The Delegation of the European Union to Türkiye and the Embassy of Sweden Focus on Care Policies and Women’s Economic Participation

The event, titled "Advancing Care Policies and Services for Women's Economic Inclusion," brought together policymakers, international organisations and experts to identify policy solutions to strengthen care systems, institutionalise and properly value care services, and expand women's participation in the economy.

Participants also emphasised the need for stronger political will to address structural inequalities in the care economy, which continues to rest largely on women's shoulders, with women spending nearly three times as much time on care services as men.

Among the proposals discussed were expanding institutional childcare and eldercare services, promoting a more equal sharing of care responsibilities between women and men, strengthening the professionalisation and social protection of care workers, increasing public investment in care infrastructure including workplace childcare, and improving access to training and skills development in the care economy.

The panel forms part of a series of activities organised by the Delegation of the European Union to Türkiye around International Women's Day, focusing on women's economic empowerment and gender equality.

The EU is the largest donor supporting gender equality and women's empowerment in Türkiye. Since 2007, the EU has supported women's economic participation through more than 270 projects, totalling over €140 million.

Flagship initiatives such as the Women-Up Project, "Supporting Registered Women Employment," illustrate this commitment, having helped create employment for more than 11,000 women through more than 9,000 women-owned employers.

European Union, 2026

Opening remarks were delivered by Malena Mård, Ambassador of Sweden to Türkiye; Maryse Guimond, UN Women Türkiye Country Director; and Jurgis Vilčinskas, Chargé d'Affaires a.i. of the Delegation of the European Union to Türkiye. They highlighted that care responsibilities remain one of the most significant structural barriers to women's economic participation.

European Union, 2026

Vilčinskas underlined that care policies are central to gender equality and sustainable economic growth. "We cannot have serious conversation about women's economic empowerment without addressing care work and care economy," he said. "Care services is essential public infrastructure. Without accessible and affordable care services - women's participation in labour market will remain constrained, while the gender pay gap will remain."

"Care services shape economies, labour markets and gender equality," said Ambassador Mård. "In Sweden, we offer preschool from the age of one, and today 87 percent of children aged one to five attend high-quality preschools. Our system is built on shared parental responsibility, including equal parental leave. Every country must make its own choices on care policies, but we can learn from one another - particularly at this moment of change."

"Care cannot remain the invisible and unpaid work of women," said Maryse Guimond, UN Women Türkiye Country Director. "Care is not a privilege - it is a right. Governments have a responsibility to ensure care services that are available, accessible, affordable and of quality for everyone. Building universal care systems is also about transforming our economies and challenging the norms that place the bulk of care responsibilities on women."

"Care inequality is not only an employment issue - it is also an impoverishment issue," said Assoc. Prof. Emel Memiş of Ankara University, keynote speaker at the event. "When unpaid care responsibilities fall largely on women, their lifetime earnings decline, pension rights weaken, and the risk of poverty increases." She added, "What is often missing is political and institutional will moving in the same direction - and this conference brings together the actors needed to turn that will into policies for equitable care systems and the care workforce Türkiye will need in the coming decade."

The opening speeches were followed by a panel discussion with Elif Esen, Member of the Grand National Assembly of Türkiye and member of the Committee on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men (KEFEK); Merve Okan, Head of the Department of Economic Status at the Directorate General on the Status of Women within the Ministry of Family and Social Services; Yasser Hassan, Director of the International Labour Organization (ILO) Office for Türkiye; and Mehmet Üvez, Deputy Head of Türkiye and Head of the Ankara Resident Office of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). The discussion was moderated by Ebru Ağduk, Programme Manager at UN Women Türkiye.

Participants noted that investing in care systems contributes not only to gender equality but also to job creation, economic resilience and inclusive growth.