Time to Think EQUAL - and to Act EQUAL

Turkey has a vibrant and growing movement to promote gender equality—and the drive for equal opportunities for women and men received a powerful boost with the recent launch in Istanbul and Samsun of this year's World Development Report (WDR) on "Gender Equality and Development" and its ECA Region companion report on "Opportunities for Men and Women: Emerging Europe and Central Asia."

Turkey's Minister of Family and Social Policies, Ms. Fatma Åžahin, led the national launch event in Istanbul on December 6th. Minister Åžahin made a passionate appeal for pursuing gender equality, indeed equality of opportunities more broadly, putting the issue on equal footing with economic growth.

As stressed by Şahin, "Today, economic development is very important, but supporting it with social policies is more important. Gender equality is one of the areas where we need to make progress." The World Bank's Country Director for Turkey, Ulrich Zachau, highlighted the WDR's call for action. "It is time to think Equal —and to act Equal," emphasized Zachau.

The report was presented by WDR 2012 Director Ana Revenga and team member Carolina Sanchez. "Ensuring that women have the same access to economic opportunities and productive inputs as men will bring about sizeable productivity gains," said Revenga. "In today's more integrated and competitive world, countries that reduce gender-based inequalities—especially in secondary and tertiary education and in economic participation—will have a clear advantage over those that delay action."

Sarosh Sattar, ECA Senior Economist, presented the ECA Gender report, stressing the economic gains from gender equality in Europe and Central Asian countries.

The subsequent panel discussion, with panelists from the government, academia, the private sector, and the media, focused on a broad set of issues, ranging from gender gaps in human capital to avenues for reducing gender differences in voice and eliminating gender violence. The event closed with a lively Q & A session with the participants from the floor.

The Governor and Mayor of Samsun led the second launch event on December 7th in Samsun, a major city in the Black Sea Region of Turkey.

In his welcoming remarks at the event, Country Director Ulrich Zachau built on the core WDR message to stress the importance of Gender Equality: "Gender equality is an aspiration. It is also an inspiration. It is the right thing to do, and is the smart thing to do, in Turkey and around the world."

Sarosh Sattar presented the WDR and the ECA companion report. Sattar noted that "Addressing gender inequality is an imperative since there are large demographic changes on the horizon for the Region that would necessitate women's greater role in the economic sphere."

The panel discussion and Q & A that followed focused on Turkey's very low female labor participation – around only 25 percent – and ways to increase it with more and better jobs for women. Participants stressed the importance of reaching gender equality in secondary education, promoting female entrepreneurship, improving childcare services and maternity leave policies, and eliminating gender inequality in retirement ages, among many other policy issues for Turkey. They also highlighted the important role that development partners such as the World Bank can play in complementing and supporting government, private sector, and civil society action.

The two launch events in Turkey told stories of women, of gender equality, and of development achievements and challenges in Turkey—a lens through which all participants at the launch could glimpse the magnitude of the opportunities to be realized as gender equality takes hold around the world.