılar Municipality, companies such as Turkcell, P&G, KPMG, and their managements and parliaments can serve as models for other companies, managements, and parliaments to succeed with the same concept.

In light of signed international agreements; it is the duty of managements above all to set aside discriminatory traditions and clichés in society regarding gender equality, create perception changes, implement practices to raise the status and proportion of women, and ensure societal transformation with gender-sensitive family, school, and workplace environments as main goals.

· It is inevitable to add gender equality to the environmental, social, and economic axes of sustainable development agendas. On this basis, managements should cooperate with the private sector, universities, and civil society organizations. We expect managements to provide explanations on how priorities will be determined, how goals will be implemented, and how data and accountability will be monitored regarding gender equality.

· We insist on transparency, stronger scrutiny, and accountability during the implementation of these practices.

· We also believe in the necessity of establishing independent evaluation mechanisms to monitor developments at local, regional, and international levels.