Background and political system
With a population over 86 million people, Türkiye is located in Southeastern Europe and Southwestern Asia along the Black, Aegean and Mediterranean seas, bordering Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia, Greece, Iran, Iraq and Syria. The Turkish Republic was established at in 1921 and Türkiye’s first multiparty elections were held in 1946.
The Constitution of Türkiye, adopted in 1982, provides the framework for the country’s political institutions and governance. Türkiye is a unitary presidential republic, divided into 81 provinces, and governs via central and local government structures.
Türkiye’s government consists of the Executive and Legislative branches, complemented by the Judicial branch. The central government is led by the President of the Republic, who is elected by the public for a five-year term and acts as Head of State and Head of Government, following the 2017 constitutional referendum that eliminated the post of Prime Minister. The executive branch’s Council of Ministers consists of ministers, appointed by the President. The legislative Assembly, called the Grand National Assembly of Türkiye or Türkiye Büyük Millet Meclisi, is formed by members elected directly by the public and serve in a unicameral assembly. The judicial branch hosts the Turkish Constitutional Court (Anayasa Mahkemesi), consisting of the President, two Vice Presidents and 12 judges; the Court of Cassation of 390 judges; the Council of State; and the Council of Judges and Prosecutors, in addition to subordinate courts.
Gender equality and women’s empowerment
Women’s right to vote in local elections was ensured in the country in 1930, while women’s right to vote and stand in national elections was ensured in the country in 1934.
Traditional patriarchal values and gender stereotypes have persisted in the Turkish society, creating barriers to practical socioeconomic and political equality and participation. For instance, the labour force participation rate of women is 35.1 percent, while it stands at 71.4 percent for men. Furthermore, in Türkiye there is a high rate of violence against women, as four out of ten Turkish women are exposed to physical and sexual violence at least once in their lifetime. Relevant challenges still remain in many areas, especially in political and economic participation, as according to the World Economic Forum’s 2024 Global Gender Gap Index, Türkiye ranks 127th out of 146 countries.
Structure of parliament
The Grand National Assembly of Türkiye is composed of 600 deputies elected to five-year terms, through a proportional representation system. The Assembly is responsible for writing legislation, supervising the Council of Ministers and adopting the budget.
There is no legislated gender quota ensuring gender representation in parliament.
Women's representation in parliament
As of July 2024, the Turkish Assembly has 119 women members, representing 19.8 percent. The youngest member of Parliament, Zehranur Aydemïr, is a woman. The next elections will be held in 2028.
Forecast based on past trends
If changes continue at the current pace, this is how women's representation in parliament will look like by 2030.
We calculated this forecast by taking the average rate of improvement from 1995 to 2023 and projecting it into the future.
Forecast based on recent trends
If changes registered in the past five years continue, this is how women's representation in parliament will look like by 2030.
We calculated this forecast by taking the average rate of change in the past five years and projecting it into the future.
Best case forecast
If the situation improves similarly to the country performing best in the region, this is how women's representation in parliament will look like by 2030.
We calculated this forecast by taking the rate of improvement from the country performing best in the region and accelerating the change with this amount over five years and then keeping it constant.
Worst case forecast
If the situation deteriorates similarly to the country registering the worst drop in the region, this is how women's representation in parliament will look like by 2030.
We calculated this forecast by taking the drop rate in the country performing worst in the region and deteriorating the situation with this amount over five years and then keeping it constant.
Women Chairpersons of Parliament Committees
The Turkish Parliament has 19 specialized Committees on the topics of Justice; the Constitution; European Union Harmonization; Public Works, Reconstruction, Transportation and Tourism; Environment; Foreign Affairs; Digital Channels; Petitions; Security and Intelligence; Internal Affairs; Human Rights Inquiry; Equal Opportunities for Women and Men; State Economic Enterprises; National Education, Culture, Youth and Sports; National Defense; Plan and Budget; Health, Family, Labour and Social Affairs; Industry, Trade, Energy, Natural Resources, Information and Technology; and Agriculture, Forestry and Rural Affairs.
As of July 2024, women are the chairpersons of the Commission on Equal Opportunities for Men and Women (Cigdem Erdogan Atabek), the Human Rights Inquiry Committee (Derya Yanik), and the Petitions Committee (Sunay Karamik).
Structure of government
Central government
The Turkish President is responsible for summoning parliamentary sessions, promulgating laws, and ratifying international treaties.
The Cabinet is composed of 18 members, who take on the positions of Ministers within the Turkish Government. Within the executive branch, the Council of Ministers, led by the President, constitutes the Government of Türkiye and is responsible for the execution of general policies, matters within their own ministry and issues of national defense.
The current President is Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has been in power since 2014. In 1993, Tansu Ciller became Türkiye’s first and only woman Prime Minister, but Türkiye has not yet had a woman serve as President. As of July 2024, Mahinur Ozdemir Goktas (Minister for Family and Social Services) is the only woman member of Cabinet.
Ministers or Cabinet Members
Mahinur Ozdemir Goktas
Minister for Family and Social Services
Local government
At the local level, the government is organized into upper and lower tiers. The upper tier consists of 30 metropolitan municipalities (buyuksehir belediyeleri) and 51 special provincial administration local government units (il ozel idaresi). The lower tier comprises 393 town (belde) municipalities, 400 district (ilce) municipalities, 51 province centre (il merkezi) municipalities, and 519 metropolitan district municipalities (buyuksehir ilce belediyesi). At both tiers, local governments are comprised of deliberative bodies and executive bodies. Local deliberative bodies are made up of elected officials, headed by the Mayor (metropolitan and municipal councils) or a Chairperson (general provincial council). There is no legislated gender quota for local government representation. Local executive bodies consist of appointed and/or elected members by and from the relevant council at all levels, and the Mayor or Governor.
For more information on gender quotas adopted at the national level, visit the women in parliament section.
Structure of public administration
The central government’s roles and responsibilities include state policy; state budget; law and order; monetary policy; national defense; foreign policy; national transportation; water and forestry resources; energy policy; health policy; educational policy; employment policy; economic development; trans-European networks policy; and agricultural policy.
Local government bodies are largely responsible for Türkiye’s public administration when it comes to local matters of politics, administration, and finance. Within each local jurisdiction, local government units are responsible for providing public services, and have administrative and financial authority over local matters.
Women’s representation as employees and decision-makers in public administration
This visualization was developed based on data provided by GIRL@University of Pittsburgh.
Data across countries and territories is not comparable. For more information about the methodology and sources used, read here.
In the evolving landscape of Türkiye’s public administration, women’s representation has experienced a blend of progress and stability. At the employee level, there has been a notable increase, with women comprising 35.7 percent of public administration employees in 2021, considerable growth from 30.6 percent in 2010. However, women’s representation peaked at 36.4 percent in 2017 and has remained relatively stable around this percentage. Conversely, women’s representation at the decision-making level has seen remarkable growth, rising from only 2.6 percent in 2009 to 17.6 percent in 2023. This significant growth reflects the expanding role for women in Türkiye’s public administration.