The debate titled "Business World is Discussing! With or without Quotas" was organized by Women on Board Turkey Association (WOB Turkey). This meeting was held within the scope of the European Union Local NGO's Grant Program Closing Event. It was moderated by Burçak Güven, WOB Turkey Co-president, as the European Union Local NGO's Grant Program Closing Event. The prominent names of the business world sat at the debating table and discussed the quota issue for gender equality in Boards. France and Belgium have the highest rate of women (42%) on Boards in the world. Both countries rely on quotas. Among countries that not have quotas number 1 is Sweden with 36.7% rate. Without quotas, the UK is the country that progresses fastest. Its rate of women on Boards has gone up from 12.5% in 2011 to 29% in 2018. Turkey has made only 4 points the way for eight years (from 11.4% to 15.9%). The Association that have conducted "More Women on Boards" project, look for an answer during the debate whether there will be a solution to the quota for Turkey.

As quota defenders, WOB Turkey President, Insead Business School Executive Coach Hande Yaşargil, WOB Turkey Advisory Board Member, Akkök Holding CEO Ahmet Dördüncü, and WOB Turkey Board Member, IMM Chairperson Advisor, Founder of Duman Management Consultancy Yiğit Oğuz Duman and as opposed to quotas WOB Turkey Advisory Board Second Term Chairperson, MV Holding Acting Chairperson Muzaffer Akpınar, WOB Turkey Advisory Board Member, MY Executive Partner Müge Yalçın and WOB Turkey Advisory Board Member, ARGE Consulting Chairperson, Argüden Governance Academy Foundation Chairperson Board of Trustees Dr Yılmaz Argüden attended as a speaker in the session.

The opening speeches of the event were made by WOB Turkey Advisory Board Fourth Term Chairperson, FIBA Holding Chairperson Murat Özyeğin, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Directorate for EU Affairs, Financial Cooperation and Project Implementation acting General Manager Bülent Özcan. Murat Özyeğin said, "The rate of women on Boards, which was 11% eight years ago, is 15.9% today. This progress performance is unacceptable. I want to make a call to the top executives of the business world. Today, after this horizon tour, let's find the truth of our institutions and let's approach this issue as a performance criterion. Let's put our hands under the stone. This is not a women's issue, it is also an economic, social and humanitarian issue."

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Directorate for EU Affairs, Financial Cooperation and Project Implementation acting General Manager Bülent Özcan summarized the achievements of the project and underlined our common focuses for the upcoming term. "Steady outputs have been obtained in terms of advocacy and public awareness in Europe with this project. We became the advocate of the woman on board issue as the ministry. Today, this discussion will give us a serious road map. The sustainability of the relationship initiated with similar associations in Europe within the scope of the project is valuable. In the upcoming term spreading this program in Turkey should be the main focus. We have a way to go for more women managers in companies, public institutions, chamber administrations, NGOs and municipal councils in Anatolia."

“The views of the panellists during the debate were briefly as follows: 

QUOTA DEFENDERS:

• WOB Turkey Advisory Board Member, Akkök Holding CEO Ahmet Dördüncü: " We have to run well the Boards of Turkey's largest companies. There is a very serious female leadership talent pool but we don't use it, and we are too late. Turkey does not have the luxury to wait."
• WOB Turkey President, Insead Business School Executive Coach Hande Yaşargil, "I'm not defending the women's quota, I am defending the men's bar. It should not be 30% female quota, but 70% male bar. This is a system problem and must be solved systematically. We see the quota as an intervention to fix the system, not as a great solution. Nobody wants a shadow on her/himself as an individual when he is elected to Board.ıf there is a shadow, it is on the entire Board and primarily it must be removed. Are we unhappy with the 30% independent Board Member quota applied public institutions today? If we waited, would companies feel like a need and reach this rate? That's why we say systematic intervention is essential."
• WOB Turkey Board Member, IMM Chairperson Advisor, Founder of Duman Management Consultancy Yiğit Oğuz Duman: "quota is an objective reality, a number. We cannot see mathematics as just numbers and figures, we need to look at its benefits and effects on our lives. If we did not set a target, a quota for ourselves in the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality today, 33% of our colleagues we recruited in the last six months would not be women. It is not right to argue over performance. We need to do it through diversity, inclusion and social development. Boards have a responsibility to society in this sense."

