"Women's Energy on Campus" Launch Held

A new phase of cooperation has begun in the Women's Energy on Campus project implemented by Akenerji. The launch of the Women's Energy on Campus project, carried out in partnership between Bahçeşehir University and the International Training Center for Authorities and Leaders (CIFAL Istanbul) of the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR), was held online. As part of the event, executives of Akkök Holding's energy group companies met with university students.

In her speech, Özlem Ataünal, Member of the Board of Directors, Executive Board Member Responsible for Energy and CFO of Akkök Holding, spoke about the representation of women in the energy sector and said: "The representation of women in the energy sector in Türkiye is truly very low. It is even below 20 percent. Among blue-collar workers, this rate is only 10 percent. Another striking example is the proportion of female graduates from electrical and electrical-electronics engineering programs. In 2020, this rate was 18 percent. As Akkök Holding's energy group companies Akenerji, SEDAŞ and Sepaş Enerji, we have set out for a new future beyond the conventional in the energy sector. This is the project that has excited me most in my career. I see the same excitement in everyone."

Duygu Erzurumlu Cengiz, Human Resources Director of Akkök Holding and Akenerji, referred to the importance of the "Women's Energy on Campus" project for the future of the energy sector and said, "As Akkök Holding's energy group companies, we are carrying out the Women's Energy Project jointly and simultaneously with the goal of gender equality. We started with our young people to spread women's energy in the energy sector. We will introduce our sector closely to the leadership candidates of the future. Bringing the women leaders of the future into the energy sector and raising awareness of gender equality while doing so is very valuable to us."

University and Private Sector Together

Speaking at the opening of the program, CIFAL Istanbul-UNITAR Director Prof. Dr. Ebru Canan Sokullu said that they started the cooperation in order to steer female students toward the energy sector. Stating that Women's Energy on Campus brings academia and the private sector together, Sokullu said, "This is a project that will create positive results and that we started full of hope. We are also excited because it serves the Sustainable Development Goals."

Bahçeşehir University President Prof. Dr. Şirin Karadeniz stated that Women's Energy on Campus is important in bringing together women's education and the energy sector. Noting that Bahçeşehir University is happy to support the project, Karadeniz said, "According to research, while 67 percent of women working in the energy sector aim for senior management, the proportion of those who have not been promoted in the last five years is 61 percent. This shows that although the potential is there, glass ceilings also exist. Therefore, our priority must be to remove the barriers. Our greatest wish from students is that they work toward this goal. In this direction, we are starting a project that I believe will leave a mark on everyone."

Project Launch Held Online

As part of the program, the project was first launched under the title "Women on Campus and in the Energy Sector." The launch, moderated by Prof. Dr. Ebru Canan Sokullu, was attended by Prof. Dr. Nafiz Arıca, Dean of the Bahçeşehir University Faculty of Engineering; Duygu Erzurumlu Cengiz, Human Resources Director of Akkök Holding and Akenerji; Bahri Toper, Bahçeşehir University CO-OP Director; and Kardelen Afrodit Adsal, Business Development Manager of RVM Systems. At the end of the training to be given to the selected students, successful participants will be offered opportunities such as mentorship and internships.

"Employment" Support for Women Entrepreneurs

The "Women-Up" project, launched by the Social Security Institution (SGK) with the slogan "Support for Women Employers Is On Us," was introduced at the meeting. The project addresses support for registered female employment and is financed by the European Union and the Republic of Türkiye.
Within the scope of the project, the first provinces to receive support will be Ankara, Istanbul, Denizli, Aydın, Samsun, Kahramanmaraş and Şanlıurfa. A total of 4,000 women employers who meet the necessary conditions in the provinces where the project is implemented will benefit from financial support, and the total financial support grant of the project will be approximately 29.5 million euros. Applications are made via e-Government, and the application period will continue until 4,000 women have applied.

Stating that significant progress has been made in tackling unregistered employment, Savaş Alıç, General Director of Insurance Premiums at the Social Security Institution (SGK), said: "The rate of unregistered employment, which was around 52 percent, has today been reduced to around 28 percent. However much support is provided, we are still far behind the European Union average. With this project, we will offer grant support to our women entrepreneurs. The budget of our project is 29.5 million euros. 85 percent is covered by the European Union budget and 15 percent by national resources. We will implement it in seven provinces across Türkiye: Istanbul, Ankara, Denizli, Aydın, Samsun, Kahramanmaraş and Şanlıurfa. We are identifying 4,000 women entrepreneurs. For the additional employment these women entrepreneurs create through female employees, we will provide monthly support of 3,984 TL, based on today's minimum wage, for 20 months. The support amount is close to the net minimum wage. If the employer benefits from insurance premium reductions, these will also apply. The employer will thus have provided employment with almost no labor cost."

Emphasizing that there is no sector restriction in the project, Alıç said: "All our women entrepreneurs can benefit from this support. The business must be a young enterprise and its owner must be a woman. The number of employees must not exceed nine. If this project is successful, we think the second and third phases of the project will follow in the coming period. Accordingly, we think the number of provinces will also be increased. Applications are made via e-Government. We have been accepting applications since 21 February."