Prominent women of Turkey and their success stories are theme of webinar series organized by InBusiness magazine of Turkuvaz Media Group. The series, started on Wednesday, will culminate in Global Hope Festival, a project of the media group which includes Daily Sabah.
Entitled "Women Inspiring Hope," the webinar focused on gender equality, one of United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. The festival seeks to raise awareness of sustainability whose importance was comprehended more during the ongoing coronavirus outbreak. Turkuvaz Media Group launched the festival platform in December 2020, and the festival will have a busy calendar throughout this year, including 10 webinars on different aspects of sustainability.
The first webinar, endorsed by the Ministry of Family, Labor and Social Services, was composed of panels of women from different walks of life sharing their stories online. Minister Zehra Zümrüt Selçuk was among the participants in the webinar. Other participants were professor Aşkın Asan from the Group of Experts on Action Against Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence (GREVIO), U.N. Women Turkey Director Asya Varbanova.
"Women should be represented by at least 30 percent in decision-making mechanisms but this goal has not been reached yet. Currently, one in 10 women is illiterate and 32 million school girls are suffering from lack of education," Varbanova said.
"Globally, one in every three women suffer from physical violence," she added.
In three panels, guests discussed challenges women faced, success stories and the employment of women. The first panel focused on Turkey’s road map for gender equality and hosted prominent figures from the business world including Limak Holding chairwoman Ebru Özdemir and Fark Holding chairwoman Ahu Büyükkuşoğlu Serter.
"42 percent of our 2,500 employees are women. There is no obstacle anymore with regards to gender within our company," Serter said.
In the second panel, fashion designer Aslı Filinta, entrepreneur Neslişah Alkoçlar Düzyatan and gymnast Göksu Üçtaş Şanlı spoke about their journey to success.
The last panel highlighted women's entrepreneurship and ways to empower it. It hosted Esen Türker, Aegean region representative for Women Entrepreneurs committee of The Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey (TOBB); Halil Fatih Akgül, secretary-general of a foundation fighting waste and Turkey branch of Grameen, a Bangladesh-based microfinance organization; Berrin Kuleli, deputy chairwoman of the Women Entrepreneurs Association (KAGİDER), and Melek Pulatkonak, founder of the Turkish Women’s International Network (TurkishWIN).