Gender equality policies in the European Union and Turkey: A comparative study in the framework of the EU harmonization process

Gender inequality is one of the most important academic and political debates today. In this context, the concept of gender has been put on the agenda of states and international organizations and has led to the production of various policies at the national and international level. In this context, the aim of the thesis is to find an answer to the question of how effective these policies are by examining the gender equality policies of the European Union and Turkey in the EU membership process. The study has been prepared with the document analysis method, using the official documents and numerical data related to the said policies, including the literature review. In the thesis, based on the data obtained from the World Economic Forum Gender Gap Index, the performance of the European Union and Turkey, which aims to become a member of the European Union, is compared. As a result of the study; It has been understood that the gender equality policies of the European Union and Turkey have developed over the years, but are insufficient in practice. Although Turkey has made remarkable progress on gender equality, it has been determined that it lags far behind the European Union, which it aims to be a candidate for. As a solution to the current problem, it has been emphasized that gender equality will be achieved more effectively if the European Union and Turkey go beyond the tendency to see women as a tool in their gender equality policies and put forward policies that will create transformations in the mentality and language aimed at eliminating gender perceptions.