Under the “More and Better Jobs for Women Programme” implemented by the International Labour Organization (ILO) Office for Türkiye with funding from Sweden, the Programme Advisory Committee held its third meeting on 14 December 2022 in Ankara to exchange views and monitor work progress during 2022.

Attended by the representatives of beneficiary or cooperating institutions of the projects implemented under the programme, academicians, NGOs and European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) as well as the officials from the Embassy of Sweden at Ankara, the meeting was held to assess the activities undertaken in 2022 and exchange views and experience, elicit suggestions of the Committee members, and ensure that the Programme would be implemented and monitored effectively.

Participants at the Advisory Committee meeting emphasized that the work should be continued and detailed on preventing violence and harassment at work in line with ILO’s Violence and Harassment Convention, 2019 (No. 190); and promoting decent jobs for domestic workers in line with Domestic Workers Convention, 2011 (No. 189), scaling up services of early childhood care and education (ECCE). In that context, participants also noted the importance of creating a dataset on violence and harassment at work, and cooperating with universities to create awareness on violence and harassment at work.

Expressing their views and proposals at the meeting, the participants provided information on the activities undertaken in their institutions towards the Programme objectives, and noted the importance of and their readiness for cooperation in the context of the Programme.
Delivering the opening remarks for the meeting, Mr. Numan Özcan, Director of the ILO Office for Türkiye, provided information on the work executed under the programme to increase women’s employment and enable women to work in decent conditions; and particularly shared the work and progress in ensuring decent work conditions for domestic workers in line with C189; preventing violence and harassment at work in line with C190; scaling up services of early childhood care and education; and women’s employment through cooperatives.

“Women’s problems continue in the world of work”

Expressing that women’s problems continued in the world of work, Mr. Özcan noted that by TURKSTAT October data, employment rates were 65.6% for men and 30.8% for women whereas unemployment rates were 8.6% for men and 13.3% for women.

“The unemployment rate is even higher for young women. Such figures remind us that we still have a long way to go.”

“In the upcoming period, we will concentrate on preventing violence and harassment at work”

Mr. Özcan said: “From the beginning of the next year, we will be entering a new period of More and Better Jobs for Women Programme. In the upcoming period, we will particularly concentrate on preventing violence and harassment at work.”

“Highly precious are the unity we have today and the proposals we put forward for women’s safe and secure employment at fair wages, in better organized ways, and with higher representation in social dialogue mechanisms.”

“At today’s meeting, the participants have offered their views on the work executed to date under the Programme. These proposals are indeed already included in the Programme. Therefore, we, as the ILO Office for Türkiye, note these proposals and elaborate future actions accordingly.”

“C190 is the most recent internationally established standard”

Noting that women encountered men at the workplace who assume they have more rights than women simply because of their gender, Ms. Malin Stawe, Counsellor at the Embassy of Sweden to Ankara, said: “Equality will never be established unless all actors in the world of work develop partnerships and good cooperation and take preventive measures. ILO Convention 190 is the most recent internationally established standard to take inspiration and guidance from.”

“Our objective, from the local level to the national level, is to have C190 ratified”

Engaging in joint work with the ILO Office for Türkiye on combating violence against women at work and participating in the meeting through a video message, Ms. Canan Güllü, President of Federation of Turkish Women Associations (TKDF), drew attention to the importance of cooperation with the ILO Office for Türkiye and said: “Our main objective, from the local level to the national level, is to have C190 ratified.”

Ms. Ebru Özberk Anlı, Senior Programme Officer at the ILO Office for Türkiye, provided information on the “More and Better Jobs for Women Programme” and the work executed in 2022 and planned future actions under the programme.