Özyeğin University, AÇEV, and the ILO Join Forces to Foster Care Equity

Özyeğin University, the Mother Child Education Foundation (AÇEV), and the International Labour Organization (ILO) Türkiye Office have signed a memorandum of understanding to develop workplace practices that support employees' care responsibilities, promote gender equality, and foster more inclusive working environments. The protocol was signed under the ILO's project, “Building Resilient and Care-Supportive Workplaces through Equality and Care,” implemented with the support and partnership of Sweden.

Under this collaboration, the three institutions will work with companies to identify employees' caregiving needs and develop workplace policies that respond to them. Drawing on its research expertise, Özyeğin University will contribute to assessing the impact of workplace practices that support care responsibilities and translating scientific findings into practical solutions for workplaces. Building on its experience in promoting equitable parenting and fathers' active involvement in caregiving, AÇEV will support a more balanced distribution of care responsibilities. The ILO, in turn, will focus on scaling up these practices through its expertise in the world of work and social dialogue mechanisms.

Prof. İrşadi Aksun, Vice President for Research, Innovation, and Impact at Özyeğin University, noted that the collaboration aims to translate research findings into workplace practices that make a tangible difference in employees' everyday lives. He added that the partnership would also build on the experience gained through the Care Equality Corporate Network, established under Özyeğin University's leadership in collaboration with TÜSİAD. Now entering its implementation phase with its founding member companies, the Network focuses on identifying employees’ needs related to caregiving and mental load, and developing tailored roadmaps for individual companies.

The three-party partnership aims to develop sustainable workplace practices that recognize employees' care responsibilities, encourage more equitable involvement by women and men in caregiving, and can be easily adapted to cater to the needs of different workplaces.