Gender equality snapshot of Türkiye

Over the past two decades, Türkiye has made progress in advancing gender equality through legal reforms. Türkiye is a signatory to all UN human rights treaties, including the Convention on Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and its Optional Protocol. It was the first country to sign (2011) and ratify (2012) the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (Istanbul Convention). On March 20, 2021, Türkiye announced its withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention. Here is the UN Joint Statement in response to Türkiye's withdrawal from Istanbul Convention. 

Türkiye’s 12th National Development Plan 2024-2028 contains goals and measures to empower women, prevent discrimination against them, and ensure that women have equal access to the rights, opportunities, and services available to men. Other policy documents adopted include the National Strategy and Action Plan on Women’s Empowerment (2024-2028), and the National Action Plan on Combating Violence against Women (2021 -2025).

Despite current legislation and policies, gender inequalities persist. As measured by the World Economic Forum, Türkiye ranked 127th out of 146 countries in terms of gender gap in 2024, down from 105th place in 2006. In the 2025 report published by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Türkiye ranks 51st out of 193 countries on the Human Development and Gender Inequality Indexes.

The challenges that remain include violence against women and girls; low levels of women’s equal and full participation in decision-making and in economic, public, and political life; gaps in implementation of existing laws and policies; and discriminatory stereotypes and restrictive social norms. Existing risks, vulnerabilities, and inequalities faced by women and girls have been exacerbated by crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic and the earthquakes of February 2023. The most recent statistics can be found in the "Women in Türkiye: A Statistical Overview 2024" report prepared by UN Women in collaboration with TURKSTAT (Turkish Statistical Institute).