Gender Equality Plan

KADİR HAS UNIVERSITY GENDER EQUALITY PLAN

KADİR HAS UNIVERSITY GENDER EQUALITY POLICY

Gender inequality is still one of the most common social problems both in Turkey and throughout the world in particular as a matter of justice and human rights. The problem of gender inequality includes the types of marginalization and discrimination faced by individuals based on gender. This covers all types of current practices and power imbalances concerning social patterns that appear as gender-based violence and discrimination, including those affecting transgender individuals. To attain the target of gender equality, it is required to question the power imbalances and unequal gender dynamics and, encourage fair access to resources and opportunities.

All people must be treated fairly and with dignity without any discrimination based on gender, ethnic origin, belief, sexual orientation, gender identity, nationality, and similar grounds, which is a matter of human rights. As an academic institution embracing universal values, Kadir Has University also accepts this approach. As it is provided in article 10 of our Constitution, “Everyone is equal before the law without distinction as to language, race, color, sex, political opinion, philosophical belief, religion, and sect, or any such grounds.” Article 10 of the Constitution guarantees that it is the positive and direct obligation of the state to put into practice gender equality and, that positive action will not mean discrimination (Additional paragraph: 7/5/2004-5170/Article 1).

Our country is also one of the parties to the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. Gender equality is one of the Sustainable Development Goals that are explained in 17 articles by the United Nations. Likewise, gender equality is one of the priority policies of the Council of Europe of which Turkey is a member, and the Council of Europe sets forth the targets and methods in the Gender Equality Strategy documents in order to put into practice this policy.

Considering the academic principles and the objectives of the Policy on Prevention of Harassment and Discrimination; the Policy Document Intended to Prevent Gender-Based Harassment, Sexual Harassment and Sexual Assault as well as the Directives and Practices of the Unit to Prevent Gender-Based Harassment, Sexual Harassment and Sexual Assault; the research, projects and activities of the Gender and Women Studies Research Center on gender inequality and the Gender Studies Ph.D. Program, Kadir Has University is one of the few universities that directly deal with gender-based inequalities in Turkey and, has committed itself to serving as a role model developing the best practices in terms of gender equality.

The main objectives the KHAS Gender Equality Plan (GEP) are as follows:

Eliminate gender-based discriminatory practices in the fields of recruitment, employment security and career development of employees and, create practices intended to improve gender equality.
Make visible gender unbalances in the decision-making processes and take measures to establish gender equality to improve collaborative and coherent working processes, engagement, and transparency.
Create and make sustainable a safe and supportive working environment, where there is no gender-based violence, and there is no discrimination in conducts and behaviors for academic and administrative staff, the outsourced personnel, and the students.
Strengthen the balance of gender by means of considering the gender perspective in all the scientific fields for both the content of research and various processes of research such as the formation of teams, and the publication of results.

In order to attain these objectives, within the framework of the GEP, Kadir Has University aims to take necessary steps in:

Corporate culture, management, and leadership mechanisms as well as corporate directions, encouragements and directives,
All the areas and processes forming the campus climate and during the procedures intended to further strengthen the gender equality perspective among the academic and administrative staff, the outsourced employees, and the students,
Career development, the management of recruitment and promotion processes, the consideration of work-life balance, as well as private/temporary conditions concerning private life such as birth, having children, the necessity to take care of relatives for leaves and promotions,
Educational processes and curricula and,
Research processes,

in order to ensure and enforce the gender equality policies and principles.

KADİR HAS UNIVERSITY GENDER EQUALITY ACTION PLAN

To prevent any type of gender-based discrimination and sexist attitudes and behaviors within the framework of the main themes listed in detail above within the organization of Kadir Has University, the KHAS Gender Equality Action Plan has been drafted in a way that contains the details on the information, enforcement and application aspects thereof.

