INCLUSION OF WOMEN ON TURKISH BOARDS PUSHED

By The Financial District
May 19, 2021
1 min read

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

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The partners have developed a roadmap that sets out actions to promote greater representation of women in corporate decision-making. The document links the presence of women on boards to stronger corporate governance, improved financial performance, and better corporate environmental and social outcomes.

Turkey’s listed companies are lagging their global peers, in terms of inclusion of women on boards, with almost 40 percent of boards in 2019 consisting of men only.

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Melsa Ararat, Professor of Corporate Governance at Sabanci University, who is coordinating the effort, said: “The enthusiastic contribution of the participating institutions in developing the roadmap is reassuring for successful implementation.

She added that "each participant has their own perspective and justification for promoting a higher ratio of female directors on corporate boards and in leadership."

Among these reasons are improving boards’ effectiveness by refreshing the entrenched boards and encouraging women’s effective participation in the economy by including women in the upper echelons of business organizations. We envisage an entirely inclusive process and invite all interested parties to join the implementation efforts.”

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The roadmap was developed with EBRD funding and in partnership with the Ministry of Family and Social Services, the Capital Markets Board of Turkey, Borsa Istanbul and the International Finance Corporation (IFC); business associations TUSIAD, TOBB, the 30% Club, the United Nations Global Compact Turkey Network and the Corporate Governance Association of Turkey; and professional women’s networks the Women’s Entrepreneurs Association KAGIDER, Women Corporate Directors and Sabanci University’s Independent Women Directors Platform.

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