Gender equality seminars to address university students across Turkey

ANKARA – Anadolu Agency

YÖK head Prof. Dr. Yekta Saraç. AA Photo

The Higher Education Board (YÖK) is due to start a series of seminars to raise awareness on gender equality in universities in eight regions across Turkey. 

The first seminar organized by YÖK will take place on Oct. 26 in Amasya province for undergraduate, masters and PhD students. University students from neighboring provinces will also be able to participate in the seminar.

The seminars will address the problems women face in their daily lives, violence against female academics and university workers, mobbing, empowering the status of female academics, and planned measures to be taken against problems they are currently facing.

The seminars will be just one part of a group of activities planned by YÖK’s unit established to fight against gender inequality in universities and among academics. 

In Turkey, some 43 percent of university students and 45 percent of academics are female, according to YÖK data. There are currently 2.7 million female students in universities across the country, compared to 3.2 million male university students. 

However, there are only 14 female rectors heading the 185 universities across the country. 

Out of the total 20,880 professors, only 6,128 are women, while out of 14,140 total doctors there are only 4,848 women.