The ILO Office for Türkiye has launched the “Care@Work Türkiye: Building Resilient and Care-Supportive Workplaces through Equality and Care Project” to promote equality, social justice, and decent work by supporting enterprises in designing workplaces that acknowledge and address employees’ paid work and care responsibilities. Funded by Sweden, the initiative aims to foster more inclusive, resilient, and care-supportive workplaces, contributing to a more equitable labour market.
At the centre of the project is the new Care-Supportive Workplace Model, a rights-based framework that helps enterprises identify, reduce, and better manage the interaction between work demands and unpaid care responsibilities. This model builds on lessons from the successful implementation of the ILO Gender Equality Model for Enterprises (GEME) in Türkiye, expanding it by integrating a strong care-responsibility dimension into enterprise policies and systems. The initiative aligns with key International Labour Standards, including Conventions No. 100, 111, 156, and 190, reinforcing the ILO’s longstanding commitment to gender equality in the world of work.
Sweden’s partnership underscores the project’s emphasis on balancing work, family, and community responsibilities. Swedish Ambassador Malena Mård highlighted that care-supportive workplaces empower employees, enhance productivity, and uphold human-centred values, reflecting shared priorities between Sweden and Türkiye. Evidence from GEME indicates that care-responsive workplaces improve productivity, retention, and workforce resilience, yet awareness of these benefits among employers remains limited. In Türkiye, women still carry a disproportionate share of unpaid care work, restricting their labour market participation and career progression. Many workplaces lack policies such as flexible arrangements and care leave that enable employees, particularly women, to balance employment and caregiving.
The Care@Work Türkiye project addresses these gaps by encouraging enterprises to recognize caregiving responsibilities, adopt supportive practices, and understand the business value of equitable, care-responsive workplaces. Implemented over 18 months by the ILO with Swedish funding, the initiative will pilot the model in selected enterprises across various sectors. Government institutions, social partners, and international financial institutions will support policy alignment, social dialogue, and nationwide dissemination.
While piloting is limited to selected enterprises, the project operates nationwide, engaging stakeholders through policy dialogue, awareness-raising, and knowledge-sharing activities. The initiative is consistent with the ILO’s mandate to support decent work and aims to transform workplace practices across Türkiye, ensuring that care responsibilities are effectively integrated into enterprise policies and culture.
