During her opening address, Meltem Müftüler-Baç, Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences of Sabancı University, stated that inequalities had grown bigger and more complicated during the pandemic and continued, “Particularly those women giving primary care faced great difficulties in labor force participation during the pandemic. Structural injustice and inequalities have become deeper in the recent months.”

Hülya Adak, Director of SU Gender, said, “The pandemic made many problems and inequalities manifest. To SU Gender, the pandemic showed that feminist solidarity can be expanded and deepened through digital platforms and networks. Our training programs grew and became more widespread without any space limits or health-related concerns.” Citing Columbia University Women and Gender in Global Affairs (WGGA) and Berlin Free University’s Margherita von Brentano Zentrum among the feminist networks that SU Gender joined during the pandemic, Adak added they organized joint conferences, invited speakers, exchanged library data and sources, and advised graduate students in different countries thanks to such solidarity. She pointed out that they held webinars on sexual harassment and gender-based violence jointly with universities in Turkey and abroad, and thus became a leading center and platform for academic and activists’ work in new fields such as digital violence. She stated that such webinars and joint action plans were very important to facilitate new modes of fight against violence during the pandemic. She highlighted that, in the summer of 2020 when the Istanbul Convention was questioned, SU Gender’s social media work underlined the importance of this convention and the women’s, LGBTQI+ and minority rights it protected in international and national platforms. Saying that they were involved in 5 EU Horizon 2020 projects during the pandemic, Adak added that their thematic focuses were inequalities during the pandemic, immigration, gender, and climate, and that the Marie Curie post-doctoral scholarships awarded to them made it possible for the Center to grow and upgrade its capacity. Adak said that the Sabancı University Gender Equality Action plan for the COVID 19 period had been published, and that they guided activists, high school teachers, and the world of business through their brand-new programs. She pointed out that the pandemic enabled them not just to survive but to open up to new horizons and grow.  

Linda Zerilli, a Charles E. Merriam Distinguished Service Professor of Political Science at the University of Chicago delivered a speech as guest speaker at the conference. She had a critical approach to the waves metaphor, which is used to refer to the history of the feminist movement in the USA. She touched upon the political history of Western feminism and how this history could be considered in alternative ways with a radical democracy perspective. Saying that the waves metaphor enabled feminists to move on referring to their predecessors, Zerilli pointed out that this feeling of the past actually constituted a source for today’s actions. She emphasized that it was necessary to remember there was no evolutionary line between the past, the present and the future, and pointed to feminist memory works that focus on fragmented narrative. Zerilli said, “according to Hannah Arendt, feminist history is very important, but for our action, today must be important and contribute to the incomplete project of freedom.” Zerilli underlined that women were not involved in the writing of national histories. 

On the second day of the conference, Joan Tronto, Professor of Political Science at the University of Minnesota, also one of the leaders of a feminist ethics of care, delivered her keynote speech entitled “Beyond Wealth-Care: Democratic Caring as the Path to a Caring Democracy”, during which she mentioned the importance of care-centered economic perspectives and democratic institutions. She highlighted that the world was going through not only a climate crisis but also a demographic crisis, and that there were inequalities between poor and rich countries. She continued,“It is possible to cope with the crises we face; the cure lies with global democratic actions. However, many people stand away from political life. Everywhere in the world, people are less committed to a democratic life, because being a citizen of a democratic country involves making serious, well-informed choices. At this point, it is important to talk about wealth-care, which currently shapes economic policies, and lies at the center of everything that is being done. Due to imbalances, material inequalities start to look natural and become accepted by everyone, and the public just support this. Wealth-care became deeper with the pandemic. In the last one and a half years, some people have gained huge wealth. In various parts of the world, including a rich country like the US, people failed to provide PPE to their healthcare staff, medical staff members losing their lives were put into plastic bags. Yes, there is wealth out there but no funds were available to medical staff for PPE. Of course, wealth is not a bad thing, but when it belongs to only one individual, knows no limits, or no restrictions on exploiting the environment, then it becomes a problem. During our lives, we are both caretakers and caregivers. We should see that there are limits to these, and this is called the ethics of responsibility.” 

Pointing out that the economics of care is accompanied by the politics of care, Joan Tronto said, “Care should be at the center and we should organize the economy around it. This revolution has not been made yet for home workers who have not secured fully democratic participation yet. First, when we say democratic care, how responsibilities are fairly distributed in the society matters a lot. Second, we should re-organize and re-arrange our care responsibilities. Third, we should always reach care solutions through democratic methods. There may be inequalities in any kind of personal care, but equal opportunities and care conditions should be established and provided for both caretakers and caregivers.”

