Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-c47g7 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-18T23:42:53.186Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

What the City Has to Offer: Urbanization and Women's Empowerment in Turkey

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 May 2018

Kursat Cinar  and
Meral Ugur-Cinar
Kursat Cinar
Affiliation:
Bilkent University
Meral Ugur-Cinar
Affiliation:
Bilkent University
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

This article examines the relationship between urbanization and women's empowerment through the Turkish case. The article first tests statistically the overall impact of urbanization on women's empowerment by tapping into educational, economic, and political indicators at the province level. The results yield a positive relationship between urbanization and women's empowerment. We argue that these empowerment indicators demonstrate the necessary conditions of women's empowerment, yet whether these are sufficient for women to feel empowered needs to be further tested. To do so, the article utilizes an extensive original survey of 334 well-educated urban women in 43 out of 81 provinces of Turkey to examine the extent to which the results found in the quantitative section are paralleled by the actual experiences of women. The survey analysis reveals prospects and obstacles that well-educated women face in old and new urban centers. This nonrandom, purposive sample of seemingly empowered urban women shows that the barriers faced by these women would easily multiply when lower strata of society are reached. The Turkish case demonstrates that societal transformations such as urbanization have an imprint on the fates of women, yet further women's empowerment needs collective action at the political, legal, and societal levels.

Type
Research Article
Information
Politics & Gender , Volume 14 , Issue 2 , June 2018 , pp. 235 - 263
Copyright
Copyright © The Women and Politics Research Section of the American Political Science Association 2018 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Footnotes

The authors acknowledge the financial support of the European Union (Horizon 2020 - Marie Curie Reintegration Project: “Female Empowerment” - Project # 702073) and the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TÜBİTAK) (H2020 Success Award # 342617). They also would like to thank all survey participants in their research, including members of the Federation of Women’s Organizations in Turkey (Türkiye Kadın Dernekleri Federasyonu), Women Entrepreneurs Association of Turkey (Türkiye Kadın Girişimciler Derneği), Uçan Süpürge, Women’s Cooperatives Association (Kadın Kooperatifleri Birliği), Union of Chambers of Turkish Engineers and Architects (Türk Mühendis ve Mimar Odaları Birliği). They also thank the three anonymous reviewers and the journal editor for their helpful comments on previous drafts.

