The impact of export and foreign direct investment on women's employment in Turkey

Developing countries such as Turkey need to increase their current employment levels in order to grow and increase their welfare levels. In order to increase the employment level, it is primarily necessary to overcome gender discrimination in work life. Even though the acceleration of export and foreign direct investment along with globalization has created new employment areas, it has not reached a sufficient level to increase women's employment. In this study, the impact of export and foreign direct investment on women's employment in Turkey is examined. In this regard, ARDL analysis was carried out using data from the period 2006Q1-2022Q4. According to empirical findings, it has been determined that export negatively affects women's employment in the long term, while foreign direct investment have no effect on women's employment in the long term. According to these results; It is thought that in order to increase the impact of export on women's employment in the Turkish economy and to enable women to create added value in the workforce, the import-dependent structure of export should be reduced, sectors that help export grow should be supported, and women's employment should be supported without gender discrimination in business areas. In addition, it is thought that direct foreign investment in Turkey as new investment instead of company mergers or acquisitions will have a positive impact on women's participation in employment. Keywords: Women's Employment, Export, Foreign Direct Investment, ARDL Analysis, Turkey.