"Labor union calls on women across Turkey to strike on International Women’s Day"

The Confederation of Revolutionary Workers Unions (DISK) has called on women across Turkey to strike on March 8, International Women’s Day, to protest gender-based discrimination in all aspects of life, the Birgün daily reported.

At a meeting on Tuesday DİSK members issued a statement detailing the daily challenges women face, including unequal pay, gender-based violence and discrimination. They also emphasized that women in Turkey shoulder most caregiving responsibilities at home, yet this labor remains unrecognized as ‘work.'” To draw attention to these systemic problems, they called on their members and all women across the country to strike on March 8.

Chairwoman Arzu Çerkezoğlu said they would work tirelessly for gender equality. “Homemakers, healthcare workers, women in the private sector, in the culture industry and all other sectors face similar problems. Let’s just lay down whatever we’re doing for one day and demand equity,” she said.

Dr. Pınar Saip from the Turkish Medical Association (TTB) said many women in the labor force had the double burden of care-giving at home and their professional responsibilities. [...]

Academic Seyhan Erdoğdu said one of the biggest challenges women faced was the pay gap. “Men are nearly always more privileged when it comes to pay in comparison to their female peers. It should be government policy to ensure each workplace has regulations to ensure equal pay, and these regulations should be transparent and subject to audit.”

Erdoğdu added that the other biggest challenge was bullying and sexual harassment in the workplace, since cases were drastically underreported and perpetrators often not held accountable.

Women from various sectors who attended the meeting said it was difficult to voice negative experiences in the workplace. Joining a union or participating in a demonstration often meant risking losing their jobs or becoming vulnerable to bullying. [...]

Additionally, women in Turkey are more likely than men to work in informal jobs — jobs without contracts, benefits or legal protections — and this gender gap is larger than in many other developing countries. [...]