EGİADThe Word of Women

Standing out with its 30 percent female member rate EGİAD Aegean Young Businessmen Association, as part of 8 March International Women's DayEGİADWith the event titled "Women in Working Life from the Perspective of Business Women of Turkey", it brought its female members together in an online meeting. Staying true to the spirit of Women's Day, in the event where female members took the leading role, the word was left entirely to the female members; The place, rights and expectations of women in society and working life were discussed.

EGİAD The webinar started with the opening speech of Alp Avni Yelkenbiçer, President of the Aegean Young Businessmen Association. EGİAD It was held with the moderation of Deputy Secretary General Ezgi Kudar Eroğlu, with the participation of business women who are members of the NGO.

Speaking at the event that took place online in the form of a free lectern EGİAD Alp Avni Yelkenbiçer, Chairman of the Board of Directors, said, “Women are the most effective, directing, unifying and protective element of society. While the advancement of women is a condition of social justice, it is not just a women's issue. This issue is the only way to build a sustainable, just and developed society, and it is the first condition for political, social, economic and cultural success. For a democratic and advanced society, it is of great importance for women to be empowered, to expand their fields of activity, and to benefit from equal opportunities and opportunities in fields such as education, employment, health, politics and law.

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Pointing out that women have contributed the most in Turkey's development process, Yelkenbiçer said, “While Turkey's economy, politics, social life and democracy are developing, it has been our women who contributed the most to this process. Especially in recent years, as an institution, we have been working to strengthen women's entrepreneurship. EGİAD 24 of the 8 startups that we invest in under the umbrella of Melekleri are female founders and unfortunately it is not enough. In addition to participating in the economy, you would appreciate that our women need non-governmental organizations in which they can express themselves in this process. From this perspective EGİAD It is an NGO that always draws great strength from its female members. Of course, one of our biggest shortcomings is that the number of female members is close to 30%, albeit higher than our country average; I do not hesitate to make this self-criticism and we continue to work to increase this number.”

In his words, the Great Leader Atatürk said, “There is a safer and more correct way to walk: to make the great Turkish woman a partner in our work.” Yelkenbiçer concluded by saying, “Turkey's power is the power of women. The solution of global problems also has the potential to be active thanks to our women. From the climate crisis to social issues, the world needs women's intelligence and intuition in every field.” she said.

The problems experienced by women in business life were evaluated and the effects of glass ceiling, glass elevator and glass cliff syndromes were conveyed. At the meeting, the topics of women's employment problems, devaluation of women's labor, more exploitation of women in working life and ignoring domestic labor were also discussed, and suggestions were discussed to create strong women in professional careers.