THE CONFERENCE CONTINUED WITH PANELS

On the second day of the conference, the panel entitled “Feminist Action an Resistance”, moderated by Fatmagül Berktay from Istanbu University, hosted Fulden İbrahimhakkıoğlu (Middle East Technical University), Mona Lilja (University of Gothenburg) and Neha Kagal (ActionAid UK) as speakers. 

The panel entitled “Power, Policy and Advocacy”, moderated by Serpil Sancar, was attended by Simten Coşar (University of Pittsburgh), Berfu Şeker (New Solutions Society) and İlknur Üstün (Women’s Coalition). 

The panel entitled “Feminist Care Ethics, Practices and the Politics of Care” was moderated by Yeşim Arat from Boğaziçi University. The panelists were Özge İzdeş (İstanbul University-Cerrahpaşa), Kanchana Mahadevan (University of Mumbai), Inge Van Nistelrooij (Radboud University Nijmegen) and Aslı İkizoğlu (Sabancı University). 

On the third day of the conference, the panel entitled “Feminist Care for the Future”, moderated by Hülya Şimga from Maltepe University, had Gaia Giuliani (University of Coimbra), Sophie Smith (University of Oxford), Semiha Arı (Inequalities Studies South Center) and Şehnaz Kıymaz (Women's Major Group - WMG) as panelists.   

The panel entitled “Transnational Feminism and Solidarity” was moderated by Ayşe Gül Altınay from Sabancı University. The panel was attended by Sumi Madhok (London School of Economics Coloniality), Selin Çağatay (University of Gothenburg), Ayşe Dursun (University of Vienna) and Jo Littler (City University of London). 

The conference ended with a closing forum co-moderated by Zeynep Gülru Göker, Begüm Acar and Aslı Aygüneş. During the forum, participants had the opportunity to dive deeply into the topics discussed at the conference. 

Sabancı University has joined the TeamAWARE project, funded by the European Union in the scope of 8^th Framework Program Horizon 2020. Involving 24 institutions from 13 countries, the project has a total budget of 6.9 million Euros.

Sabancı University will take part in the project through Selim Balcısoy, member of the Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences. Selim Balcısoy will support emergency response teams with augmented reality and visualization of big data about the data to be collected from different sensors and data providing systems in emergency cases. The project, developed by HAVELSAN and involving 24 institutions from 13 countries, has Sabancı University in addition to SRDC Yazılım Araştırma Geliştirme Ve Danışmanlık Ticaret Anonim Şirketi, Bursa Metropolitan Municipality and the Association of Emergency Ambulance Physicians, as participants from Turkey.

The TeamAWARE project enhances the safety of emergency response teams and others by developing the situational awareness of emergency response teams through artificial intelligence, augmented reality, 5G and sensor fusion technologies, and providing a decision support system for urgent cases. In other words, the project will enable emergency response teams to be informed immediately about everything in an emergency, to make plans and decisions quickly with the help of the current technologies.

TeamAWARE had a great achievement by obtaining 15 points and being selected as the initial project proposal worthy of support from among 92 project proposals. Featuring artificial intelligence, augmented reality, sensor fusion technologies and 5G technologies, the project is expected to be completed in 36 months.

“Innovation and Technological Competitiveness” has been discussed during online events of the TÜSİAD – Sabancı University Competitiveness Forum (REF).

The online meeting held on Friday, April 30, 2021 was attended by Fatih Kemal Ebiçlioğlu, TÜSİAD Board Member and Industrial Policies Roundtable Chair, Esra Durceylan Kaygusuz, Director of TÜSİAD-Sabancı University Competitiveness Forum and member of Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, and Ufuk Akçiğit, member of faculty at the Economics Department of Chicago University.

During his opening speech, Fatih Kemal Ebiçlioğlu stated that the World Economic Forum attached growing importance to technological competitiveness and innovation in the light of the Global Competitiveness Index. He added, “Among the fundamental components of the index, technology and innovation have become top priorities of companies of any scale in nearly all sectors, particularly during the Covid-19 pandemic. That’s the reason why we are focusing on technological competitiveness and innovation in the first online event of REF, which works to enable our country’s private sector to increase its share in international markets in a stable and sustainable way and to strengthen its competitiveness.”