References

REFERENCES

Abadian, Sousan. 1996. “Women's Autonomy and Its Impact on Fertility.” World Development 24 (12): 1793–1809.Google Scholar
Afshar, Haleh, ed. 1998. Women and Empowerment: Illustrations from the Third World. New York: St. Martin's Press.Google Scholar
Alexander, Amy C. 2012. “Change in Women's Descriptive Representation and the Belief in Women's Ability to Govern: A Virtuous Cycle.” Politics & Gender 8 (4): 437–64.Google Scholar
Almeleh, Naomi, Soifer, Steven, Gottlieb, Naomi, and Gutierrez, Lorraine. 1993. “Women's Achievement of Empowerment through Activism in the Workplace.” Affilia 8 (1): 26–39.Google Scholar
Altan-Olcay, Özlem. 2014. “Entrepreneurial Subjectivities and Gendered Complexities: Neoliberal Citizenship in Turkey,” Feminist Economics 20 (4): 235–59.Google Scholar
Ashraf, Nava, Karlan, Dean, and Yin, Wesley. 2009. “Female Empowerment: Impact of a Commitment Savings Product in the Philippines.” World Development 38 (3): 333–44.Google Scholar
Banks, Nicola. 2013. “Female Employment in Dhaka, Bangladesh: Participation, Perceptions and Pressures.” Environment and Urbanization 25 (1): 95–109.Google Scholar
Beşpınar, F. Umut. 2010. “Questioning Agency and Empowerment: Women's Work-Related Strategies and Social Class in Urban Turkey.” Women's Studies International Forum 33 (6): 523–32.Google Scholar
Biewener, Carole, and Bacqué, Marie-Hélène. 2015. “Feminism and the Politics of Empowerment in International Development.” Africa & Francophonie 6 (2): 58–75.Google Scholar
Boserup, Ester. 1970. Woman's Role in Economic Development. London: Allen & Unwin.Google Scholar
Buğra, Ayse. 2014. “Revisiting the Wollstonecraft Dilemma in the Context of Conservative Liberalism: The Case of Female Employment in Turkey.” Social Politics 21 (1): 148–66.Google Scholar
Buğra, Ayse, and Savaşkan, Osman. 2014. New Capitalism in Turkey: The Relationship between Politics, Religion and Business. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.Google Scholar
Burnet, Jennie F. 2011. “Women Have Found Respect: Gender Quotas, Symbolic Representation, and Female Empowerment in Rwanda.” Politics & Gender 7 (3): 303–34.Google Scholar
Chant, Sylvia. 2013. “Cities through a ‘Gender Lens’: A Golden ‘Urban Age’ for Women in the Global South?” Environment and Urbanization 25 (1): 9–29.Google Scholar
Chant, Sylvia, and Datu, Kerwin. 2015. “Women in Cities: Prosperity or Poverty? A Need for Multi-dimensional and Multi-spatial Analysis.” In The City in Urban Poverty, eds. Lemanski, Charlotte and Marx, Colin. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 39–63.Google Scholar
Charrad, Mounira M. 2009. “Kinship, Islam or Oil: Culprits of Gender Inequality?” Politics and Gender 5 (4): 546–53.Google Scholar
Chaudhuri, Sanjukta. 2013. “A Life Course Model of Human Rights Realization, Female Empowerment, and Gender Inequality in India.” World Development 52: 55–70.Google Scholar
Choo, Hae Yeon. 2012. “The Transnational Journey of Intersectionality.” Gender & Society 26 (1): 40–45.Google Scholar
Cinar, E. Mine. 1994. “Unskilled Urban Migrant Women and Disguised Employment: Home-Working Women in Istanbul, Turkey.” World Development 22 (3): 369–80.Google Scholar
Cindoğlu, Dilek, and Toktaş, Şule. 2002. “Empowerment and Resistance Strategies of Working Women in Turkey.” European Journal of Women's Studies 9 (1): 31–48.Google Scholar
CNN Turk. 2014. “Erdoğan: Kadın ve erkeğin eşit olması fıtrata ters” [Erdoğan: Male-female equality is against nature]. November 24. http://www.cnnturk.com/haber/turkiye/erdogan-kadin-ve-erkegin-esit-olmasi-fitrata-ters (accessed February 21, 2018). [in Turkish]Google Scholar
Coşar, Simten, and Yeğenoğlu, Metin. 2011. “New Grounds for Patriarchy in Turkey? Gender Policy in the Age of AKP.” South European Society and Politics 16 (4): 555–73.Google Scholar
Dogan News Agency. 2014. “TÜİK: Kent-kır ayrımı kalmadı” [TUIK: There is no difference between urban and rural any more]. April 15. http://www.dha.com.tr/tuik-kent-kir-ayrimi-kalmadi_648700.html (accessed February 21, 2018). [in Turkish]Google Scholar
Elmas, Gülen. 2004. “Women, Urbanization and Regional Development in Southeast Anatolia: A Case Study for Turkey.” Turkish Studies 5 (3): 1–24.Google Scholar
Erman, Tahire, Kalaycıoğlu, Sibel, and Rittersberger-Tılıç, Helga. 2002. “Money-Earning Activities and Empowerment Experiences of Rural Migrant Women in the City: The Case of Turkey.” Women's Studies International Forum 25 (4): 395–410.Google Scholar
Eswaran, Mukesh. 2002. “The Empowerment of Women, Fertility, and Child Mortality: Towards a Theoretical Analysis.” Journal of Population Economics 15 (3): 433–54.Google Scholar