Corporate Culture, Management, and Leadership

Gender Equality Committee

A Gender Equality Committee (GEC) will be established, which is to be identified by and will operate reporting to the President. This committee will consist of academic staff, administrative staff and students, and meet on a regular basis to determine policies and make efforts in respect of gender equality. For the formation of the GEC, those who work in the field of gender equality and who are trained in this field will be prioritized. The GEC makes efforts to ensure not only the permanent staff and students of the university but also the businesses serving to our university and their employees accommodate themselves to the policies in the field of gender equality. Accordingly, the main tasks of the committee will be the activities of due diligence, continuing education, and monitoring and evaluation. The efforts made within the organization of the GEC will be reported to the senior management on a regular basis.

Due Diligence: The GEC will carry out necessary quantitative and qualitative data collections intended to determine the current condition of Kadir Has University in respect of gender equality. Within the scope of these efforts, the data will be analyzed in respect of the titles of researchers and academic staff, the male & female percentages by faculties, departments and units, and the male female male percentages among the conductors and researchers of the research projects and, the authors of the publications. In addition, the conditions and needs of those who feel that they are exposed to discrimination due to their gender identity and sexual orientation among the university staff and students will be identified by means of the reports from the Unit to Prevent Sexual Harassment and Sexual Assault (UPSHSA).

Continuing Education: Seminars, workshops and projects will be organized with the participation of all the stakeholders within the scope of a time schedule that is to be jointly prepared by the faculties and the KHAS GEC in order to enhance the knowledge and awareness of the academicians, researchers, administrative staff, outsourced personnel and students in respect of sexual discrimination, and the affects thereof will be measured in a structured way.

Monitoring and Evaluation: After the formation of the KHAS GEC, the statistical and qualitative studies detailed under the title “Due Diligence” will be renewed every year, and the developments will be monitored and reported by the KHAS GEC to the President.

	Theme	Subject/Evidence to Discuss	Planned Action	Time Schedule			Responsible Person/Unit/Department	Success Indicators
				2022	2023	2024
Corporate Governance	Leadership & Management	Improvement of gender equality in the main commissions where decisions are made	Guarantee the continuity of an egalitarian gender balance	X	X	X	President	At least %40 female members in all the commissions
Corporate Governance	Leadership & Management	Lack of education in respect of gender equality	Integration of the online gender equality training to the administrative and academic staff in the promotion and employment contract renewal processes		X		The Gender and Women Studies Research Center, The Directorate of Human Resources	50% of the academic and administrative staff receiving the training
Corporate Governance	Audit Policy & Practices	Improvement of the policies and the respective units to fight harassment, mobbing, sexual assault, and violence	Ensure that the policy and the respective unit are announced (through MyKhas and on the website) and all the KHAS society members are informed accordingly	X			The UPSHSA, The Directorate of Human Resources	The policy is available on the MyKhas and KHAS website, and both the policy and unit are announced to the KHAS society
Corporate Governance	Audit Policy & Practices	Improvement of the processes for data collection, publication, and reporting based on gender	Ensure that the data are maintained and reported on the basis of gender in order to monitor the progress and, correct the deficiencies if any	X			The Directorate of Institutional Research and Assessment , the UPSHSA, The Directorate of Human Resources, The Directorate of Operation and Purchasing	Maintain and report the data separated based on the gender equality
Corporate Governance	Audit Policy & Practices	Improvement of the University’s Quality System with the aims for gender equality	Integration of the gender equality policies and the Gender Equality Plan with the Quality System and the strategic plan of the university		X		The Directorate of Institutional Research and Assessment	A page on the KHAS website, where the Gender Equality Plan and the data on gender equality are made available

Campus Climate

Our university aims to create a campus climate, which is egalitarian, libertarian, dialogue-based, engaging, inclusive, accessible to all the society members and where any type of gender-based discriminatory attitude, behavior and practice are completely excluded. It is one of the priorities of our university in respect of the campus climate to ensure that all the members, in particular, the students, academic and administrative personnel and outsourced personnel, are aware of the concept of gender equality.