After the opening speech, Esra Durceylan Kaygusuz, Director of REF, which acts as the Turkish partner of the World Economic Forum for the preparation of the annual Global Competitiveness Index, provided information to the participants about the “Executive Opinion Survey”, which provides some of the inputs to the index, and this year’s Global Competitiveness Report.

During the first online event of REF, the questions in the “Executive Opinion Survey” about innovation and technological competitiveness were further elaborated on with the assessments of the participants. Professor Ufuk Akçiğit from Chicago University moderated the session on “The Executive Opinion Survey and Assessments” in which the assessments were received in real time and online.

You can watch a video recording of the event by clicking the link below.

World Economic Forum Global Competitiveness Report 2020 (English)

“World Economic Forum – Global Competitiveness Report 2020 – A General Assessment” prepared by REF (Turkish): 

The project implemented by Eralp Demir, member of Sabancı University Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences, is entitled to support within the framework of the TÜBİTAK 2247-B European Research Council (ERC) Projects Support Program.

Eralp Demir’s project is entitled “Prototype Development for Powder-Based Layered Manufacturing”. The project aims to develop a manufacturing platform with a prototype add-on for use in innovative process monitoring systems research.

The project will last two years and, in addition to acting as project coordinator, Eralp Demir will work on project tasks such as determining the general operating principles of the system and microstructure analysis of materials produced.

Talking about the importance and details of the project, Demir said, “The additive manufacturing system, which is the output of this project, will be developed to monitor manufacturing processes in a laboratory environment. This will enable us to complete the necessary preliminary work to be eligible to ERC project applications.”

The aim of the TÜBİTAK'ın 2247-B ERC program is to provide support for researchers in order to improve/strengthen their projects which have the potential to make significant discoveries and/or inventions and be able to receive support from the European Research Council (ERC) to increase the rate of return to our country from European Union funds.

Meltem Bayrak, graduate of Sabancı University Molecular Biology, Genetics and Bioengineering major program and Chemistry minor program in 2016, has become the first Turkish scientist selected to the Homeward Bound Leadership Program. Homeward Bound is a transformational leadership initiative for women with a background in STEMM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics, medicine), from around the world.

Continuing her PhD project in the field of food science at the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization in Australia, Meltem Bayrak is among the 100 scientists selected to Homeward Bound, a global leadership program designed for women scientists and focusing on climate change.

Thinking that environmentally aware production has a vital role since the food sector is one of the business areas that are the most affected by global climate change, Meltem Bayrak believes the Homeward Bound program will make great contributions to the development of innovative approaches to food safety and sustainability. 

We talked to Meltem Bayrak about what she did during her undergraduate studies, her work after graduation, and the Homeward Bound program. You can read our interview below.

First of all, we congratulate you. Can you introduce yourself a little bit? When and how did you decide to study at Sabancı University Molecular Biology, Genetics and Bioengineering program? What are you doing these days?

M.B: I was pretty sure about the discipline I wanted to study at university. However, I also wanted to learn about many other fields. What facilitated my choice for Sabancı University was the availability of an interdisciplinary approach to teaching and research, laboratory infrastructure and academic staff, all being prerequisites for a good quality bioengineering education. After I finished Saint Benoît French High School, I graduated from Sabancı University Molecular Biology, Genetics and Bioengineering program (with a minor in Chemistry) in 2016.

Afterwards, I completed my master’s degree in food science in Melbourne. Currently, I continue to work for a PhD in food science at Melbourne CSIRO.

“The experiences I had during my undergraduate studies encouraged me further to follow the path I chose”

Were there any decisions/people that influenced you and your career steps during your undergraduate studies?

M.B: I had a very productive life at the university in terms of academic courses and club activities. There were very valuable faculty members who I took courses from or who I intersected with. Among faculty members, particularly Prof. Uğur Sezerman put a lot of effort into my starting laboratory research and learning coding. Finding myself in a laboratory even before laboratory courses began motivated me to a great extent and made it easier for me to follow courses.

Participating in diverse study environments, and therefore learning about different scientific approaches, helped me a lot with my career after graduation. I continued to enjoy research for nearly one year and a half in Sweden and France, where I was in the scope of the Erasmus program. My Erasmus adventure lasted longer than that of other students and I had the opportunity to learn enjoyable courses in biology. Other than this, when I was in France for the Erasmus program, I worked for a plant laboratory, which was out of the scope of my courses. My graduation project focused on plant genetics. At the same time, I had the chance to do an internship at the molecular pathology lab of INSERM, the national medical research institute of France. My internship supervisor Assistant Professor Umut Şahin supported me for my applications to PhD programs and was influential for me with his academic guidance. All these experiences that I had during my undergraduate studies encouraged me further to follow the path I chose.

