
We are aware of the value generated by women
In our journey to become the star that links Anatolia to the world and the world to Anatolia, our most important priority as Anadolu Group, has always been the human being. We consider the elimination of all forms of discrimination in society as a necessity of sustainable development and most importantly as a fundamental human right. Particularly, we focus on studies that raise awareness about the added value of women workforce. We declare that “we are aware of the value that the women generate”, since we strongly believe that the world will be materially and spiritually developed when the influence of the women in decision making processes increases.
We are implementing projects to promote gender equality and increase the added value generated by women in all areas such as taking part in associations, organizations, and activities that support women’s employment. On the other hand, we are striving to train female employees in our group by developing their competencies so that more women take part in our senior management and boards.
In 2012, under the leadership of the World Economic Forum and the Republic of Turkey Ministry of Family and Social Policies, we have signed the Declaration of Equality at Work, which was prepared to reduce the gap of economic participation and opportunities mentioned in the Gender Gap Report. In addition, we have established the Anadolu Group Equal Opportunity Policy through which we are committed not to allow discrimination in all our practices and processes. Accordingly, we are adopting the following principle; “we do not discriminate based on age, gender, race, religion, language, ethnicity, sexual orientation, belief, civil, social or economic situation, disability status, political opinion, participation and membership in trade union activities, pregnancy or military service status”. On the other hand, we are a member of the International 30% Club that aims to reach 30% female representation by increasing the number of women in the board of directors and the top management of the companies.
In “Women-Friendly Companies” research by Capital Magazine, we are listed as one of the top groups with the highest number of Women Executives in Turkey for the last 6 years. We are so proud of this position. Since our Group Companies believe that the participation of women in production processes is a condition for development, they are developing projects that reach significant numbers in this area.
As part of its sustainability efforts, Anadolu Efes supports the women entrepreneurs all around Turkey with the project called “Future Is In Tourism”. The project started in 2007 under the partnership of Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism and UNDP (United Nations Development Programme) in order to create sustainable tourism models to support local development. To support the work of women entrepreneurs in the regions where it was implemented, the project pioneered the establishment of the cooperatives and provided inspirational training to the women in different areas. With the projects supported by Future Is In Tourism, 300 women have been employed so far and this number continues to increase. If we examine the examples of how women entrepreneurs add value to a region;
● With the establishment “İpekyolu Guest House” in Mardin, 43 women received training in tourism. Employment opportunities were created for women in two boarding houses with 22 beds that offer food and accommodation services.
● With “Let Be a Misian” project in Bursa, 44 women received tourism training to market the products they locally produce. 25 women were employed. With the project, the heritage craft of sericulture has been revived and the women sell the handcraft made by silk in the Silk House (İpek Evi).
● Thanks to “Traditional Cuisine of Seferihisar ” project, a workshop was established for local women to share their culinary culture and experiences with visitors. The project pioneered to launch www.seferipazar.com online shopping site for selling the delicacies branded with “Seferihisar”.
● Within the context of “Stonemasonry at Gobeklitepe, the World’s Oldest Temple” project, the women that received training became the first female stone workers in Turkey.
● Lavender Scented Village in Kuyucak pioneered the establishment of a women cooperative. Hence, the employment and entrepreneurship potential of local women was mobilized.
● Within the scope of “Edremit’s Local Cuisine with Nar Kadın”, the local women received personal and occupational training so that they could transform their products into tourism items. By selling these products produced by women, the project supports the women economically.
● With “A Day in Ovacık Village” project, an old village school was restored and assigned to the Ovacık Village Women Seed Association. Here, women support their families and promote the local tastes with the kitchen workshops they organize every weekend.
● Thanks to “Women Will Enlighten Perşembe” project, an old mansion was restored for promoting the sustainable tourism in Perşembe and the women sold the local products they have produced.
Coca-Cola İçecek (CCI) is a signatory of UN Women Empowerment Principles since 2015. While supporting women’s participation in the economy through the women entrepreneurship program Belestery, implemented in Kazakhstan in line with the commitments contained in the UN Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEP), CCI carries out many volunteer projects including CCI Volunteerism Program, initiated in 2017, with more than 1500 volunteers. CCI also established the Women Platforms in 10 countries, in which it operates and established channels to represent the women employees. Women’s Platforms of all countries working for training women leaders, being a women-friendly workplace, contributing to women’s empowerment in the society, creating synergies and having fun while working were merged under the roof of CCI Women’s Platforms in 2019. CCI’s ratio of women executives is 32%.
Migros, with 12,500 women employees from all levels, representing 40% of the employees, is one of the top companies creating employment for women. Currently, 1,302 of the 2,579 people (50%) who work at Migros with Turkish Employment Agency On-the-Job Training Program (İEP), consist of women. The ratio of female executives in Migros is 28% and it is above the sector average. Approximately 98 percent of the managers are trained internally in Migros and with the training program called Migros Leadership Path; around 500 women employees are being trained for management. Supporting women to get new professions in every field, Migros trained 364 women butchers. While the rate of women butcher in Turkey is 1%, this rate is equal to 10% in Migros. Migros provides professional and skills courses free of charge in 63 different fields with Family Clubs that operate in 20 different points in 16 cities. Thanks to the knowledge and skills they have acquired from the courses of the Family Clubs, which have approximately 35 thousand registered members, many women establish their own businesses. With the Good Future Ambassadors (İyi Gelecek Elçileri) platform, Migros offers a chance to have fun and win a prize by sharing inspiring ideas to the women that are members of Money Club.
