Turkish Women Unemployed Longer Than Men

A study conducted by the Bahçeşehir University Economic and Social Research Center (BETAM) showed that women remain unemployed for a longer time than their male counterparts.

The study based on data of the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK) revealed that women with a high level of education but little work experience remain unemployed for a longer period of time.

According to the study of Seyfettin Gürsel, Duygu Güner and Burak Darbaz,

* 33 percent of unemployed women belong to the group of the long-term unemployed (more than 1 year), for man in the same section it is 24 percent. Among the short-term unemployed (less than 5 months) man outnumber women.

* 39.6 percent of unemployed women are high school graduates, 21.3 percent graduated from university. For men the numbers are 25.4 percent and 9.4 percent respectively.

* Work experience is an influential factor for the duration of unemployment. 36 percent in the group of females has not worked before, whereas for the male group it is 16 percent.

The study emphasizes that female unemployment cannot be explained only by the level of education and work experience. Accordingly, also social role expectations on women in a patriarchal society contribute to this situation. Considering the facts that the income of women is usually considered as an "additional income" and that women are mainly responsible for domestic work also give rise to the women's unemployment rate.

The researchers added that gender based discrimination at work can further influence this inequality, but a measurement of this factor was not possible because of lack of relevant data.

Recommendations to solve the problems are projects such as development of women's skills to search for a job and to find a position, work guaranteed vocational courses and incentives for employers to hire women. (EÜ/VK)