	Theme	Subject/Evidence to Discuss	Planned Action	Time Schedule			Responsible Person/Unit/Department	Success Indicators
				2022	2023	2024
Campus Climate	Awareness	Lack of knowledge of the students in respect of the perception of gender at the campus	Planning of focus groups with the students		X		The Directorate of Institutional Research and Assessment, The Gender and Women Studies Research Center	Focus groups
Campus Climate	Awareness	Enhance the visibility of gender at the campus	Use of stickers, posters and other materials on the boards; organization of gender-based exhibitions, theaters and forums		X		The Campus Life Office, The Corporate Communication	Physical and online materials, exhibitions, plays, forums and similar events
Campus Climate	Awareness	Enhance the awareness of gender at the campus	Provision of training on gender equality		X		The Gender and Women Studies Research Center	Training on gender equality, the number and percentages of the participants
Campus Climate	Awareness	Awareness of the sub-employers and the outsourced personnel	Questionnaires with the sub-employers and outsourced personnel; improvement of gender balance in the process of recruitment; challenging the gender stereotypes in the process of recruitment (e.g. female shuttle vehicle drivers); directives on the expectations from the sub-employers		X		The Directorate of Operation and Purchasing	Preparation of a code of conduct for the sub-employers and employees and, inclusion thereof into their contracts Additional training on gender-based violence to the security staff
Campus Climate	Engagement	Enhance the engagement of the students and student clubs	Training to the students and student clubs on gender; training of trainers; development of a co-presidency system for the student clubs Gender projects with the participation of the students		X		The Campus Life Office, Core Program	Training and projects to the student clubs
Campus Climate	Engagement	Increase the number of male participants in the Gender Equality Plan	Organization of training programs and workshops with both the employees and students in order to discuss on how to increase the number of male participants in the efforts for gender equality		X		The Gender and Women Studies Research Center, Core Program	Training programs focusing on males

Career Development, Recruitment Process and Work-Life Balance

There is already a gender balance established in our university in respect of the number of both the students and the academic and administrative staff. In addition, significant steps have been taken with the intention to ensure gender equality in the employment and performance directives after the updates thereon in 2018, 2019 and 2020. There have been some improvements, for example, an academic person who takes a maternity/parental leave will not be included in the annual performance for a period of one year following the year they restarted to work, and the period used for these leaves will be added to the periodic performance period. Nevertheless, the concept of gender equality is a dynamic area so that it must be continuously monitored in the career development and recruitment processes, and thus the current improvement areas must be identified and, new practices must be developed accordingly. Our university takes necessary steps in cooperation with the KHAS GEC and the Directorate of Human Resources in order to ensure gender equality in the career development and recruitment processes.

