Prof Dr. Elif Loğoğlu, who resides in Ankara, is the daughter of a farming family from Osmaniye province, which explains her interest in agriculture. She says: "Due to their high amount of pesticides, some exported agricultural products had to be returned to Türkiye and sold here. This made me very upset. So, I started working on developing a biopesticide. Ultimately, I succeeded in creating a biopesticide from vegetal essential oils, which is not harmful to human health and the environment."

She established a company with the support of the Small and Medium Industry Development Organization (KOSGEB) and started to market this environmentally friendly biopesticide.

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Prof Dr. Elif Loğoğlu

Gulsun’s first formal job

Prof Loğoğlu, who had previously been involved in various projects to empower women, describes her meeting with WOMEN-UP: "I noticed this project on social media and liked it very much, because if women are strong, society is strong. I applied immediately. Thanks to WOMEN-UP, I was able to hire a female employee. I usually try to employ my own students, but, considering the criteria of the project, I thought of Gülsün Duzgöllü, who lives on the bottom floor of the opposite apartment block. I offered her a job. I can't tell you how happy she was."

EU

Gülsün Duzgöllü

"Of course, I was very happy! At first, I was hesitant about whether I could do the job well, but Prof Loğoğlu supported me a lot," says Gülsün, who is a primary school graduate with two adult children and a grandchild. Her husband works for minimum wage in a supermarket. She used to work as a housekeeper; this is her first formal job. Gülsün states: "I help her in the lab, I pack the products. It's great working here. I am in a different environment, and I meet different people. I used to hesitate to speak in public, but now I can express myself well without hesitation. I feel comfortable working for a woman. I think women are very strong. They can overcome everything; they should definitely have opportunities to work."

Both women are satisfied with the project as well as working together. Prof Loğoğlu plans to continue working with Gülsün after the project ends.

Supporting both employer and employee

Co-financed by the European Union (EU) and the Republic of Türkiye, the Supporting Registered Women Employment Project (WOMEN-UP) is carried out by the Social Security Institution (SGK). The project covers the wage of a female staff member up to the net amount of the minimum wage for 25 months. Employers apply with the information of the female worker they wish to employ.

Alev Şahin, the social security expert from the SGK, states: "With this project, we provide grant support to female employers for their newly employed female workers. The project started in March 2022. So far, we have provided support to 1,241 employers and 1,706 workers in Ankara. Within our institution, we attach great importance to women's empowerment in every field." 

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Alev Şahin, Prof Dr. Elif Loğoğlu, and Gülsün Duzgöllü

Head of the European Union Delegation to Türkiye, Ambassador Nikolaus Meyer-Landrut, says that "women's success is key to peace, democracy, justice, and prosperity. For years, the European Union has supported female entrepreneurs and employees in Türkiye through various projects. We have had the pleasure of being a partner in many success stories, and now we witness new success stories with WOMEN-UP. As with this project, the EU and Türkiye will continue working together to empower women."

Covering seven provinces

The WOMEN-UP Project, co-financed by EU and Türkiye with a €25 million subvention from the EU, aims to support 4,000 employed women and 4,000 women entrepreneurs in the provinces of Ankara, Istanbul, Samsun, Aydın, Denizli, Şanlıurfa, and Kahramanmaraş.

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