The Trajectory of Decent Work in Türkiye: A Review with Gender-Oriented Statistics

The concept of decent work, as outlined in the 1999 ILO Conference, rests on four pillars: employment, social protection, workers’ rights, and social dialogue. Globally, in developed countries, only a fortunate minority benefits from legal regulations that guarantee working conditions and wages. Furthermore, alongside other employment issues, almost all countries struggle with gender discrimination in the workforce. In this study, we delve into the progress of decent work over the past two decades, utilizing selected indicators, and critically assess the current situation through a gender lens. The findings reveal that Turkish labour markets have fallen short in promoting decent work over the past two decades, with significant disparities between genders. The analysis of statistical indicators suggests a positive, but insufficient, improvement in indicators related to employment opportunities, child labour, equal opportunity and treatment in employment and social dialogue. Decent working time, stability and security of work, cases of fatal occupational injury seem to be stable. On the other hand, indicators related to adequate earning and productive work, social security, and non-fatal occupational injury all showed a decline.