Raising the issue of the role of women in EU-Turkey relations (Rotherham & Barnsley Liberal Democrats)

Rotherham & Barnsley Liberal Democrats <info@rotherhamandbarnsleylibdems.org.uk>

Raising the issue of the role of women in EU-Turkey relations

May 6, 2010 1:24 PM
Originally published by Diana Wallis MEP

Diana speaks at a conference on gender related issues between the EU and Turkey On the initiative of two MEPs, Diana Wallis and Gesine Meissner of the German FDP, the ALDE group in the European Parliament organised a conference on gender related issues between the EU and Turkey ('A 2020 Gender Perspective for the EU and Turkey'). They were joined in the Conference by members of TÜSIAD (The Turkish Industrialist and Business Association) and KAGIDER (the Association of Women Entrepreneurs of Turkey).

Diana Wallis said:

"Gender equality remains a major challenge for Turkey but it is hugely encouraging that steps are being taken in the right direction, e.g. a gender equality committee in the Turkish parliament has been established and the number of women MPs in the Turkish parliament more than doubled in the last elections."

"It is clear that gender issues are not restricted to Turkey and a lot remains to be done within the EU. This seminar gives us the opportunity to learn from each other and to analyse some lessons taken from the DAPHNE programmes and the 2006-2010 Road Map."

The conference aimed to raise awareness of the fact that the gender dimension should be included in the EU 2020 Strategy and will contribute to better benchmarking and political visibility on gender-equality specific targets. Speakers from the UN Development Programme office in Brussels, the European Commission, the Spanish presidency, the European Training foundation, Turkish entrepreneurs associations, NGOs and European networks all discussed the issues of equal access for both genders to education, the labour market, leading positions and decision making.