In addition, I would like to name Professor Neşe Bilgin, who I deeply respect for her work and opinions about the protection of Turkey’s biodiversity, as an academic who impacted my career steps thanks to her guidance.

Can you briefly talk about what you did after you graduated from Sabancı University?

M.B: After Sabancı University, I completed my master’s degree in food science at the University of Melbourne.

In my project, I did studies about the capacity of sourdough yeast lactic acid bacteria to hydrolyze toxic gluten peptides. At the same time, during a visit to Istanbul, I had an internship at Pakmaya, Turkey’s first yeast factory, to see the production of yeast and its place in industry from a broader perspective. However, since I felt I did not have enough research, I applied for a PhD program and I was accepted with a scholarship to a project of Australia’s CSIRO with RMIT University and INRAE (France).  

When did you decide to continue to study in the field of food science, and what are your current projects?

M.B: While I was studying the genetics of Hasandede, a local grape species, as part of my undergraduate graduation project at Sabancı, I realized that I had a strong interest in food research. Especially the research on the protection of genetic diversity and sustainability guided me a lot. To me, doing an experiment at a laboratory is like cooking in your kitchen. I get a lot of pleasure out of trying different recipes and reaching the best outcome. With this in mind, I did some research about what was done in the world in the field of food science and I came to Australia to study food science. In my PhD dissertation, I am studying the impact of digestion on the structure of food for the purpose of personalized nutrition. Moreover, I have received an additional scholarship from the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organization (ANSTO) and examine the structure of food through neutrons as the major part of my project.

You are among the 100 scientists selected to the Homeward Bound STEMM leadership program. Can you talk about the program and its objectives?

M.B: Homeward Bound is a transformational leadership initiative for women with a background in STEMM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics, medicine), from around the world. The objective of the program is to enhance the impact of women in STEMM areas in decisions and policies shaping the future of the world. Homeward Bound aims to ensure global cooperation among influential women in STEMM to secure diversity at the leadership table. I am one of the 100 women selected for this 12-monthly global leadership initiative. Additionally, I am proud to say that I am the first Turkish woman selected to the program. Although the eligibility criteria of the program are not set clearly, the panel aims to select women from all ages and backgrounds with a capacity to become a leader influencing policies and decisions on a global scale. Applications are first assessed by an independent panel of scientists, psychologists, leadership coaches, strategists and scholars, and then by the Homeward Bound leadership team.

I was already interested in the program and had observed the positive impact of their projects on the decisions taken about our future. I applied for the program thinking that I could contribute to the program and vice versa.

“I believe that the Homeward Bound program will contribute to me greatly to develop innovative approaches to food safety and sustainability both as an individual and a woman leader in STEMM”

Can you talk about the importance for you of being a part of this program and your projects in the framework of the program and thereafter?

M.B: Besides being a food scientist, I am a food sustainability and safety advocate. I think research on environmentally aware production has a vital role since the food sector is one of the business areas that are the most affected by global climate change. The world needs a holistic approach, an enhanced infrastructure and new government policies to support innovation and innovative technologies, to inform consumers so that they can make choices consciously, and to have improved resource management. In this context, I believe that the Homeward Bound program will contribute to me greatly to develop innovative approaches to food safety and sustainability both as an individual and a woman leader in STEMM.

Last but not least, what are your recommendations for current and prospective students in the Molecular Biology, Genetics and Bioengineering program?

M.B: I recommend that from their first year they talk to their faculty members and do an extra-curricular project about a subject which is of interest to them. The earlier they start, the better. It is very important to fully make use of what the University has to offer. In addition, science is getting more and more interdisciplinary. Therefore, I recommend they take courses from different disciplines, which may offer them opportunities in the future.

Is there anything you want to add?

M.B: Most of us know that climate change brings along with it the problem of food safety and that our access to food will be affected. In the current situation where our fundamental food resources are shrinking, every step of food production is affected by climate change. To diminish systemic problems, it is the responsibility of all of us to consider the damage that our decisions do to nature. Sustainability and protection of biodiversity will be shaped in line with our preferences, as consumers. I recommend that students use the social and scientific means available to them at Sabancı University in the most efficient way.