Increasing the number of female employees in the last 5 years by 100 percent, Anadolu Isuzu is carrying out projects for determining the jobs that female employees can perform and for determining the occupational groups in order to increase the number of female workers in the production. Employing 10 women in production, Anadolu Isuzu provided training to 3 women employees in 2019 and they received the forklift operator license. Anadolu Isuzu has been working on finding women workers in production for areas such as after-sales services and quality control and carries out improvement works in the areas of production and recreation for women workers so that they can work comfortably.
General Manager of Adel Kalemcilik, Evrim Hizaler, is listed among Turkey’s 50 Most Powerful Women CEOs consecutively for 7 years. The number of female employees in Adel Kalemcilik is 25%, while the ratio of senior female executives is 31%.
For improving the efficiency in the restaurants and contributing to the development of the working environment, McDonald’s aimed to increase the number of women that are older than 35 years in accordance with last year’s most important business strategies. In 2018, McDonald’s launched the Hanımeli incentive program to increase the number of women employees. At the end of this project, it was targeted to achieve a 50% increase in the number of female employees over age 35.
Organizing special training for women farmers in order to increase the number of qualified women employees in the agricultural sector, Anadolu Etap works to increase the participation of the women in the economy and the qualifications of the woman workforce. In 2012, in order to maintain sustainability in its ecosystem and to offer new and more advanced standards for fruit growing, Anadolu Etap established a training center called “Agro Academy”. Agro Academy provided Fruit Cultivation and Sustainable Agricultural Practices trainings to 750 farmers, consisting of 70% of women farmers. Women agricultural engineers and technicians working in Anadolu Etap farms are trained as managers of the future. While 70% of the employees working on the farms are women, the farms provided employment opportunities to 2000 people in 2018. 50% of the students, who were granted scholarships within the scope of “Agro Scholarship”, consisted of female students. 75% of the 750 farmers participating in the Agro Academy trainings were women.
Operating in order to trigger social development in social areas and to create differences and awareness that will increase the quality of life of the society, Anadolu Foundation, organized many seminars and workshops for 430 women with its project called “İstanbul’un Değer Yaratan Kadınları” and continues to provide the mentorship support. Supporting the improvement in the individual and social lives of the women through “Women of Anatolia” project, Anadolu Foundation provided training to 385 women in Nevşehir and Samsun with 10 seminars. Within the scope of this program, the Foundaton aims to strengthen the economic and social positions of the women by providing opportunities to support women’s development between the ages of 18-55. Supporting innovation and creation of sustainable solution capacity within the scope of Social Entrepreneurship theme with “Değerli Öğretmenim” project, Anadolu Foundation has reached over 60 thousand teachers in 45 cities between 2014 and 2018 by focusing on the teachers in the education system. The multiplier effect of the teachers, consisting of mostly women, includes the children in their homes besides the students in the schools they teach. While continuing to extend a helping hand to the institutions that needed or demanded support, with the support of its employees, Anadolu Foundation provided supplies to women and children in 8 institutions.
Anadolu Foundation also supported the education of 318 young girls that study in the university and that were successful in academic and social terms but lacked financial opportunities, within the scope of the Scholarship Program for the 2018-2019 Academic Year. Since 2014, the Foundation has supported the personal and professional development of 97 female students through the Mentoring Program and aims to raise strong and visionary women, who are sensitive to social problems, who are solution-oriented, self-confident, and who care about the continuity of personal development and take into account universal values. Between 2005 and 2018, 21,286 women (particularly disabled, retired and elder people in the rehabilitation/disabled) were provided with 72,686 inspections, 1,670 surgeries, 18,264 days inpatient treatment and 266,871 investigations services, thanks to Social Responsibility in Health Project. Within the scope of the project, 62.2% of 576,839 health services were provided for women.
Anadolu Medical Center & Anadolu Efes Sports Club, carry out the “Pink Ball is in the Field” project since 2014 in order to attract attention to the importance of early diagnosis in breast cancer. The project was held for the fifth time this year. With the project that uses the “Pink Ball” as the powerful icon of breast cancer, the pink ball was used to start a basketball match in 2014 for the first time in Turkey. In addition, Anadolu Efes Sports Club mascot Çaylak welcomes the women coming to watch a game with flowers in Sinan Erdem Sports Hall. 25% of the ticket and combined ticket owners consist of women. 22.1% of Anadolu Efes Fan Club members are women.
Supporting the women’s platforms in the industry, the ratio of female employees among the white-collar employees in AND Real Estate is 60%. This number is equal to 61% at the executive level. On the other hand, the employees of AEH Sigorta are only women. Managed by a female General Manager, the ratio of senior women executives in Efestur is 75%. 52% of all staff consists of female employees.
As Anadolu Group, we continue our efforts to promote gender equality and raise awareness of the value generated by women. We are getting strength from our women in all our activities and we are aware that the future will be brighter if women are more involved. We would like to present our regards to all women and we sincerely celebrate 8 March, International Women’s Day.