Ministry takes steps to 'ensure women's work-life balance'

ANTALYA

Family and Social Services Minister Mahinur Özdemir Göktaş has announced that her ministry is working to create flexible ork models with remote and hybrid settings and neighborhood-type kindergartens to 'ensure women's work-life balance.'

Speaking at the Meeting of Chairpersons of the Turkic States Parliamentary Assembly "Ensuring Equal Opportunities for Women and Men and Women's Empowerment Program" in the Turkish hotspot Antalya, Göktaş said: "The strongest fortress of the nation is the family, and the strongest soldier of this fortress is the woman."

Göktaş added that they are working on certain work models and neighborhood-type kindergartens for children so that women do not have to choose between home and work.

"When our efforts are completed, we will have taken pioneering steps to ensure women's work-life balance," she noted.

"Increasing women's employment and participation in the labor market has always been a priority in our country's basic policies and in the work of our ministry. According to the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK), we have more than doubled the number of employed women from 4.7 million in 2005 to approximately 11 million," she added.

Göktaş underlined that in the new development plan, targets for women were specifically included under a separate topic.

"One of the main objectives is to ensure that women benefit equally from all opportunities, live free from all forms of violence and discrimination, and increase their representation and participation in all fields. One of the main goals of all our work for women is to help them overcome the invisible barriers that are placed in front of them like an obstacle," the minister said.