Equality does not arise from goodwill alone; it is sustained through strong institutions, principled leadership, and collective responsibility.
What is your vision for serving on the SIE Board 2026-2027?
My motivation stems from a deep commitment to strengthening leadership continuity within our Federation.
Throughout my Soroptimist journey at local, national and European levels, I have seen that lasting impact depends on more than dedication. It requires strategic clarity, institutional alignment and responsible governance. Initiatives may begin with vision, yet they endure only when supported by strong systems.
As Chair of the Scholarship, Mentoring and Leadership Academy Committee, I work directly on cultivating future leaders and strengthening succession pathways. This role has reinforced my belief that leadership development must be intentional and embedded within our institutional framework, not treated as an occasional initiative.
Serving on the SIE Board is an opportunity to contribute at the strategic level where vision, governance, and leadership development intersect. My aim is to support a Federation that is forward-looking, structurally strong, and equipped to empower women and girls not only today, but for generations to come.
What is your vision for a better world?
My vision of a better world is one in which women and girls are not only protected from inequality, but are active architects of the systems that shape society.
A better world is one where access to education leads to economic independence, where leadership is accessible and representative, and where institutions are strong enough to safeguard progress across generations. Equality, in my view, is sustained not by declarations, but by structures that ensure fairness, opportunity and accountability.
The next steps in that direction require deliberate action. We must strengthen leadership pipelines, invest in structured mentoring, and ensure that our scholarship and empowerment programmes are aligned with long term strategy. Cross border collaboration and knowledge sharing within our Federation will be essential to building collective capacity.
For this biennium, my aims are to reinforce leadership development frameworks, support strategic continuity across governance levels, and enhance measurable impact within our programmes. I am particularly committed to ensuring that future leaders are prepared, supported and connected to the institutional vision of Soroptimist International of Europe.
Sustainable progress demands clarity, discipline and solidarity. My aspiration is to contribute to a Federation that leads with both conviction and structure, empowering women and girls not only for today, but for the future they will define.
What do you do to stay motivated in your work?
I remain motivated by anchoring myself in purpose. This is not merely work; it is a shared commitment to a cause greater than any individual role.
What gives meaning to this journey is the strength and integrity of those who walk beside us. The solidarity, the shared responsibility, and the collective determination to advance equality transform challenges into moments of growth. When purpose is shared, resilience deepens.
Challenges are inevitable in institutional leadership. I approach them with composure and perspective. Rather than reacting, I seek alignment. Dialogue, reflection and principled collaboration are essential to moving forward with clarity.
Disappointments are part of any long term mission. I see them as reminders that sustainable progress requires patience and persistence. Our collective strength is shaped not only by achievement, but by how we respond to challenge.
Ultimately, it is the shared conviction of our community that sustains motivation. When leadership is guided by values and solidarity, even the most demanding path becomes meaningful.
What is your country doing to support and empower women?
Women’s empowerment in Türkiye today reflects a complex and sometimes contradictory reality. In recent years, greater attention has been given to women’s economic participation. Employment and training programmes have expanded, and thousands of women have accessed job placement services and entrepreneurship support. Women entrepreneurs and cooperatives are receiving increased financial backing, including support for digitalisation and market access. International partnerships have also contributed financing and advisory services to women led small and medium sized enterprises.
These developments matter. They create access points and opportunities that did not exist at this scale before. Yet the broader structural indicators remain deeply challenging.
Women’s labour force participation is still around 35 to 36%, compared with more than 70% for men, well below European averages. Even among those employed, women hold only about 17% of managerial positions in business. Wage inequality and promotion barriers persist. Regional disparities are pronounced, with significantly lower participation rates in some parts of the country.
Political representation is limited. Women make up roughly one fifth of the national parliament. In global gender equality indices, Türkiye ranks low compared to many other countries.