Geerts, Evelien, and van der Tuin, Iris. 2013. “From Intersectionality to Interference: Feminist Onto-epistemological Reflections on the Politics of Representation.” Women's Studies International Forum 41 (3): 171–78.Google Scholar
Goldin, Claudia. 1995. “The U-Shaped Female Labor Force Function in Economic Development and Economic History.” In Investment in Women's Human Capital, ed. Paul Schultz, T.. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 61–90.Google Scholar
Goldman, Mara J., and Little, Jani S.. 2015. “Innovative Grassroots NGOs and the Complex Processes of Women's Empowerment: An Empirical Investigation from Northern Tanzania.” World Development 66: 762–77.Google Scholar
Göle, Nilüfer. 1993. “Engineers: ‘Technocratic Democracy.’” In Turkey and the West: Changing Political and Cultural Identities, eds. Heper, Metin, Öncü, Ayse, and Kramer, Heinz. London: I.B. Tauris, 199–218.Google Scholar
Göle, Nilüfer. 1997. “Secularism and Islamism in Turkey: The Making of Elites and Counter-Elites.” Middle East Journal 51 (1): 46–58.Google Scholar
Haile, Hirut Bekele, Bock, Bettina, and Folmer, Henk. 2012. “Microfinance and Female Empowerment: Do Institutions Matter?” Women's Studies International Forum 35 (4): 256–65.Google Scholar
Hammad, Hanan. 2016. Industrial Sexuality: Gender, Urbanization, and Social Transformation in Egypt. Austin: University of Texas Press.Google Scholar
Inglehart, Ronald, and Norris, Pippa. 2003. Rising Tide: Gender Equality and Cultural Change around the World. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Inkeles, Alex, and Smith, David H.. 1974. Becoming Modern: Individual Change in Six Developing Countries. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Janssens, Wendy. 2009. “Women's Empowerment and the Creation of Social Capital in Indian Villages.” World Development 38 (7): 974–88.Google Scholar
Kabeer, Naila. 1999. “Resources, Agency, and Achievements: Reflections on the Measurement on Women Empowerment.” Development and Change 30 (3): 435–64.Google Scholar
Kabeer, Naila. 2001. “Conflict over Credit: Re-evaluating the Empowerment Potential of Loan to Women in Rural Bangladesh.” World Development 29 (1): 63–84.Google Scholar
Kabeer, Naila. 2005. “Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment: A Critical Analysis of the Third Millennium Development Goal.” Gender & Development 13 (1): 13–24.Google Scholar
Kandiyoti, Deniz. 1982. “Urban Change and Women's Roles: An Overview and Evaluation.” In Sex Roles, Family, and Community in Turkey, ed. Kagitcibasi, Çiğdem. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 101–20.Google Scholar
Kandiyoti, Deniz. 1987. “Emancipated but Unliberated? Reflections on the Turkish Case.” Feminist Studies 13 (2): 317–38.Google Scholar
Kandiyoti, Deniz. 1988. “Bargaining with Patriarchy.” Gender & Society 2 (3): 274–90.Google Scholar
Kandiyoti, Deniz. 2016. “Locating the Politics of Gender: Patriarchy, Neo-Liberal Governance and Violence in Turkey.” Research and Policy on Turkey 1 (2): 103–18.Google Scholar
Karakaş, Burcu. 2016. “Kadının bir soyadı ‘zaferi’ daha: Çözüm mahkemede değil, yasa değişikliğinde” [Another victory for women on last names: The solution is in changing laws, not in courts]. April 19. http://www.diken.com.tr/kadinin-bir-soyadi-zaferi-daha-cozum-mahkemede-degil-yasa-degisikliginde/ (accessed February 21, 2018). [in Turkish]Google Scholar
Kasaba, Reşat. 2008. “Introduction.” In The Cambridge History of Turkey, Volume 4: Turkey in the Modern World, ed. Kasaba, Reşat (Ed.) Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Kitschelt, Herbert, and Wilkinson, Steven I., eds. 2007. Patrons, Clients, and Policies: Patterns of Democratic Accountability and Political Competition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Lerner, Daniel. 1958. The Passing of Traditional Society: Modernizing the Middle East. New York: Free Press.Google Scholar
Lind, Amy. 1997. “Gender, Development and Urban Social Change: Women's Community Action in Global Cities.” World Development 28 (9): 1205–23.Google Scholar
Lipset, Seymour Martin. 1959. “Some Social Requisites of Democracy: Economic Development and Political Legitimacy.” American Political Science Review 53 (1): 69–105.Google Scholar
Mann, Susan Archer. 2012. “Intersectionality Theories.” In Doing Feminist Theory: From Modernity to Postmodernity, by Mann, Susan Archer. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 160–208.Google Scholar
Mitra, Arup. 2005. “Women in the Urban Informal Sector: Perpetuation of Meagre Earnings.” Development and Change 36 (2): 291–316.Google Scholar
Moghadam, Valentine M., ed. 1996. Patriarchy and Economic Development: Women's Positions at the End of the Twentieth Century. Oxford: Clarendon Press.Google Scholar
Moghadam, Valentine M. 1998. Women, Work, and Economic Reform in the Middle East and North Africa. London: Lynne Rienner.Google Scholar
