Minister of Family and Social Services Mahinur Özdemir Göktaş chaired a session on ‘Women’s and Girls’ Economic Rights’ at the ‘Conference on the Impact of Religious and Media Discourses on the Protection and Development of Women’s Rights’ organized by the OIC in the Al-Azhar Conference Center in Egypt. Minister Göktaş, who also moderated the session on ‘Women and financial inclusion,’ emphasized in her speech that the OIC conducts consistent and productive work on women’s rights and welfare. She stated that they focus on concrete solutions for women’s participation in economic life, noting that this meeting provides a strategic platform for sharing experiences between countries.
Turkey’s Steadfast Support for Women’s Empowerment Under the OIC
Minister Göktaş pointed out the great importance of sharing best practices at national, regional, and international levels for empowering women economically through entrepreneurship. She stated, “Women’s economic rights are not only the key to individual welfare but also to social justice, sustainable growth, and resilient economies. As Turkey, we have been steadfastly supporting the empowerment of women under the OIC for many years. We spearheaded the establishment of the Women’s Advisory Council within the OIC. We strengthened this common will with concrete institutional steps. We hosted the Ministerial Conferences on Women in 2006 and 2016. We continue to support initiatives that advance women’s rights, including the implementation of the Action Plan for the Development of Women, on OIC platforms.”
Göktaş emphasized that the topics discussed in the session, such as access to finance and markets, and strengthening capacities and skills, all serve a single goal: for women to take a more visible, strong, and permanent role as leading actors in economic life. Drawing attention to the role of entrepreneurship in this process, Minister Göktaş said, “Entrepreneurship is not just a business establishment activity. It is also a development tool that grows the production culture, increases innovation capacity, and carries local values to global markets. When a female entrepreneur is empowered, in addition to increasing her own income, she also stabilizes the family economy.”
Increasing Women’s Labor Force Participation to 35.5%
Göktaş stated that they are implementing the 12th Development Plan and the Strategy Document and Action Plan for the Empowerment of Women as fundamental roadmaps for strengthening women’s economic rights. She said, “Within this scope, with the work we have carried out, we have today increased women’s labor force participation rate to 35.5% and women’s employment rate to 31.7%. We aim to raise the labor force participation rate to 40.1% and the employment rate to 36.2% by the end of 2028. The reflection of these targets on the ground requires strong coordination. For this reason, with the instructions of our President Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, we are strengthening inter-institutional cooperation with the Women’s Empowerment Coordination Board and its sub-committees. We ensure that our policies are implemented more effectively at the local level.”
Turkey’s Determination for Women to Become More Visible
“The economic empowerment of women grows national welfare. It deepens regional cooperation. It increases competitiveness in international markets,” Göktaş said, adding, “For this reason, as Turkey, we consider the empowerment of women as an integral part of our development policy. The vision put forward by our President positions this area as a strategic element of economic transformation. Today, the fact that women have become more visible as leading actors in the markets in Turkey is the result of this determination on the ground.”
