Factors affecting women's participation decisions in civil society organizations: The case of the Turkish Public Employees' Unions Confederation

The fact that women's participation in institutional decision-making processes and activities in civil society organizations is still significantly underrepresented remains a major issue both in Turkey and worldwide. There is a fairly extensive international literature on the gap in women's representation in politics. Studies have identified the main reasons as child and family responsibilities, financial constraints, lack of self-efficacy, early life experiences of girls, gender-based norms, and lack of interest and information have been identified as the main reasons. However, there is insufficient research on the lack of female representation within the internal structures of civil society organizations. Existing studies have primarily focused on labor unions and female managers. There is a gap in the literature regarding the factors that influence women who are members of civil society organizations but do not actively participate in their activities. Regardless of the reason, the lack of women's representation also creates dysfunction in democratic processes. The first aim of this thesis is to identify the personal and institutional barriers to women's civic participation in Turkey. Second, we focus on identifying barriers to participation stemming from gender norms. Finally, we aim to understand the factors that encourage women to participate and women's expectations of institutions. This thesis is based on an extensive field study conducted in collaboration with 11 unions of the Confederation of Public Employees' Unions of Turkey to identify the variables that guide women's participation in civil society actions and decision-making mechanisms. In this context, semi-structured face-to-face interviews were conducted with 97 female public sector employees who are union members from 11 different sectors across Turkey. Based on representative data, we attempted to explain some of the underlying reasons for the low participation of women in union activities in Turkey. We focused on identifying the factors that motivate women to participate and their expectations from unions. The exclusionary effects of gender norms, patriarchal cultural structures, asymmetrical private life responsibilities, and lack of information emerged as the main reasons why women do not choose to participate in union activities and management. The support of male managers and members of civil society organizations and the support provided by their spouses have been found to be the two factors that most encourage women to participate. In conclusion, the most fundamental reason for the low participation of women in civil society organizations is the social gender norms that are constantly reproduced in institutional structures and cultural practices. The prejudices created by these norms also limit women's access to decision-making processes.