Moghadam, Valentine M. 2016. “Women and Democracy after the Arab Spring: Theory, Practice, and Prospects.” In Empowering Women after the Arab Spring, eds. Shalaby, Marwa and Moghadam, Valentine M.. London: Palgrave Macmillan, 193–216.Google Scholar
Mosley, Layna. 2013. “‘Just Talk to People’? Interviews in Contemporary Political Science.” In Interview Research in Political Science, ed. Mosley, Layna. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1–28.Google Scholar
Osmani, Lutfun N. K. 1998. “The Grameen Bank Experiment: Empowerment of Women through Credit.” In Women and Empowerment: Illustrations from the Third World, ed. Afshar, Haleh. New York: St. Martin's Press, 67–85.Google Scholar
Osmani, Lutfun N. K. 2007. “A Breakthrough in Women's Bargaining Power: The Impact of Microcredit.” Journal of International Development 19 (5): 695–716.Google Scholar
Pampel, Fred, and Tanaka, Kazuko. 1986. “Economic Development and Female Labor Force Participation: A Reconsideration.” Social Forces 64 (3): 599–619.Google Scholar
Patil, Vrushali. 2013. “From Patriarchy to Intersectionality: A Transnational Feminist Assessment of How Far We've Come.” Signs 38 (4): 847–67.Google Scholar
Pitt, Mark M., and Khandker, Shahidur R.. 1996. “The Impact of Group-Based Credit Programs on Poor Households in Bangladesh: Does the Gender of Participant Matter?” Journal of Political Economy 106 (5): 958–95.Google Scholar
Psacharopoulos, George, and Tzannatos, Zafiris. 1991. “Female Labor Force Participation and Education.” In Essays on Poverty, Equity and Growth, ed. Psacharopoulos, George. Oxford: Pergamon Press, 266–90.Google Scholar
Rivera, Sharon Werning, Kozyreva, Polina M., and Sarovskii, Eduard G.. 2002. “Interviewing Political Elites: Lessons from Russia.” PS: Political Science and Politics 35 (4): 683–88.Google Scholar
Ross, Michael L. 2008. “Oil, Islam, and Women.” American Political Science Review 102 (1): 107–23.Google Scholar
Seidman, Irving. 2006. Interviewing as Qualitative Research: A Guide for Researchers in Education and the Social Sciences. 3rd ed. New York: Teachers College Press.Google Scholar
Tansel, Aysit. 2002. “Economic Development and Female Labor Force Participation in Turkey: Time-Series Evidence and Cross-Province Estimates.” Economic Research Center Working Papers in Economics, 01/05.Google Scholar
Turkish Statistical Institute (TUIK). 2014a. The Revision in the Definitions of Rural and Urban http://www.resmiistatistik.gov.tr/?q=tr/content/18-k%C4%B1rkent-tan%C4%B1m%C4%B1n%C4%B1n-revizyonu (accessed February 22, 2018).Google Scholar
Turkish Statistical Institute (TUIK). 2014b. Turkey in Statistics. http://www.turkstat.gov.tr/IcerikGetir.do?istab_id=5 (accessed February 22, 2018).Google Scholar
Turkish Statistical Institute (TUIK). 2016a. Women in 2015. http://www.tuik.gov.tr/PreHaberBultenleri.do?id=21519 (accessed February 22, 2018).Google Scholar
Turkish Statistical Institute (TUIK). 2016b. Major Statistics. http://www.tuik.gov.tr/UstMenu.do?metod=temelist (accessed February 22, 2018).Google Scholar
Turkish Statistical Institute (TUIK). 2017. Women in 2016. http://www.tuik.gov.tr/PreHaberBultenleri.do?id=24643 (accessed February 22, 2018).Google Scholar
Ugur-Cinar, Meral. 2014. “Construction of Gender and National Identity in Turkey: Images of the First Lady in the Turkish Media (2002–7).” Middle Eastern Studies 50 (3): 482–92.Google Scholar
Ugur-Cinar, Meral. 2017. “Embedded Neopatrimonialism: Patriarchy and Democracy in Turkey.” Social Politics: International Studies in Gender, State & Society 24 (3): 324–43.Google Scholar
United Nations. 2015. “UN Sustainable Development Goals.” http://www.who.int/mediacentre/events/meetings/2015/un-sustainable-development-summit/en/ (accessed December 19, 2017).Google Scholar
Weber, Olaf, and Ahmad, Adnan. 2014. “Empowerment Through Microfinance: The Relation between Loan Cycle and Level of Empowerment.” World Development 62: 75–87.Google Scholar
World Economic Forum. 2016. “The Global Gender Gap Report 2016.” http://reports.weforum.org/global-gender-gap-report-2016/rankings/ (accessed February 21, 2018).Google Scholar
Wyndow, Paula, Li, Jianghong, and Mattes, Eugen. 2013. “Female Empowerment as a Core Driver of Democratic Development: A Dynamic Panel Model from 1980 to 2005.” World Development 52: 34–54.Google Scholar
Yılmaz Şener, Meltem. 2016. “Conditional Cash Transfers in Turkey: A Case to Reflect on the AKP's Approach to Gender and Social Policy.” Research and Policy on Turkey 1 (2): 164–178.Google Scholar
Supplementary material: File

Cinar and Ugur-Cinar supplementary material

Appendices A-C

Download Cinar and Ugur-Cinar supplementary material(File)
File 18.4 KB