Adopting the mission to develop internationally competent and confident individuals advancing and fostering knowledge in every field and at international level, Sabancı University continues to work toward the fulfillment of the rights of children in need to education and equality, and to provide support to them in various parts of Turkey.

Sabancı University has allocated 230 PCs to Mardin Provincial Directorate of National Education to support students who, due to lack of technological means, cannot participate in the online education process which has started because of the pandemic. In the framework of the protocol signed with Mardin Provincial Directorate of National Education, PCs will be allocated to successful students in need for a period of one year.

Applications are now open for the Hakan Orbay Research Awards, given by the Sabancı University School of Management in honor of faculty member Hakan Orbay, who passed away in 2011.

Organized for the 8^th time this year, the awards program aims to support original projects of young researchers in the field of finance and microeconomics. This year's awards entail a “Young Researcher Award” of 10,000 TL and a “Doctorate Student Award" of 5,000 TL. 

This year the jury will consist of Benan Zeki Orbay from Istanbul Bilgi University and Aziz Şimşir, Eren İnci, İzak Atiyas, Koray Deniz Şimşek, Melsa Ararat, and Yiğit Atılgan from Sabancı University.

Interested applicants can submit their studies and a one-page resumé to orbayaward@sabanciuniv.edu.

The deadline for applications is July 20, 2021, and the winners will be announced on September 15, 2021. 

Please visit https://sbs.sabanciuniv.edu/tr/2021-hakan-orbay-arastirma-odulu for more information on eligibility criteria.

The project entitled “Automatic image recognition system for detection of COVID-19 infection through computerized tomography”, of which Sabancı University is the coordinator and Istanbul University Cerrahpaşa Faculty of Medicine is the researcher, aimed to examine CT images automatically to detect any lung involvement. 

Prof. Dr. Berrin Yanıkoğlu, member of Sabancı University Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences, is the coordinator of the project and Associate Professor Fatih Gülşen, Associate Professor Onur Tutar, Dr. Bora Korkmazer from Cerrahpaşa Faculty of Medicine, and Dr. Hümbet Nasibli, Alper Aker and Oğuzhan Acar from TÜBİTAK National Metrology Institute are researchers of the project. The system developed in the framework of the project can detect symptoms of COVID-19 infection in seconds. 

Covid-19 ve Sağlıklı Görüntüler

Since PCR tests take a long time and come with a high false positive rate, especially during the early stages of infection, the use of chest CT images to detect the infection was considered. The system was developed and installed in Istanbul University Cerrahpaşa Faculty of Medicine. The CT device is disinfected effectively after use by an infected patient, who is then isolated in the clinic to minimize infection at the hospital. 

In response to the call for projects entitled “Program of fight against COVID-19 and resilience” made by the development agencies under the coordination of the General Directorate of Development Agencies of the Ministry of Industry and Technology, TÜBİTAK opened two separate calls under the ARDEB (Support for Research Programs Directorate) and TEYDEB (Support for Technology and Innovation Programs Directorate) components for the projects, with some R&D potential presented by universities and private sector players. Following online assessment of applications received, it was decided to support 21 projects with a total budget of approximately 7 million TL. 

The project entitled “Automatic image recognition system for detection of COVID-19 infection through computerized tomography” developed through the collaboration of Sabancı University and Istanbul University Cerrahpaşa Faculty of Medicine is one of the 6 projects supported under the ARDEB component.

Mehmet Can Yavuz, Berrin Yanıkoğlu

In addition, Sabancı University PhD students Sara Atito Ali Ahmed and Mehmet Can Yavuz, Sabancı University graduate Dr. M. Umut Şen and Cerrahpaşa Faculty of Medicine students Dr. Rauf Hamid, Dr. Sabri Şirolu, Dr. Ali Ergun Eryürekli and Dr. Toghrul Mammadov took part in the project as researchers. 

The winners of “E-Sailing European Cup”, Europe’s first intercollegiate e-sailing championship, organized by Sabancı University Sailing Club (SU-SAIL) through VR Inhore platform, have been announced.

Organized to revive the competitive spirit of sailors from universities during the pandemic with further lockdown measures, and to bring university students together, the championship was attended by 60 students from 15 universities in 3 countries.

