Survey: 92 Percent of Women Face Harassment, Mobbing at Workplace

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Almost half of women who work at state agencies think they are subjected to discrimination at work because of their gender, according to a survey by the Confederation of Public Workers' Unions (KESK).

The survey was conducted between December 25, 2019, and February 15, 2020, with 1,792 women from 62 provinces and 84 different occupational groups.

Here are the findings of the survey:

Discrimination

As the level of education increases, the number of public employees who think they are discriminated against also increases. In other words, as the education level increases, awareness about discrimination increases.

Among the divorced women, the proportion of those who think they are being discriminated against is significantly higher.

Among those who have less job security the rate of those who think they are being discriminated against is higher.

Violence

92 percent of the participants say they were subjected to unjust treatment (violence) at least once. The biggest problem is mobbing and the prevention of exercising legal rights.

59 percent of women say they were subjected to mobbing at the workplace, 39 percent say they were prevented from exercising legal rights such as the right of leave or organization, 39 percent say they were discriminated against in terms of carrier and promotion and 28 percent say they were verbally harassed.

5 percent of the women said they were physically harassed and 3 percent said they were sexually harassed.

Daycare centers at workplace

89 percent of the participants say there is not a proper daycare center in their workplace.

94 percent demand daycare centers open.

Paid maternity leave

51 percent of the participants say paid maternity leave should be from 32 to 44 weeks, 28 percent say it should be from 16 to 31 weeks, 21 percent say it should be 45 weeks or more. It is currently 16 weeks, eight weeks before and eight weeks after birth.

One-third of the participants say they face problems in breastfeeding permission.

86 percent of the participants think March 8 International Women's Day should be a holiday in Turkey.

Participants

Among the participants, 82 percent were permanent public employees, 9 percent were contracted employees. 16 percent had a graduate degree, 69 percent had an undergraduate degree.

61 percent of the women were married, 36 percent were single and 2 percent were divorced.

94 percent of the participants were among the 25-55 age group.

41 percent worked at "education services," 32 percent at "health and social services," 17 percent at "office work," 7 percent at technical work, such as architecture and engineering.

Half of the participants were from greater cities such as İstanbul, Ankara or İzmir. (TP/VK)