Educational access has improved over time, particularly at primary and secondary levels. However, transitions into higher education, stable employment and leadership remain unequal. A substantial share of young women are neither in education, employment nor training, reflecting ongoing social and economic constraints.
The issue of safety remains critical. Gender based violence is widespread. More than one million women have reported violence in the past decade, and femicide continues to be a painful and visible reality. Women also carry a disproportionate burden of unpaid care work, spending significantly more time on domestic responsibilities than men.
Traditional and patriarchal norms continue to shape expectations around gender roles, influencing women’s mobility, career choices and participation in public life.
In this context, women’s organisations and civil society play a crucial role. Progress in Türkiye is neither linear nor guaranteed. It is contested, negotiated and continuously shaped by both institutional efforts and grassroots advocacy.
Women’s empowerment in my country is therefore not a finished story of success, but an ongoing struggle for structural transformation. It is precisely this complexity that makes solidarity, leadership and sustained commitment essential.
Tell us about your Soroptimist club! What projects are you most proud of?
SI Etiler Club is a professional, impact driven and strategically structured club that has been advancing women’s empowerment since 1988. What distinguishes our approach is our commitment to designing projects that move beyond short term support and instead create sustainable, measurable and multi layered impact. Our work is built on three interconnected pillars: economic empowerment, education and youth leadership, and structural gender equality in working life.
- Our flagship initiative, SAGE Gender Equality in Work, represents a defining moment in our club’s history. Selected among 38 projects from over 800 applications under an EU Grant Scheme, SAGE addressed gender inequality in working life at a structural level. Rather than focusing solely on awareness, it was designed as a comprehensive intervention model. It delivered gender equality trainings in universities, established a ChangEquality Ambassadors Programme to ensure long term sustainability, and implemented a structured mentorship programme connecting professional women with university students. An international conference brought together national and international experts to discuss policy, representation and economic participation. By focusing on equal participation in employment, equal pay, equal promotion opportunities and representation in decision making mechanisms, SAGE positioned our club not only as a project implementer but as a thought leader in gender equality advocacy. It strengthened our national and international visibility and demonstrated that Soroptimists can engage in structured, policy relevant dialogue. SAGE reflects who we are as a club: strategic, collaborative, measurable and future oriented.
- Another meaningful long term initiative is Weaving Lives, implemented in a disadvantaged region of Türkiye. The project provides professional carpet weaving training while creating sustainable income opportunities. Nearly 500 women have been trained and more than 200 have gained economic independence. Recognised with the SIE Best Practice Award, the initiative continues to generate income through domestic and international partnerships. Its impact is layered, preserving cultural heritage, creating sustainable livelihoods, fostering social inclusion and strengthening women’s self confidence and public participation. It demonstrates that economic independence transforms not only individual women but entire communities.
- KIMIM, our Vocational Training and Employment Support Centre for Women, was launched to address a structural gap faced by women who wish to work but lack vocational qualifications. Over five years, more than 3,500 women were reached and nearly 200 became direct beneficiaries. Many completed certified vocational training and transitioned into employment or income generating production. KIMIM integrates vocational training, gender awareness education, employment placement and market linked production ateliers. Thousands of handmade products were produced, some commissioned by corporate partners and sold internationally. The strength of KIMIM lies in its connection between empowerment and real economic access, offering tangible opportunity rather than theoretical support.
- Our scholarship programme, “Gençlerimiz Geleceğimiz”, complements these efforts by supporting young women in education while providing mentorship, coaching and leadership development. We believe leadership cultivation must begin early and be intentional.
What ultimately defines SI Etiler Club is our integrated and systemic approach. We do not treat empowerment as isolated acts of support. We design structured models that connect awareness with mentorship, education with economic access, local impact with international dialogue, and passion with professional project management. SAGE represents our strategic vision, KIMIM and Weaving Lives reflect our economic commitment, and our scholarship programme embodies our investment in future leaders. Together, they form an ecosystem of empowerment, and that ecosystem defines who we are.