KOÇ GROUP LAUNCHES A GENDER EQUALITY MOVEMENT IN TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION WITH RAFT OF NEW COMMITMENTS

In cooperation with the UN Women's Generation Equality Forum, Koç Holding has launched a gender equality movement in technology and innovation, mobilizing its Group companies.

The companies are going to conduct 30 programs to reach out to a total of 500,000 women and girls and to increase the representation of women in technology and innovation by 2026.

ISTANBUL, March 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Koç Group companies leading in energy, automotive, consumer durables and finance sectors, Aygaz, Arçelik, Ford Otosan, Koçfinans, Tofaş, Tüpraş, TürkTraktör and Yapı Kredi, have announced their commitments to advance gender equality in technology and innovation in Turkey over the next 5 years. The CEOs of the respective companies introduced their road maps at a press conference in Istanbul, stating their goals to boost the number of women employees in the technology and innovation departments, setting minimum ratios to 30 percent.

They also announced further steps to increase girls' involvement to STEM subjects throughout their learning journey, starting from primary, to high school and university, in order to accelerate the social transformation in Turkey. The companies are planning to implement 30 programs targeting students, women entrepreneurs, employees, their families and a larger ecosystem of stakeholders to reach out to a total of 500,000 people in 5 years.

Koç Holding has taken a leadership role in many gender equality campaigns both in Turkey and on a global scale, including being a key signatory of the Declaration on Equality at Work to the UN's HeForShe movement and the UN Women's Empowerment Principles. The company is also one of the leaders in the "Generation Equality Forum" initiated by UN Women.

Celebrating Koç Holding's raft of transformative new measures, Oya Ünlü Kızıl, Corporate Communications and External Relations Director at Koç Holding, said: "The commitments of our companies include measurable targets and projects that will contribute to the transformation of our colleagues, business partners and society. It is essential that we expand the pool of women who will be working in the design, production and management of technology and create an environment that provides equal opportunities for women working in these sectors. There is no doubt that the world needs technology, and technology needs an equality perspective."

Considering the scale of the operations of the 8 companies operating in a diverse set of sectors, the commitments will have a collective impact and initiate a transformation in the community.

Commitments of automotive sector

• Ford Otosan and Tofaş commits to increase the ratio of women working in technology and innovation from 18 percent to 30 percent, while TürkTraktör's target is to increase this rate from 36 percent to 50 percent. In addition, Tofaş commits to increase the number of women managers from 13 percent to 20 percent and TürkTraktör aims to increase the ratio of women in internship programs to 50 percent in technology and innovation departments.  
• Ford Otosan is going to reach 100,000 women with projects that provide training, learning and financial support to increase the number of women employed in technology and innovation in the automotive sector.
• Tofaş sets goals to reach 30,000 young women professionals, high school and university students by 2026 to provide support and unlock opportunities to participate in technology and innovation careers.
• TürkTraktör also plans to reach a total of 30,000 people through coaching, mentorship and development programs, and provide internship and employment opportunities.

Commitments of durable consumer goods sector

• In all of its global operations, Arçelik will increase the number of women working in STEM from 16 percent to 35 percent.
• In cooperation with the Ministry of National Education, Arçelik will run technology, design, information technologies and software courses and reach out to 100,000 girls. In addition, the company will reach out to 5,000 women through global entrepreneurship programs and facilitate the funds transfer of $4 million dollars to women entrepreneurs. Arçelik will also expand its - You are an engineer, You are with us – program to reach out to young women engineers in Romania, Pakistan and South Africa to support their career development.
• Beko will work to boost the number of women entrepreneurs in the retail sector by increasing the rate of women dealers from 4.8 percent to 25 percent. By enabling women to gain new professional competencies, Arçelik aims to increase the rate of women technicians working at Arçelik and Beko Authorized Services from 6.7 percent to 14 percent by 2026.

Commitments of energy sector

• Tüpraş commits to increase the proportion of women employed in its R&D, Innovation and Information Systems departments from 23 percent to 40 percent. Tüpraş will also strive to achieve a female employee rate of 50 percent in overall recruitment.
• Aygaz will increase the rate of its women employees working in technology and innovation departments from 13 percent to 35 percent, and women managers from 12 percent to 21 percent. 
• Tüpraş will reach a total of 100,000 girls, comprised of 90,000 secondary school and 10,000 university students, through education and training programs to tap into their potential and encourage them to participate in STEM-related career fields.
• Aygaz commits to tackle gender inequality in the technology and innovation ecosystem by reaching 100,000 women and girls from different age groups through education, mentoring and scholarship programs.

Commitments of finance sector

• Yapı Kredi aims to increase the number of its women employees in technology from 35 percent to 40 percent, and women managers from 22 percent to 27 percent in the next 5 years.  Yapı Kredi Teknoloji, a subsidiary of Yapı Kredi, has also set a target to ensure a more inclusive and diverse recruitment process and will require at least one woman to be in every 3 short listed candidates.
• Koçfinans will maintain the 50 percent female employee rate throughout the company in 2022, as well as to increase the female employee rate from 40 percent to 50 percent in technology and innovation.
• Yapı Kredi sets targets to reach a total of 20,000 women entrepreneurs through customized financial products and services designed for women entrepreneurs and to reach 80,000 women and girls to provide special trainings and support them gain technical competencies.in technology.
• Koçfinans will offer scholarships, mentorship and internship programs to women and girls, with a focus on university students in remote areas through collaborations with universities and non-governmental organizations.

About Koç Holding

Dating back to 1926, Koç Holding, one step ahead of change at all times, has become one of the largest and most successful groups in Turkey and in the region and the only Turkish company to be listed in Fortune Global 500 list. As of today, Koç Holding is Turkey's leading investment holding company and Koç Group is Turkey's largest industrial and services group in terms of revenues, exports, number of employees, taxes paid and total market capitalization on Borsa Istanbul. Koç Holding has leading positions with strong competitive advantages in energy, automotive, consumer durables and finance sectors, which offer strong long-term growth potential. Creating long-term sustainable value for the world and the societies in which the Koç Group operates, lies at the heart of its business model.

Koc Group launches a gender equality movement in technology and innovation