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as they participate in the workforce. In order for women to
realize their own potential and to end their economic depend-
ence while maintaining their family life as a social value in a
smooth manner, the dilemmas they experience, both in the
private and public areas, must be resolved. After all, women’s
participation in the paid workforce is a sophisticated phenom-
enon. The opportunities, possibilities or difficulties brought
to women by this phenomenon vary depending on the region
and living conditions.
The ‘second shift’ of women at home, due to the unfair
distribution of responsibilities between women and men in
professional and family life, is an issue that is still discussed
with efforts to find a solution. A preliminary condition in
achieving a fair work/life balance is to consider the domes-
tic responsibilities of women and men and meet the current
conditions of working life for women by respecting the
biological differences, while providing equal opportunities
and access. The given social gender roles that make women
work at home and at work, ignoring the domestic work and
even referring to it as a requirement, must be reorganized. At
this point, intellectual studies to form the foundation of social
policies are expected to support the idea of justice.
We prioritize the concept of gender justice,
1
which refers
to how women must be valued in every aspect of social
life while anticipating a fair distribution of roles between
women and men. In fact, most statements produced about
how women and men should be positioned in the family
and social life, ignoring their qualitative and characteristic
attributes, are not based on reality. Instead of positioning
women and men as opposites, they must be regarded as
the arms of a scale to establish balance; as ‘humans’ with
different qualities and characters but with the same weight
on the scale. It is important to avoid turning the qualities
and characters of women and men into a disadvantage, and
instead to create the right environment and opportunities
for both to realize their full potential. Under Article 23 of
the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which stipu-
lates “Everyone has the right to work, to free choice of
employment, to just and favourable conditions of work and
to protection against unemployment,” it is emphasized that
women must choose their place of work freely, and just
and favourable conditions of work must be provided at the
workplace of their choice. However, it would not be fair
to force women to choose between work and home, and it
must be borne in mind that despite regularly updated social
regulations, there are still failures in this regard.
Issues resulting from such dilemmas between domestic
and professional life are still included in the agendas of many
international organizations, countries and non-governmen-
tal organizations (NGOs) with alternatives offered to make
women’s lives easier. Thus, steps to be taken, policies to be
produced and strategies to raise consciousness about social
responsibility are highly important in terms of establishing a
work/life balance. Such remedial arrangements made as part
of social policies will facilitate the integration of women into
working life, improving their rate of participation in public
life and their visibility. In this respect, services including
paid parental leave and flexible work hours are key steps not
only in ensuring the continuity of women in working life,
but also in protecting the ‘togetherness and sustainability
of the family’. The Sustainable Development Goals clearly
express that no one must be left behind. It is an essential
Image: KADEM
KADEM hosted a Refugee Women Panel at the G20 Summit to raise awareness of the ongoing refugee crisis
G
ender
E
quality
and
W
omen
’
s
E
mpowerment