Response to the crisis and gender segregation in Turkey’s labour market

Abstract

This study addresses the effectiveness of the fiscal stimulus package announced by the Turkish government in 2009 in terms of its particular gendered outcomes, with a special emphasis on employment policies. Through an analysis of the package’s components and the policies of the Public Employment Agency of Turkey (Iskur), this article demonstrates the public sector’s reluctance to take a leading role in generating employment and the insufficiency of its efforts in addressing the stated goal of increasing women’s employment. Active and passive employment policies in Turkey are instead shown to be accommodating the country’s gender-segregated labour markets and discrimination against women.