For many years, gender equality was viewed as one of the main topics featured on companies' corporate social responsibility agendas. Today, however, the world is moving in a different direction. Equality is no longer only an ethical issue. It has become one of the fundamental drivers of economic growth, corporate culture and sustainable development.
This discussion was revisited at the conference titled “A Holistic Approach to Gender Equality: Private Sector-NGO-Academia-International Financial Institutions Collaboration”, organised by Rönesans Holding.
We spoke with İpek Ilıcak Kayaalp, Chair of the Board of Rönesans Holding, about the company’s approach in this area and the steps that should be taken to strengthen women’s position in business life. “Today we are a team of 40,000 people, and through our activities across different sectors, we reach around 200 million people each year. For this reason, the decisions we take do not remain within the company but create a much wider sphere of impact. We take the responsibility of that impact very seriously,” Kayaalp says. According to her, the issue is not simply about increasing employment figures but about creating a deeper cultural transformation.
Numbers alone are not enough
The story of Rönesans Holding in this area actually begins from a rather symbolic point. The construction sector has long been known for its male-dominated structure. İpek Ilıcak Kayaalp does not conceal this reality. “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. We are also increasing female representation on the holding company’s board to 50%. Our ratio of women in management stands at 49%.” She says these figures are a source of pride, but immediately adds, “They are important, but not enough. We still have a long way to go.”There is one point that İpek Ilıcak Kayaalp particularly emphasises: numbers alone have little meaning in places where women do not feel safe. For this reason, she explains that the company has developed a policy to combat domestic violence. “We implemented our Domestic Violence Policy in collaboration with Business Against Domestic Violence. We established internal support mechanisms and built partnerships for external support services. To date, we have provided gender equality training to nearly 19,000 employees and stakeholders.”
Within the scope of this policy, employees are offered a range of support mechanisms, including psychological and legal counselling, financial support, leave arrangements and security measures. According to Kayaalp, this approach demonstrates that the business world must address the issue of women not only through employment figures but through a broader, more holistic perspective.
Special initiatives in healthcare
Healthcare investment is another area in which Rönesans Holding operates. Ilıcak Kayaalp notes that the hospitals operated by the company have provided services to 90 million patients to date, the majority of whom are women. “Of these 90 million patients, 54 million are women. We have introduced critical technologies related to women’s health in our country. We were also among the first organisations to include the HPV vaccine within health insurance coverage for both female and male employees.”She explains that HPV vaccination programmes for girls have also been launched as part of the project carried out in Ceyhan. In the same region, the aim is to reach thousands of women through mammography screening programmes. İpek Ilıcak Kayaalp adds: “In our renewable energy project in Sivas, we also conducted breast cancer screening for more than 6,600 women through mobile screening units.”
Economic empowerment of women is another key focus area for Rönesans Holding. Ilıcak Kayaalp explains that new models have been developed in the company’s shopping centres across Türkiye to support women entrepreneurs, providing spaces where women can safely sell their products. “Through the Women’s Labour Festival we organised in Kahramanmaraş and similar initiatives, we supported around 400 women, particularly those affected by the earthquake, to establish their own businesses.”
Women carry the heaviest burden in crises
Ilıcak Kayaalp also emphasises that women should be represented not only in entrepreneurship but also in technical professions, citing the welding school established within their project in Adana Ceyhan as an example: “Through the Welding Training Programme, we reached hundreds of participants. Women also took part in this programme. Some of our graduates are now working on Rönesans projects. Others have found employment at different institutions in Türkiye and across Europe.”The work carried out following the 6 February earthquakes is also among Rönesans Holding’s women-focused initiatives. Ilıcak Kayaalp explains that more than 45,000 women and children have been reached through projects implemented in cooperation with UNFPA, UNICEF and various civil society organisations in the earthquake region: “We know that women and children bear the heaviest burden in times of crisis. Equality only becomes meaningful when it is possible in every aspect of life. In all of these initiatives, we address equality not under a single heading but within a holistic framework, implementing it through a participatory culture together with the most effective stakeholders in their respective fields. Our work focuses on women’s economic empowerment, their visibility in social life, equal access to healthcare and education, and ensuring they are not left alone in times of crisis.”
Equality must be possible in every sphere
According to İpek Ilıcak Kayaalp, gender equality is not only a corporate policy but also a personal responsibility. For this reason, she explains that projects are implemented not only within the company but also in cooperation with United Nations agencies, financing partners, academia and civil society: “Contributing to the empowerment of women in working life and in society is one of the most meaningful responsibilities for me. But equality cannot be achieved in only one area. It must be possible across every sphere of life, from the economy to healthcare, from education to times of crisis. That is why we address equality not as a single issue but within a holistic framework.”Source: Didem Eryar Ünlü / Hafta Gazetesi