The championship was held over 4 days with sailing-lovers from Sabancı University, Acıbadem University, Bahçeşehir University, Bilgi University, Boğaziçi University, Bocconi University, Koç University, Maltepe University, Middle East Technical University, Piri Reis University and the University of Prague.

The sponsors of the event were Sabancı University, Redbull, All of Chrome, E-sailing Club, Reflect Studio, Alize Yachting and Sailranks. Quarter final matches were broadcast on the YouTube channel of eSailingClub, Turkey’s biggest sailing club, while the semi-final and final matches were shown on YouTube, Twitch and Facebook through eSailingTV, one of the eSports live broadcasters in the world.

Sabancı University Sailing Club (SU-SAIL) is the winner of the E-Sailing European Cup

After the four days of challenging matches, Sabancı University team became the winner of the E-Sailing European Cup, followed by Istanbul Bilgi University team, and Istanbul Technical University team.

Both the organizers and the winners of the championship, SU Sailing Team members said the following after the championship: “In this lockdown period when we had to stay away from sailing, SUCup enabled sailors from universities to come together and recapture their competitive spirit. We are really proud to be both the organizers and the winners of this successful event, which was held for the first time. We congratulate everyone who put their efforts in it and all the teams that competed in the championship.”

Members of BİLGİ team, who came second in the competition said, “due to the lockdown measures restricting physical activities to a great extent, the e-sailing concept became a perfect alternative for the sailing community. We sincerely thank SU Sail team and everyone else who contributed to this beautiful championship. We really enjoyed being involved in it, particularly due to the awards and the racing concept. We had a quite comfortable and entertaining race. We guess the broadcasting of the events presented a real festivity for lovers of sailing.”

Pointing out that they were able to come together and live the excitement of a sailing competition thanks to this beautiful event organized in a period where they had to stay away from sailing, members of Koç University Sailing Club team added, “we congratulate the organizers of this highly professional championship for their dedication. Hope to see you in the upcoming events!” Rabia Balcıoğlu from Yıldız Technical University team said she had a very pleasant time during the two weeks of competition, and added “the fact that it was a team game made it even more exciting. I am looking forward to participating in the upcoming events.”

Awards to the teams were given by All of Chrome, WWF Market and Eye Connection, the main award sponsors. Moreover, awards from Yves Rocher, Alize Yachting and FAM Coffee were given to the competitors.

You can watch video records of E-Sailing European Cup championship by using the links below.

Quarter finals:

-eSailingClub Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kugxLrltIAg

Semi-finals and final:

-eSailingTV Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0T09QiVMEDE
-eSailingTV Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1008731805
-eSailingTV Facebook: https://fb.watch/5fBsHXSHP0/

Public institutions, development banks, business associations and professional women’s networks are taking action to increase the proportion of women on the boards of local companies.

The participants in the action have developed a roadmap to promote higher representation of women in companies’ decision-making bodies. The roadmap associates the objective of having diverse opinions and experiences in companies’ boards of directors and top management with the strengthening of corporate governance and improvement of financial, environmental and social performance.  

Listed companies in Turkey lag behind their global peers in terms of the amount of women on their boards. Nearly 40% of boards in Turkey are composed of only male board members.

Coordinating the action, Dr. Melsa Ararat, Sabancı University Corporate Governance Forum Director, said, "Ambitious efforts of the participating institutions to develop the roadmap make us confident that the action will succeed. Every participant has their own perspective and reason to enhance women’s representation in their board and top management. These reasons include refreshing the so-called entrenched board structures to make them more effective, and encouraging stronger participation of women in business life through their involvement in the senior decision-making bodies of companies. We envisage that the implementation process will be fully inclusive and invite all the related parties, whether or not they have participated in the development of the roadmap, to be a part of the upcoming implementation efforts."

The roadmap has been developed in collaboration with EBRD, the Ministry of Family, Labor and Social Services, the Capital Markets Board of Turkey, Istanbul Stock Exchange, IFC, business organizations, TÜSİAD, TOBB, 30% Club Turkey, United Nations Global Compact Network Turkey, Corporate Governance Association of Turkey and professional women’s networks including KAGİDER, Women Corporate Directors and Sabancı University’s Independent Women Directors Platform.

Institutions and initiatives involved in the Steering Group and combining their forces for the implementation of the roadmap have agreed to achieve the following:

• Raising awareness about the benefits of having diverse opinions and experiences and more women on boards;
• Expanding and making visible the pool of women candidates “ready to take part in boards” through training, certificate and apprenticeship programs;
• Preparing a “set of tools to determine board member candidates” for companies to ensure that board nomination processes consider the skills and competencies of women “ready to take part in boards”; 
• Identifying regulations and regulatory tools that can be implemented to promote and encourage the establishment of more effective boards through representation of competent and skilled women.