	Theme	Subject/Evidence to Discuss	Planned Action	Time Schedule			Responsible Person/Unit/Department	Success Indicators
				2022	2023	2024
Career Development	Professional Development	The percentage of female employees is getting decreased as the position is getting higher	Development of a mentorship system for female employees	X			The President, The General Secretary, The Directorate of Human resources, The Gender and Women Studies Research Center	The number and percentage of female employees receiving mentorship and, the percentage by gender and position
Career Development	Professional Development	Lack of representation of the female doctoral students	Encourage the female students in the undergraduate programs to apply to the master’s degree and doctoral programs	X			The School of Graduate Studies, The Scholarship Committee	Percentages of female graduate and doctoral students
Career Development	Professional Development	Enhancement of support mechanisms for the researchers at the beginning of their careers (Ph.D. Candidates, Assistant Professors, Research Assistants)	Training in respect of career development, funding opportunities and publication methods/tips		X	X	The Directorate of R&D Resources	3 training programs organized in a year and at least 70% of the female employees attending these training programs
Career Development	Professional Development	Mentorship for undergraduate students	Joint efforts with non-governmental organizations such as KAGİDER, TurkishWIN, CampusWIN for the development of mentorship and leadership for female students		X	X	The Career Office, The Campus Life Office, The Student Clubs, The Gender and Women Studies Research Center	Training and mentorships provided
Career Development	Employee Profile	Improvement of the respective processes in the HR system concerning the data separated by gender	Ensure that the HR system maintains the data separated by gender for all the areas	X			The Directorate of Human Resources	The HR keeps the data on the following subjects on the basis of gender equality. personnel, recruitment, promotions, those quitting, and use of the business-life balance provisions
Career Development	Recruitment	Improvement of the recruitment practices	Formation of regulations/procedures intended to create a recruitment system established based on gender equality and diversity containing practices to enhance the diversity of candidates and employees; preparation of a text for job adverts referring to gender equality and diversity		X		The President, The General Secretary, The Directorate of Human Resources, The Directorate of Corporate Communication, The Gender and Women Studies Research Center	Regulations and procedures drafted Addition of a text for job adverts highlighting the concept of gender equality and diversity
Career Development	Recruitment	Provision of training on gender equality to all the university members within the scope of the employee orientation programs	Creation of training and workshops on gender equality; inclusion of gender equality into the employee orientation programs	X			The Directorate of Human Resources, The Directorate of Student Affairs, the Directorate of Operation and Purchasing	Training and workshops Informing all the employees of the gender equality policy and practices
Career Development	Business & Life Balance	Ensure that the paternity leaves are efficiently used.	Announcement of the paternity leave policy (MyKhas and website) ensuring that both the academic and administrative staff benefits from this policy Training on paternity to the employees who are to take their paternity leaves	X			The President, The General Secretary, The Directorate of Human Resources	The paternity leave policy made available on MyKhas and KHAS website

Educational Processes and Curriculum

All the faculties and departments will set and announce their targets for the gender equality in compliance with the KHAS Gender Equality Plan detailed hereunder, monitoring the results thereof and, considering them in the respective performance evaluation processes.

A short paragraph, which summarizes the policies against any type of violence and discrimination in all the processes of the university including the courses and activities affiliated therewith, and the rules and sanctions considering thereto, to all the curricula, and this text will highlight the safeguarding of gender equality. In addition, it will be encouraged to include the gender equality aspect in the respective course into the curricula.

	Theme	Subject/Evidence to Discuss	Planned Action	Time Schedule			Responsible Person/Unit/Department	Success Indicators
				2022	2023	2024
Gender in Education	Culture & Curriculum	Courses on gender across the university	Provision of gender courses to all the students		X		Faculties, The School of Graduate Studies, Core Program	Addition of new courses to the pool of (elective) courses
Gender in Education	Culture & Curriculum	Gender equality in STEM	Planning and enforcement of activities for STEM		X		Faculties, The School of Graduate Studies, Core Program	Education, workshops and events for STEM
Gender in Education	Culture & Curriculum	Development of a sensitive language in respect of gender equality	Directives for inclusive communication (Language and visual descriptions)		X		The Gender and Women Studies Research Center, Directorate of Corporate Communications	Development and enforcement of directives for inclusive communication
Gender in Education	Culture & Curriculum	Ensuring gender equality in education; enhancement of the dialogue and engagement among the male and female students	Informing the academic personnel to enhance gender equality and engagement in the classrooms		X		The Gender and Women Studies Research Center	Informing the academic staff of gender equality and engagement in the classrooms
Gender in Education	Culture & Curriculum	Ensuring that the students are efficiently informed of the university’s anti-discrimination and gender-based policies	Addition of a chapter focusing on anti-discrimination, gender equality and diversity aspects in all syllabi	X			The Education Committee	Addition of a chapter based on gender equality and diversity in syllabi

Research

It is one of the priorities of our university in the field of research to monitor the gender data in the research deliverables such as research projects and publications, and to develop and put into practice a mentorship system in the respective areas. It is aimed to ensure improvement through a merit-based system in terms of fulfilling the criteria of appointments and promotions by means of enhancing the research competencies and deliverables of all the faculty members and researchers, leading to equality between men and women among the academic staff for all positions.

