Women’s Labor and Emolyment Initiative Platform
While women’s labour and employment is one of the areas in which discrimination against women is most prevalent, it was not really on the agenda of Turkey or of women’s organizations until recently. With the start of negotiations with the European Union, both the issue of gender equality, covered under the heading of Social Policies, and the issue of employment, defined under its own separate heading, came to be discussed at greater length in Turkey. In this process, an increase in the number of meetings and reports on this matter also took place. The policy proposals being brought up in these meetings and reports in order to increase the women’s employment rate, however, still remained deeply inadequate. This is why we decided to write a press release titled the Joint Press Release of Women’s Organizations in March 2006, after the Women’s Employment Summit, and we opened this up to the signatures of women’s organizations.

Following this press release, on the 2nd of April, 2006, a group of women activists and academics working in the field of women’s labour and employment came together, and held a meeting in which we discussed our priorities with regards to organizing and policies. The Women’s Labour and Employment Initiative (KEİG) Platform was founded as a result of this meeting. On the 24th of February, 2007, KEİG organized a Women’s Labour and Employment Meeting attended by the relevant parties to the issue, and by women’s organizations from all parts of the country. After this conference, KEİG became a platform with various women’s organizations as its members.

Why KEİG Platform?

The KEİG Platform is a platform including 32 separate women’s organizations from 16 different provinces, all working on different aspects of the issue of gender equality – such as labour, male violence against women, and the political participation of women. Essentially, what it does is to produce information and carry out activities in the field of women’s labour and employment. Its main goal is to influence policymaking, and create new policies in this field, so that women may have a secure and permanent position within the work force, and find jobs with good working conditions that provide adequate income. While formulating these policies, it bases its perspective on rendering visible the unpaid labour expended by women within the household, and on transcending the gendered division of labour both within and outside the home.

KEİG Platform Members

Association for Solidarity with and Improvement of the Conditions of Housewives/ EVKAD (ADANA) * Working Group for Home-Based Women Workers * Women’s Education and Employment Association/ KEİD * The Women Physicians and Women’s Health Branch of the Turkish Doctor’s Union (ANKARA) * Antalya Women’s Counseling Center and Solidarity Association (ANTALYA) * Koza Women’s Association (BURSA) * Çanakkale Women Entrepreneurs Production and Marketing Cooperative * Elder Association for the Utilization of Women’s Handcrafts/ ELDER (ÇANAKKALE) * Association for the Support of Women Entrepreneurs/ GİKAD (DENİZLİ) * KAMER Foundation * Selis Women’s Counseling Center * Association for Business Women in the East and Southeast/ DOGÜNKAD (DİYARBAKIR) * Association for the Education and Support of Women Candidates/ KA.DER * Women Engineers Group * Women Unionists Group * Women for Women’s Human Rights (WWHR) – New Ways * Women’s Solidarity Foundation/ KADAV * Blue Pencil Social Cooperation and Solidarity Association * Women’s Journal of the Petroleum Employees Union * Women Entrepreneurs Association of Turkey/ KAGİDER * Imece Domestic Workers Union * Center for Social Development and Gender Equality Policies/ SOGEP (İSTANBUL/ KOCAELİ) * Buca Evka 1 Women’s Culture and Solidarity Home/ BEKEV * Çiğli Evka-2 Women’s Culture Home/ ÇEKEV * Izmir Women’s Solidarity Association (İZMİR) * Mersin Independent Women’s Association (MERSİN) * Labor Is Mıne Women’s Association (MUĞLA) * Ordu Women’s Empowerment Association (ORDU) * Black Sea Region Women’s Solidarity Association * Life- Women’s Center Association (TRABZON) * Home of Life Women’s Solidarity Association/ YAŞAM EVİ (URFA) * Van Women’s Association/ VAKAD (VAN) * Feminist Researchers Studying on Women’s Labour/ KEFA