These actions aim to create an environment which will facilitate the involvement of women in Turkey in leading roles in business life. The implementation process aims to ensure that boards are composed of professionals who can bring together people with the most suitable sets of skills, experience and perspectives to create successful and competitive companies, thus building more resilient and inclusive economies.

The roadmap suggests the establishment of a public disclosure platform aiming to collect gender distribution data in the decision-making mechanisms of both listed and unlisted companies, and an investment grade index based on this data.

Working on the roadmap, EBRD Turkey Director Arvid Tuerkner said, "Preparing for the post-pandemic future, inclusiveness should be one of the priorities for business leaders in Turkey. As a prominent institutional investor in Turkey, EBRD strives to secure stronger representation of women on boards in Turkey. Women’s representation enriches the decision-making process, demonstrates the quality of the recruitment and promotion process, and enhances the effectiveness of decision-makers. In addition, it makes considerable contributions to sustainability by strengthening inclusiveness of labor, products and services, and social cohesion."

IFC's Turkey and Russia Country Manager Arnaud Dupoizat said, “We are really happy to be a part of this important initiative together with EBRD and Sabancı University Corporate Governance Forum. IFC is a strong advocate of gender balance on corporate boards. Representation of genders has long stopped being a social obligation, and has proven to be virtuous for companies, including its very positive contribution to the handling of climate risks. We consider gender equality on corporate boards to be an important component of the environmental, social and governance agenda in Turkey and we encourage Turkish private sector stakeholders to use this roadmap to pave the way for the presence of more women on boards."

TOBB Chairman Rıfat Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “As one of the biggest networks of women entrepreneurs in the world, with more than 7 thousand members, our organization carries out activities to increase the number of women entrepreneurs and empower women in business life.  In this context, our priorities include increasing the number of professional women and ensuring greater representation of women at senior management levels. We are ready to cooperate on the implementation of the roadmap prepared with the cooperation of the public and private sectors.

The Ministry of Family and Social Services’ General Directorate on the Status of Women commented, “As the Ministry, we find it very important that women have increased representation on boards. As a matter of fact, we can see that there is clear guidance in the 11^th Development Plan to head in this direction. In the Empowerment of Women Strategy Document and Action Plan, which we prepared as the Ministry, we included concrete actions. Going forward, our Ministry will continue to support all efforts for stronger representation of women in corporate boards and decision-making mechanisms.”

Ali Fuat Taşkesenlioğlu, President of the Capital Markets Board said, “We support the inclusion of diverse opinions and experiences in boards, and enhanced representation of women on boards in the context of the contribution of capital markets to sustainable development.  Offering equal opportunities to increase the representation and participation of women in the world of business is very important for efficiency and financial value in the long term.”

TÜSİAD Chairman Simone Kaslowski commented, “As TÜSİAD, we believe that equal participation of women and men in economic life, decision-making mechanisms, politics and social life is a factor determining democracy and the development level of a country. We are developing projects for the private sector to empower women in economy and working.  Research shows that companies with more women on boards and top management are more successful at creating high added value, corporate performance and effective decision-making. We find it important to implement comprehensive practices with a roadmap in cooperation with the public and private sectors, NGOs and international institutional investors to eliminate barriers to women’s representation in top management positions in Turkey and to ensure gender equality in every field of business life.”

Ece Börü, member of the Corporate Governance Association of Turkey board said, “In order for a board of directors to make really effective decisions and create lasting value, it is important to have members with diverse competencies and perspectives, and gender balance. Any change of culture in this direction definitely enhances the overall performance of boards. The most effective methods of securing gender balance on boards include the establishment of communication networks and support for women in corporate life. We believe that well-determined policies, target-oriented training, development, and experience programs will bring highly performing and sustainable governance through models that support diversity and gender equality on boards.”

Anne Cairns, Global Head of the 30% Club said, “I am glad that 30% Club Turkey contributed to the development of the roadmap which encourages further participation of women in boards and top management in Turkish companies. Women’s participation in business decisions not only enhances companies’ social and environmental performance and the sustainable participation of women in labor, but also serves to disseminate ideals of equality and inclusiveness in society.”