The Current State of Women's Co-operatives in Turkey

Turkey’s Electoral Geography

“…Women's cooperatives are unique organizations thanks to their economic as well as social targets of attaining affluence, equality, and social progress while also (mostly) preserving a horizontal, non-hierarchical organizational structure (Datta & Gailey, 2012;Eccarius-Kelly, 2006;Ferguson & Kepe, 2011;Jones et al, 2012;Majee & Hoyt, 2011). Both throughout the world and in Turkey, the main case study of this research, the scope of operations of women's cooperatives, spans various sectors such as agriculture, handicrafts, food, and child and elderly care (Bacon, 2010;Cinar et al, 2019;Datta & Gailey, 2012;Ferguson & Kepe, 2011), According to a recent survey of women's cooperatives in Turkey, out of 63 active cooperatives, 42 are identified as enterprise cooperatives (67 percent ) and 18 are agricultural cooperatives (29 percent), while the remaining cooperatives operate in small arts, consumers, and manufacturing (Duguid et al, 2015).…”

“…In our research, we conducted an extensive fieldwork in 2017 on women's cooperatives throughout Turkey. A recent World Bank report on women's cooperatives states that there were 63 active cooperatives (Duguid et al, 2015), though this number reduced significantly due to the emergency rule in Turkey between July 2016 and July 2018 (several women's cooperatives were closed down, especially in Eastern and Southeastern Turkey during the emergency rule). In our fieldwork, we contacted 23 women's cooperatives throughout Turkey, which corresponds to nearly half of the currently active cooperatives for the time being (see Figure 6.1 for our fieldwork map).…”

Faces and Phases of Women’s Empowerment: The Case of Women’s Cooperatives in Turkey

“…A similar distribution of operational fields can be observed in Turkey. According to a recent survey of women's cooperatives, out of 63 active cooperatives, 42 are identified as enterprise cooperatives (67 percent), 18 are agricultural cooperatives (29 percent), while the remaining cooperatives operate in small arts, consumers, and manufacturing (Duguid et al 2015).…”

“…The first women's cooperatives in Turkey were established in 1999 (Duguid et al 2015). While the Ministry of Customs and Trade (MoCT) announced some economic incentives applicable for women's cooperatives including exemption from notary fees (Okan and Okan 2013, 41), women's cooperatives are still struggling in many regards.…”

“…Albeit illuminating, the extant body of the literature (Duguid et al 2015;Ecevit 2007;Okan and Okan 2013;O ¨zdemir 2013) remains mostly descriptive and there is dearth of research linking the effects of these cooperatives on women's emancipation and empowerment. Thus, our article investigates the impact of women's cooperatives on women's empowerment in cases such as Turkey with a dominant patriarchal culture and increasing emphasis on family-centered politics as well as neoliberal economic competition.…”