Attitudes of Women’s NGO Members Towards Gender (In)Equality

Men and women have traditionally been subjected to unequal social roles in almost every society. In addition, their attitudes and behaviors in most cases are expected differently. Women are usually expected to be weak, kind, naive, emotional, sensitive, and dependent while men are generally expected to be strong, rude, rational, and independent. Those expected attitudes and behaviors mostly become gender stereotypes that in turn hinder gender equality in society. The purpose of the present study is to investigate what women’s NGO members in Turkey think about gender roles. In doing so, the study utilizes a survey having a Gender (In)Equality Index with almost 1000 women from over 200 women's NGOs in Turkey. The study analyzes the factors affecting the attitudes of women on gender (in)equality. This research is a part of a research project titled “Evaluation of Women’s Policy in Turkey from the Perspective of Women's Associations” which has been supported by the Coordination Office for Scientific Research Projects of Social Sciences University of Ankara.