ABSTRACT
Employment plays an important role in the economic empowerment of women. This study raises the question of whether women friendly workplaces (WFW) policies can be a tool to solve the problem of low female employment in Turkey. WFW policies are a set of institutional policies aimed at work life balance provision, equal treatment in all aspects of the work life and combatting gender-based discrimination in the workplace. WFW applications in Turkey have been launched under the leadership of the United Nations organizations. A large number of Turkish enterprises and multinational companies mostly carry out these applications. In order for WFW applications to be an important tool to increase female employment, trade unions must be involved in the process, companies must also focus on blue-collar workers, and these applications must be disseminated to small and medium-sized enterprises. In relevant circumstances, WFW policies can be an important complement to decent work and gender equality policies.
