Official figures show gender inequality in Turkey’s labor force

ISTANBUL

The employment rate of women remained less than half of the employment rate of men in 2016 in Turkey, while the proportion of women in senior positions was 16.7 percent in the same year, according to recent data released by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK).

In its “Women in Statistics 2017” report, TÜİK said the rate of employment among women above the age of 15 was 28 percent while it was 65.1 percent for men.

The education level of women was directly proportionate to their labor force participation rate, which was 15.2 for illiterate women, 27.2 for those whose education level was under secondary school level, 33.6 for women who graduated from a secondary school, and 71.3 for women who graduated from a university.

However, the proportion of women in executive positions was 16.7 percent, the report added.

It found that the service industry had the highest rate of women employment, with 55.4 percent of women working in the sector.

The proportion of women working as professors or lecturers increased to 43.1 percent while the rate of men in such academic positions decreased to 56.9 percent. In 2007, this rate was 40.1 for women and 59.9 for men, the report said.

The report also included the average age at first marriage among men and women in 2017.

The average age at first marriage became 24.6 for women while it was 27.7 for men, the report said.

The survey revealed that most people think their health situation and family life is the primary determinant of their happiness.

Some 64.9 percent of women said family life was the main determinant for their happiness while 71.8 said their health was the main determinant for their happiness in 2017.

Meanwhile, it has been revealed that women consumed nearly three times less tobacco than men. According to the figures, 44.1 percent of men and 17.4 percent of women used tobacco either every day or sometimes, in 2016.

The report also included statistics for the cause of death of women in Turkey in 2016. The figures showed the most common cause of death among women was circulatory system diseases, which was followed by tumors and respiratory system diseases.