Rönesans Holding hosted the Holistic Approach to Gender Equality: Private Sector-NGO-Academia-IFI Collaboration Conference to discuss gender equality from a comprehensive perspective, share best practices, and explore the shared responsibility of the private sector, civil society, academia and international organisations.
Speaking at the conference, İpek Ilıcak Kayaalp noted that Rönesans operates with a workforce of 40,000 people and reaches approximately 200 million individuals each year across different sectors. She underlined that their decisions extend beyond the boundaries of the company and carry a broader impact: “We take responsibility for our sphere of influence seriously. We are an organisation founded in the construction sector. We come from a sector long believed to be resistant to change. Yet today, women represent 50% of the board of our publicly listed company. This year, we are also raising female representation on the holding company’s board to 50%. Our ratio of women in management stands at 49%. Across the group, the proportion of women employees continues to increase each year, and we are above the global sector average. These figures make me very proud. They are extremely important to us, and we monitor them closely, although we know there is still further progress to be made.
Gender Equality Training Reaches 19,000 People
Reiterating that numbers alone have little meaning in places where women do not feel safe, Ilıcak Kayaalp said: “That is why we have adopted the Domestic Violence Policy developed in collaboration with Business Against Domestic Violence (BADV). We established internal support mechanisms for our employees and built partnerships for external support. We have delivered gender equality training to 19,000 employees and stakeholders.”Highlighting their impact in healthcare, Ilıcak Kayaalp stated that they have provided services to 90 million patients, 54 million of whom are women. She continued: “We have introduced critical technologies for women’s health to our country. We became one of the first organisations to include the HPV vaccine in health insurance coverage for both our female and male employees. In Ceyhan, in collaboration with the District Directorate of Health and Education, we launched an HPV vaccination programme for schoolgirls. In the same region, we aim to reach 1,500 women through mammography screening. In our renewable energy project in Sivas, we have conducted breast cancer screenings for more than 6,600 women to date.
”We Established a Welding School and Employed Female Graduates
İpek Ilıcak Kayaalp, noting that they operate 12 shopping centres across different cities in Türkiye, stated that they host 114 million visitors annually and have developed models within these centres to support women entrepreneurs. She added that they have created spaces where women can safely sell their products and generate sustainable income, and highlighted that through the Women's Craft and Trade Festival held in Kahramanmaraş, along with other initiatives, they have enabled 400 women, particularly those affected by the earthquake, to start their own businesses.Ilıcak Kayaalp also noted that they established a welding school as part of their investments in Adana Ceyhan, adding that women who graduated from this school are now part of the workforce. She stated that two of the graduates are currently working on Rönesans projects, while others have begun working in various organisations across Türkiye and Europe.
More Than 45,000 Women and Children Were Reached in the Earthquake Region
Ilıcak Kayaalp stated that, together with partners such as UNFPA, UNICEF, the Foundation for the Support of Civil Society, and volunteers from the Rönesans Education Foundation, they have reached more than 45,000 women and children in the earthquake region: “We know that women and children bear the heaviest burden in times of crisis.”Emphasising that contributing to the empowerment of women in both professional and social life is one of the most meaningful responsibilities, İpek Ilıcak Kayaalp said: “Equality only becomes meaningful when it exists in every aspect of life. In all our work, we address equality not as a single issue but within a holistic framework, and we implement it through an inclusive culture alongside the most effective stakeholders in each field. Our efforts are shaped around women’s economic empowerment, their visibility in social life, equal access to health and education, and ensuring they are not left behind in times of crisis. This journey is also deeply personal for me.”
Barriers to Women’s Empowerment Must Be Removed
Speaking at the conference, Mariam Khan, Türkiye Representative of the United Nations Population Fund, stated that in order to achieve equality and justice, barriers to women’s empowerment must be removed at every stage of their life cycle. Emphasising that empowering women in business is not only a matter of rights, Khan said: “It is also a foundation for economic growth and strong societies. Women and family-friendly policies can be key to achieving this goal by enabling a better balance between family and career responsibilities, ensuring the equal sharing of care work at home, and addressing domestic violence as a workplace issue. By transforming our policies today, we can unlock the full economic and social potential of every woman and girl.
Source : Habertürk