KARSAN EXPANDS GENDER EQUALITY POLICIES!
Karsan established the "Gender Equality Policy" and "Zero Tolerance for Violence Policy" within the scope of the international 16 Days of Activism against Gender-based Violence that begins on 25 November, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, and runs until 10 December, Human Rights Day. "We are determined to express on every platform that we are opposed to any and all types of discrimination and violence against women and to continue our activities to raise awareness in society for this issue,” Okan Baş, CEO of Karsan stated. Numan Özcan, Director of the ILO Office for Turkey, said, “We are thrilled to know that the first-ever workplace policy, developed in accordance with the ILO Convention No. 190, was created as a part of the work we do at KARSAN to ensure gender equality in work culture and that our work has become a part of Karsan's corporate policies and practices.”
Karsan, one of the leading companies in the automotive industry in Turkey, continues to make commendable decisions to improve gender equality in work life and to make equality between women and men a part of the work culture. After signing a protocol with the International Labor Organization (ILO) last year to promote gender equality and increase women’s employment, and the "Women's Empowerment Principles - WEPs,” established by the UN Global Compact and UN Women in February 2020, Karsan once again emphasized its dedication to this issue by publishing two important policies. Karsan formed and approved the "Gender Equality Policy" and "Zero Tolerance for Violence Policy" within the scope of the international 16 Days of Activism against Gender-based Violence that begins on 25 November, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, and runs until 10 December, Human Rights Day.
"We are determined to express on every platform that we are opposed to any and all types of discrimination and violence against women and to continue our activities to raise awareness in society for this issue,” Okan Baş, CEO of Karsan, stated during his speech on the subject. In his speech on the Gender Equality Policy published by Karsan, Okan Baş said: “With our slogan of ‘Positive Equality in Karsan,’ we have established the Gender Equality Policy to increase awareness in all our employees regarding gender equality in their social and work lives and to make it a part of the work culture, by pledging to act in accordance with the Women's Empowerment Principles. And we pledge to comply with this policy and ensure its sustainability by implementing structural, systematic, and behavioral reforms regarding gender equality.”
Numan Özcan, Director of the ILO Office for Turkey, expressed his appreciation regarding the development of such a policy as an extension of the work carried out at KARSAN to increase women’s employment. Özcan said, “We are pleased to see that our work is mirrored by Karsan's corporate policies only a year after the gender equality efforts we launched at Karsan, and that the gender equality approach is being firmly implemented in all areas of the company, Karsan has been the first corporation to implement a workplace policy developed in accordance with the ILO Convention No. 190 on Eliminating Violence and Harassment in the World of Work. I think this is an influential initiative and a best practice example that will make a global impact.”
In the Zero Tolerance for Violence Policy, another policy announced by the corporation, it is stated that “As Karsan, we acknowledge that violence and harassment in the workplace are violations of human rights that affect everyone, threats to equality of opportunity and are not consistent with decent work, and that gender-based violence and harassment, including domestic violence, disproportionately affect women and girls. We are aware that an inclusive and integrated approach that addresses the root cause and risk factors, including multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination, unequal gender-based power relations, and stereotypes, is essential to abolish all forms of violence and harassment in the world of work, therefore, we adopt a ‘Zero Tolerance for Violence’ approach and pledge to act within the framework of the articles this policy document is consists of.”