It is one of the main approaches of our university to safeguard gender equality in all the research processes and all the events, where the research deliverables are shared internally and externally such as conferences and panels in line with our gender equality approach.

	Theme	Subject/Evidence to Discuss	Planned Action	Time Schedule			Responsible Person/Unit/Department	Success Indicators
				2022	2023	2024
Gender in Research	Gender & Research	Gender equality in research processes and deliverables	Monitoring the gender data within the scope of the research processes and deliverables	X	X	X	The Gender and Women Studies Research Center, The Directorate of R&D Resources, The Directorate of Institutional Research and Assessment	Percentages of male and female coordinators and researchers in research projects Percentages of male and female authors of publications and articles
Gender in Research	Gender & Research	A supporting mechanism aiming for gender equality in research processes	Development of a mentorship system aiming for gender equality in the scope of research projects and publications	X			The Gender and Women Studies Research Center, The Directorate of R&D Resources, The Directorate of Institutional Research and Assessment	The number and percentage of female employees receiving mentorship and, the percentages or male and female researchers by research deliverables

KHAS Mentor-Mentee Program

The Kadir Has University Mentor-Mentee Program aims to provide KHAS students with the opportunity to learn from the experiences of our alumni who are business professionals. Through the organization of the Career Office, successful female graduates are matched with KHAS students studying in the same semester, and mentoring meetings are held.

Within the scope of this program, KHAS mentors answer questions from the students (mentees) they are matched with about their departments, provide information about the sector, and inspire them in matters related to their professions. Our female mentors guide young female students by sharing their own experiences related to both student life and professional life. Before the program begins, online training sessions are organized by the Career Office for both mentees and mentors. Information regarding the initiation and execution of the mentoring program is announced annually by the Career Office.

In 2023, 27 female mentors and 44 female mentees participated in the program, providing guidance to a total of 68 female students. This program offers a significant opportunity to support young women on their career journeys and empower them to step confidently into the future.

KHAS Buddy Program

Kadir Has University Buddy Program, organized by the University's Directorate of Education Policies and Review, aims to facilitate the adaptation process of students starting in the preparatory or first year at our university.

As part of this program, students who are knowledgeable about the university, academically successful, and have strong communication skills will act as both mentors and the first friends of new students. Working under the titles "Superbuddy" and "Buddy," these students will not only make new friends each year but also share their experiences and provide quick solutions to the questions of incoming students.

The main responsibilities of students participating in the KHAS Buddy Program include:

Contacting every new student on the provided list and, with their consent, creating a communication group,
Maintaining regular communication with the group and responding quickly to their questions,
Organizing meetings with new students to introduce them to their departments, faculties, and social spaces,
Inviting new students to Kadir Has University's Orientation Days and providing information about the event,
Providing information about the university's administrative units (such as the Directorate of Student Affairs, International Office, Erasmus and Exchange Office, Career Office, and the Directorate of Financial Affairs).

The Council of Higher Education in Türkiye allocates quotas specifically for women over the age of 34 who, due to various circumstances, have not had the opportunity to pursue higher education. These quotas apply to associate and bachelor’s degree programs at universities that admit students through the entrance exams. Women who have not previously earned an undergraduate degree are eligible to utilize these quotas for both associate and bachelor’s degree programs. However, women who have already graduated with associate degrees can only take advantage of the quotas reserved for bachelor's degree programs. This initiative aims to create more inclusive educational opportunities, encouraging women who may have faced personal, professional, or societal barriers to continue or start their higher education journey. As a stronger supporter of this initiative, Kadir Has University supports gender equality and lifelong learning in Türkiye, contributing to the personal and professional development of women in later stages of life.

KADİR HAS UNIVERSITY GENDER EQUALITY PLAN

KADİR HAS UNIVERSITY GENDER EQUALITY POLICY

KADİR HAS UNIVERSITY GENDER EQUALITY ACTION PLAN

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