Minister Işıkhan attended the Signing Ceremony of the Cooperation Protocol for Strengthening the Participation of Women and Persons with Disabilities in Economic and Social Life

At the signing ceremony held at the Ministry of Family and Social Services, a cooperation protocol was signed between the Ministry of Labour and Social Security and the Ministry of Family and Social Services to contribute to the participation of women and persons with disabilities in working and in social life.

Speaking at the ceremony, Minister Işıkhan emphasised that they are mobilising all the means of the state to make working life more inclusive and sustainable and said: ‘Every activity we carry out in cooperation with our ministries are concrete steps towards our goal of building a stronger society. Understanding the dynamics of the labour market and developing policies in line with the needs is one of the most important stages of increasing social welfare. The active participation of women, young people and persons with disabilities in working life not only increases the quality of life of these individuals, but also contributes greatly to the economic development of our country.’

Minister Işıkhan pointed out that the Ministry of Labour and Social Security has taken steps at various levels to increase inclusiveness in employment and ensure equal opportunities in the labour market:

“Through the strong bond we have established with our employers, we organise programmes to increase the competencies of our workforce and support working life with employment incentives. The inclusion of groups requiring special policies in the labour market is among our priority targets. In September 2024, the female labour force participation rate increased by 1.4 points to 37 percent compared to the same month of the previous year, while the female employment rate increased by 1.2 points to 32 and a half percent. In this process, the number of women in employment reached 10.8 million. We are aware that women's employment plays a key role in increasing the welfare of our country. We carry out our activities by taking this fact and reality into consideration.”

‘While the number of disabled workers was 45 thousand in 2002, this number increased to 146 thousand as of the end of September 2024’

Noting that they especially pay attention to citizens with disabilities in the processes of participation in labour life, Minister Işıkhan said; “The work of our brothers and sisters with disabilities has not only an economic but also a social meaning. From 2002 until the end of October 2024, we mediated the employment of 505 thousand 403 disabled citizens through İŞKUR. While the number of workers with disabilities working in 2002 was only 45 thousand, this number increased to 146 thousand as of the end of September 2024. While the quota occupancy rate was 67.9 per cent in the private sector in 2005, it was 83 per cent as of the end of September 2024. As İŞKUR, we support vocational training and rehabilitation projects for the disabled through the commission authorised to use administrative fines collected from employers who do not employ disabled and ex-convicts. Within the scope of these projects, we aim for the disabled to learn a profession through vocational training courses, their rehabilitation and then their integration into the labour market.”

Stating that the Ministry has supported 772 vocational training projects for the disabled since 2014, Işıkhan said that they also support the projects presented within the scope of support technologies that will ensure the employment of the disabled by using these administrative fines.

‘With the Employee Notification System, Employers’ Obligation to Employ Persons with Disabilities will be Automatically Determined’

Stating that 47 projects have been supported so far in this context, Minister Işıkhan said, ‘The amount of our grant support for the persons with disabilities is applied as 400 thousand liras as of 2024. Regarding the employment of persons with disabilities in public institutions, we have completed our necessary work to fill all of our e-KPSS quota and forwarded it to the Ministry of Family and Social Services. The obligation to employ persons with disabilities is included in our labour law and as the Ministry, we control this obligation through monthly labour force schedules. In this context, we are developing a software that removes the obligation to submit this document to our Provincial Directorates by making a new arrangement, and we hope to implement the employee notification system. In this way, we will automatically determine the obligation of our employers to employ disabled people and we will quickly ensure that the deficit in the quotas for persons with disabilities is closed by contacting our employers.’

Işıkhan said that the improvements achieved in women's employment and the participation of disabled individuals in the labour force in recent years are pleasing and added: ‘This protocol, which we will sign today with the Ministry of Family and Social Services, is a manifestation of the common will of our Ministries to strengthen the presence of women and persons with disabilities in working life and to eliminate the barriers they face. We consider this protocol not only as a document but also as an important tool to ensure social solidarity, social justice, equality and equal opportunities.’

Stating that enabling women and persons with disabilities to participate more strongly in economic and social life, utilising their skills and increasing their employment opportunities is not only a state policy but also one of the most valuable investments to be made in the future of the society, Minister Işıkhan said: ‘This protocol includes concrete steps that will increase the participation of women and persons with disabilities in the labour force, eliminate the difficulties they face in working life and create social awareness. With this cooperation, our Ministries will hopefully carry out joint activities in a wide range of areas from the development of vocational skills of women and disabled individuals to the provision of guidance and support in appropriate business areas.’

Işıkhan stated that economic development cannot be realised only through social development and emphasised that the opportunities to be created for women and persons with disabilities will enrich not only the lives of individuals but also the society as a whole.

Minister Işıkhan thanked everyone who contributed to the finalisation of the protocol and hoped that the step taken would be a hope for the future of women and persons with disabilities.

Minister of Family and Social Services Ms. Mahinur Özdemir Göktaş said that they aimed at increasing the employment of both women and persons with disabilities through the implementation of the signed protocol.