Dr. H. Serdar ŞARDAN
ÇEİS Genel Sekreteri / Secretary General, ÇEİS
Trade Union of Cement Industry Employers (CEIS) has initiated a major transformation activity regarding gender equity in cement industry with its #BenimleGelecek project realized in the recent period. CEIS Secretary in General Dr. H. Serdar SARDAN wrote the details of this project in Cementurk magazine.
With its visionary identity and its power obtained from our country’s foundational values, the Cement Industry Employers’ Association (ÇEİS) has been working in order to develop of our industry and national economy since 1964. In line with our vision of “preparing the industry for the future,” our most important objective is to enrich our position that creates a sustainable economic value with the power of projects for social benefit purposes. In this critical journey of ours, we have channeled a significant part of our motivation to our project #BenimleGelecek, which aims for a positive transformation in the field of gender quality.
Gender inequality is -unfortunately- one of the biggest common problems of humankind that penetrated int all parts of the world… National and international studies reveal the severity of the situation with all its bitter reality as well. According to the Report titled Global Gender Gap 2021, which is published by the World Economic Forum, it is stated that under the current circumstances, it will take 135.6 years to close the gender gap at the global scale. However, something is crystal clear here: We have neither the intention nor the patient to wait for 136 years.
This is the very reason why we should assume responsibilities and assume the pioneering role in the change and development in order to get the egalitarian world that we dream of. As stated by Mustafa Kemal ATATÜRK, the most precious guide of ours, “If you become helpless one day, do not wait for a savior to come. Be that savior instead.”
Every individual and organization with social sensitivity should take a powerful stance for the problems of the society and the world they live in. We believe that the Cement Industry will play a critical role in the struggle against gender inequality, with its factories operating in all 7 regions of Turkey and in all climates, its wide employment network consisting of male employees mostly, and its privilege to contact each and every socioeconomic group. We are determined to empower women and their position and to reflect the gender equality perspective on the policies, strategies, and practices. With this belief, we have decided to ignite the spark of the change in our industry and proudly realized our project titled #BenimleGelecek, the equality movement that we hope to influence the entire country. I think our project will make a significant contribution to the family institution, which we believe to be the cement of the Turkish society.
We have been working hard and meticulously for the project #BenimleGelecek since December 2020. As we see the progress we have made in a year, our belief in achieving many more things increases. I want to turn back to the early stages of our adventure and share some information and data.
We were aware of the fact that our project would not bring powerful results without the contributions of experts. In this regard, we have created a Board of Advisors to guide us with their knowledge and experiences. This board consists of the representatives of the cement industry as well as a neuro-researcher, civil society works expert, sociologist, cognitive sciences expert, journalist, and communications consultant. The contributions of the members of our Board of Advisors, each of whom is one of the most popular names in their respective fields, are highly precious to us. We are managing a large-scope process with different points of contact. Therefore, it is highly important for us to take sound and safe steps.
Then, we have set to build our project on scientific ground. In cooperation with ThinkNeuro, which is Turkey’s largest neuro-research company, we have realized the “Research on Gender Stereotypes in Turkey.” In the light of science, we have observed what kind of reactions that our mind produces to the “gender equality” norms. We have analyzed in detail under four different titles, namely Violence, Family Life and Child Care, Polygamy and Harassment, and Work and Education, the results of the research with 4 respondents, half of whom were men and the other half were women. At the end of the research, we have learned which messages of gender equality are accepted at higher levels and had an unfiltered look at the concerns and beliefs of our society through in-depth interviews. We have compiled the result of this research of ours, which is the first of its kind in Turkey and in the world, in a book that also contains the forewords of our Board of Advisors. Those who are interested can download the book on ÇEİS’ website.
Despite the fact that we have also obtained optimistic data as a result of the research, we have seen that we have an essential development path. When it comes to “gender equality,” people would have clear, definitive, and egalitarian opinions, we believe. However, the results of the research, unfortunately, indicate the opposite. When the same equality scale is asked through different subjects (woman-daughter or man-son), our opinions may vary. For example, it is possible that we believe in gender equality on the one hand and favor our own son on the other. It is pretty thought-provoking that we consider such a universal concept as equality so subjectively.
I would like to materialize the issue with an example from the research results. We have seen that men had neutral reactions to the statement “My son can take care of his children as women do,” while the same group showed a strong identification with the statement “Fathers can take care of their children, as women do.” We say fathers should assume responsibilities for child care, but we cannot be sure whether our son should take care of his children. We are undecided about gender equality even within ourselves…
Regardless of the area, the only way of development is education. In the new stage of the project, we have planned a training set and workshops in collaboration with the Equality Matters Initiative that emerged from the Mother Child Education Foundation (AÇEV). As of November, we have started to give “Equality Matters” trainings, the first step of the training programs planned in two phases, to office employees.
This training, which will be open to the employees of ÇEİS member organizations for almost one year, will be provided online. Within this process, we will support the training programs with different programs and workshops and identify the points for development based on factories, together with the “Change Leaders” to be selected from our member factories. We are planning to focus on these areas in the second phase of the project, which is devoted to field employees.
I find the responsibility assumed by the business world in order to ensure gender equality particularly valuable. The change to occur in the dynamics of the business world will have positive repercussions in our country as well. We desire to expand the impacts of the #BenimleGelecek project in the medium and long term. In this regard, we are planning to be in close contact with regional and global organizations, which develop projects in the field of gender equality just like ÇEİS, and to discuss possible collaborations with them.
With our project #BenimleGelecek, we aim to create a change in the cement industry at first and say, “If Our Cement Family Changes, Turkey Changes.” However, we also know that a social problem can be eliminated only with a strong social intention. At this point, every mechanism in social life has an outstanding share. With a perspective focused on participation, we must ensure equal opportunities for women to be more visible in all areas. We believe that turning this perspective into a life practice at young ages is of vital importance and that courses and subjects about gender equality should be included in our educational curricula.
We are aware that we have embarked on a challenging and long journey, but we have full faith and absolute determination. I sincerely believe that we will achieve our objectives with the support of our Large Cement Family as well as our precious stakeholders. The song of equality sung by our industry, which touches hundreds of thousands of people with the multiplier effect, will echo all around our country. I know that.
