Women's Employment Is Essential for Economic Growth

Turkchem 07 Mar 2016 54 3 dk okuma

TURKCHEM

Emerging economies are caught in a bind of both inflation and weak growth. "Women's employment" is cited as essential to reviving growth, as it is known that women's participation in employment makes a major contribution to the economy.

Developing economies face a dilemma of both inflation and weak growth. "Women's employment" is cited as essential to stimulate growth. This is because women's participation in the workforce is known to contribute significantly to the economy.

If women's employment in Turkey reaches the same level as in France, GDP is projected to increase by 4-5 percentage points. So what is the current situation regarding women's employment in Turkey? Deputy General Manager at Destek Menkul Değerler İnci Özbek evaluated the issue in the "Women's Employment Report."

Women's Employment Report

Women's Labor Force Participation Rate Rising

According to data released by TÜİK, the labor force participation rate in 2014 was 30.3% for women and 71.3% for men. (2015 figures will be announced on 23 March) Women's labor force participation rate was 30.8% in 2013 and 29.5% in 2012.

As seen in TÜİK's 2014 employment table, while the female population aged 15 and over exceeds 28 million, only approximately 9 million are in the labor force and only approximately 8 million are employed.

Women's Employment Growing

However, women's employment has been growing faster than men's employment in recent years. According to TEPAV's Employment Monitoring Bulletin data, women's employment in Turkey increased by 58% over five years to reach 3 million 849 thousand. As a result of this increase, women's share in total employment rose from 24% to 27%.

Do Employers Prefer Female or Male Workers?

We can also see that perceptions regarding women's presence in working life are changing. According to a survey by İŞKUR with 132 thousand employers, the preference rate for hiring women in vacant positions rose from 11.4% in 2014 to 17.8% in 2015. The proportion of those preferring men declined from 45.7% to 45.1%.

Financial Sector Shows Nearly Equal Numbers of Female and Male Employees

TÜİK's Financial Intermediary Institution Statistics show that the share of salaried women working in the sector was 47.3% in 2014, which is below the 48% level in 2013. In 2014, the number of salaried female employees was 150,603 while the number of male employees was 167,600. The share of salaried women was 47.3%, and salaried men was 52.7%. Distribution of salaried employees by gender, 2007 - 2014

Are Women Investing in Capital Markets?

Women's investments in capital markets remain limited compared to men's, despite years of discussion about savings under the mattress. According to Central Registry Agency data, portfolio value was TRY 9.44 million in 2014, declining to TRY 9.03 million in 2015. In 2015, male investors' portfolio value was TRY 35.3 million. The number of female investors was around 265,000 during the same period, while the number of male investors was 785,000, nearly three times that of women.

While developing countries still discuss issues such as violence against women, developed countries like the US grapple with wage inequality between women and men. All these factors cause employment issues to remain in the background. Nevertheless, the inclusion of this topic at important forums such as G20 meetings and growing awareness are encouraging signs. Governments need to stop wearing down the doors of Central Banks to create growth and instead take new steps to encourage women's employment.

Conclusion

Women make up half the world's population, but population equality does not translate into labor market figures. Fortunately, the world has begun discussing more seriously the importance of women playing a more active role in employment. The increase of women's role in employment is expected to make a significant contribution to growth. The France example was brought up at the W20 Meeting held in Turkey last October. As is known, women's employment in France reaches the 80% range, and the success of this model stems from the widespread and effective child care services in the country. In Turkey, cash assistance has been launched in some pilot regions to encourage in-home childcare. If women's employment in Turkey reaches the same level as in France, GDP is projected to increase by 4-5 percentage points.