Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Services, Limak and UNDP are transforming the project they have initiated to empower women with the Engineer Girls of Turkey from education on to professional life.

Limak Group, which has been supporting young women in high schools and universities to enter engineering professions with the “Engineer Girls of Turkey” project, is preparing for the first pilot programme of the UNDP Gender Equality Seal Certificate Program in Turkey. “Equality Management Model in Business Enterprises” is to be implemented under the UNDP Gender Equality Seal, which is a gender equality certificate programme for public and private sector organizations of UNDP.

“Equality Management Model in Business Enterprises” aims to empower women in jobs, professions, and expertise areas traditionally perceived to be unsuitable for them. Based on the understanding that the struggle for equality should not be limited to education, this model aims to systematically address the gender-based discrimination and subordination that women face and struggle with in post-education professional life.

Individual efforts against gender inequality in professional life are not enough. Reviewing the company structures and practices systematically is vital in efforts towards gender equality. In this regard, the model requires the establishment of an internal management system in which companies continuously observe gender equality within themselves and in their business relations to take remedial measures. This system is relying on the commitment of the senior management to equality, regular monitoring, and analysis of gender-based discrimination in the access to opportunities, rewards, and representation as well as utilising action plans for the establishment of gender equality in the whole organisation.

Limak, which carries out activities in project development and financial and operational support with various companies in sectors where women’s employment is traditionally low around the world, such as energy and infrastructure, can lead the development of practices supporting gender equality in these sectors. Therefore, carrying out the pilot programme of the UNDP Gender Equality Seal Certificate Programme in partnership with Limak Investment has a strategic importance.

As of today, within the framework of the pilot programme, an Equality Committee has been established for the management of the programme in Limak and trainings have been held to develop a common understanding with UNDP on Gender Equality Seal. The Committee is preparing to develop an action plan based on the Company Self-Assessment process designed to examine the gender equality outlook internally.

The 5 objectives of the cooperation between UNDP and Limak are to; enhance institutionalization in gender equality strengthening activities in Limak and private sector in general, to integrate this institutionalization process with global standards, to convert Limak’s successes and outcomes into a model that can be implemented at a national level in Turkey, to provide a strategy to support equality in sectors where women’s employment is traditionally low, and to undertake the leadership of transformation.