QUOTA OBJECTORS:

• WOB Turkey Advisory Board Second Term Chairperson, MV Holding Acting Chairperson Muzaffer Akpınar," We need to question whether most of the Boards work as they should, are the committees functioning properly, whether they fulfil their duties. We need to be concerned with content, quality rather than numbers. I want to share a research data: when asked about the female quota to the Board Members of S&P companies, 83% of all members, men and women, opposed the quota, while 54% said that when asked only to women, they were against it. I have had all my identities in business life willingly, feeling belonging, feeling excited and receiving the same response in the environment I am in. taking advantage of the quota and regulation bothered me. It may be lofty and wandering, but I think we cannot ignore this feeling, then I cannot be me."
• WOB Turkey Advisory Board Member, MY Executive Partner Müge Yalçın: "Every Country applying quotas cannot reach the target number. Norway has reached 40% by applying quotas, but we need to monitor if this rate has passed. It should not remain a cosmetic application. It is necessary to look at the benefit, not the quota, for the right Board."
• WOB Turkey Advisory Board Member, ARGE Consulting Chairperson, Argüden Governance Academy Foundation Chairperson Board of Trustees Dr Yılmaz Argüden: "Is the main purpose to increase the number of women in Board or to increase the performance of Board? Quota fixes statistics, not performance. Diversity cannot be limited to only gender quota for Boards. Boards are places where there are small numbers, quotas complicate the business, preventing freedom of enterprise. The rule can be brought to Board that a woman candidate should also be evaluated during the election phase, but the rule that the elected members must be women is an obstacle to benefit. The quota is unfair to qualified women."

About the European Union Local NGOs Program "More Women on Boards" Project:

The Women on Board Turkey Association (WOB Turkey) is carrying out the "More Women on Boards" Project through the European Union Local NGO's Grant Program.

The project which is funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Directorate for EU Affairs and the Ministry of Treasury and Finance's Central Finance and Contracting Unit will operate during 12 months from January 2, 2019, to December 31, 2019.

The Project aims to develop WOB Turkey in 3 main activity elements:

1.         Administrative activities

2.         Advocacy activities

3.         Communication activities

"DEBATE/ With or without Quotas" activity was carried out within the scope of Advocacy activities.

About Women on Board Turkey Association:

Established in January 2017, the Women on Board Association Turkey's main objective is to promote social development by increasing female representation on boards of directors. Many studies indicate that diversity on Boards of Directors has a major positive impact on the performance of institutions, making this a requirement for social development. However the rate of women at top decision-making levels in the institutions that lead our economy is quite low. The origin of our association is the Women on Board of Directors Program, the first formation aiming to fulfil this objective, created in 2012 by Managing Partner of Mentor Consulting, Hande Yaşargil and Clinical Psychologist and Journalist Burçak Güven. The Women on Board of Directors Program was initiated in order to expand the pool of women "ready" to play their role in support of the increase of female representation on boards. It is Turkey's first and only certificate program in the field of Board Membership, accredited by respected academic institutions. One of the main elements of the program is the cross-company Mentoring system that allows being mentored by the country's most effective business people and opinion leaders. During every 18 months, our mentors play an important part by working with new female mentees and helping them prepare for their role on Boards of Directors. The 4th phase of the Women on Board Program will begin in January 2020. Until now the first three phases have been completed with the participation of 137 high-level women directors as Mentees.

As the Women on Board Association Turkey, we continue to implement this unique program while carrying out our activities of communication, cooperation, awareness and information sharing in order to increase the representation rate of women on boards.

https://www.womenonboardturkey.org/

www.womenonboardtr.org