Social security problems of women workers in agriculture: A field research in Mengen district of Bolu province

Women's labor force participation is lower than men all over the world (World Bank, 2023). This inequality is even greater in the agricultural sector. One of the most important problems of women working as unpaid family workers in rural areas is the social security issue. Since most women do not have social security, they cannot fully benefit from health services and cannot earn the right to retirement. In addition, they are deprived of the most basic social security rights such as sickness, work accident and maternity. This study aims to examine the social security problems of women working in the agricultural sector in Mengen District of Bolu Province and to offer solutions in line with the results. In the study, questionnaires were carried out with in-depth interview technique with 30 randomly selected female agricultural workers in the Mengen district of Bolu province. According to the results obtained from the interviews, most of the women who participated in the survey work as unpaid family workers. Most of the interviewees have no knowledge about agricultural insurance. Those with knowledge stated that they did not have insurance due to the high cost, that their spouses were insured and that they benefited from their spouse's insurance for health. In order to solve the problem, women working in agriculture should be informed about social security and social insurance, and necessary facilities should be made about the premium amounts and premium payment periods of women.