"ELAZIG 4.0” PROJECT ACCELERATES WOMEN'S EMPLOYMENT IN TECHNOLOGY
The "Empowerment of Women in the Digital Economy - Elazig 4.0" program, created by YILDIRIM Group of Companies and Garip & Zeycan YILDIRIM Foundation, aims to equip women students to build a career in technology and empower women economically. As part of the program launched in cooperation with Firat University, students will be offered training, internship and job opportunities and grow into well-qualified individuals to participate in employment in the technology sector.
YILDIRIM Group of Companies operates in 9 different sectors with more than 25 thousand employees in 56 countries, acting with a mission to support activities that add value to society through a sense of social responsibility.
In line with this core mission, YILDIRIM Group of Companies and Garip & Zeycan YILDIRIM Foundation implement various programs focusing on the economic empowerment of women to ensure gender equality, which is one of the main conditions for sustainable social welfare. Launched on March 1st, 2024, the "Empowerment of Women in the Digital Economy - Elazig 4.0" program was created with the awareness that women’s employment rate is low in the tech sector.
Eti Krom, a subsidiary of YILDIRIM Group located in Elazig, hosted a press conference at Ramada Elazig Hotel on Tuesday, March 5th, to share the details of the program realized in cooperation with the Faculty of Technology and Faculty of Engineering of Firat University.
During the press conference, goals and details of the “Elazig 4.0” project were shared with local press members, along with Elazig Deputy Governor Oltan Bayraktar, Kovancilar District Governor Mustafa Dilekli, Palu District Governor Hulusi Teke, and women students selected to receive training in the program.
Tamer Adanir, General Manager of Eti Krom A.Ş., delivered the opening speech of the event, where Zeycan Rochelle YILDIRIM, Executive Director of YILDIRIM Foundation and CMO of YILDIRIM Group, Pinar Turen, Operations Manager of YILDIRIM Foundation, Ersel Karsal, CIO of YILDIRIM Group, Arife Ceren Gursoy, Learning and Talent Development Manager of YILDIRIM Group, Prof. Dr. Bahar Demirel, Dean of Technology Faculty of Firat University, and Prof. Dr. Ebru Akpinar, Dean of Engineering Faculty of Firat University also gave speeches.
Zeycan Rochelle YILDIRIM, Executive Director of YILDIRIM Foundation:
"We attach great importance to this program to strengthen the presence of women in the technology sector"
Zeycan Rochelle YILDIRIM, Executive Director of YILDIRIM Foundation, made a statement about the project, emphasizing that the Foundation focuses on various activities as part of gender equality, combating violence against women, and women's economic empowerment.
Underlining the fact that women constitute only 30 percent of the total employment rate in Türkiye, according to present data, Zeycan Rochelle YILDIRIM said, "We are here to strengthen the presence of women in the male-dominated technology sector”, noting:
"Usually the western regions of Türkiye are chosen for such projects, but we particularly chose Elazig as there is a great potential here. Deserving women students will initially do an internship at Eti Krom and then participate in project training. We will provide top students of the program with job opportunities within YILDIRIM Group."
Zeycan Rochelle YILDIRIM stated that according to the Global Gender Gap Report 2023 by the World Economic Forum, Türkiye ranks 129th among 146 countries in gender equality, highlighting that they initiated this program based on the importance they attach to gender equality:
"Supporting the economic empowerment of women is also important to find a solution to many problems they face. Based on this fact, we created this program as the first step for women to have a strong presence in the technology sector.
We chose Elazig to initiate this
project as Eti Krom, a subsidiary of YILDIRIM Group of Companies, is one of the
leading companies within Elazig. We collaborated with the Technology and
Engineering Faculties of Firat University, which is also located in Elazig and
one of Türkiye's respectable universities, to offer women students the
opportunity to participate in this program. We sincerely believe that the
"Empowerment of Women in the Digital Economy- Elazig 4.0" program, an
impactful project of strong collaborations and volunteering,
will support the young women of our country to take confident steps in the
technology sector and that the students who complete this program will
contribute to the development of our country. As YILDIRIM Group of Companies,
we are committed to focusing our ongoing efforts on gender equality. We believe
that once gender equality is achieved, we will have reached a milestone for a more
inclusive and fair world."
The goal is to help them make an impressive start in the business world
Pinar Turen, Operations Manager of YILDIRIM Foundation, underlined that another important aspect of the "Elazig 4.0" program is that well-educated students stay in their regions and work for the development of their hometowns. Stating that women are hesitant to step into the technology sector, according to a survey by the Association of Young Executives and Business People (GYIAD), Pinar Turen stated, "We want to reverse this. We want them to be confident about themselves, make an impressive start in the business world, and stay in the technology sector."
Prof. Dr. Ebru Akpinar, Dean of the Faculty of Engineering of Firat University, stated that according to the Council of Higher Education of Türkiye (YÖK) figures, the number of women students in higher education has increased to 51.8 percent in 2024, surpassing the number of men students, and stated, "While girls used to prefer education and healthcare fields, now they prefer studying information engineering, which is good news."
Prof. Dr. Bahar Demirel, Dean of the Faculty of Technology of Firat University, also highlighted the importance of the project for women students to strengthen their presence in the technology sector and said, "I hope the "Elazig 4.0" project will bring impactful results for our women, so they can find many job opportunities in the future.”
Women students will be well-qualified to meet the real needs of the tech sector
As part of the program, 17 women students were selected among the 4th year students and recent graduates of the Faculty of Technology and Faculty of Engineering of Firat University. They are entitled to participate in the training module designed to meet the real needs of the tech sector.
The training program was specially created by the experienced team of the Information Technologies department of YILDIRIM Group, to ensure that women engineering students receive training in the field of information technologies in line with business prospects. As part of the program, YILDIRIM Academy, YILDIRIM Group HR Department, and YILDIRIM Foundation will provide numerous courses, such as Introduction to Business Life, Interview Techniques, and Communication Skills that will elevate their success throughout their careers, while YILDIRIM Foundation will offer English speaking lessons.
The "Empowerment of Women in the Digital Economy- Elazig 4.0" project aims to support women with training, internship, and employment and increase women's employment rate in technology, so they can make an impressive start in business in the tech sector, where women's employment rate is low.
The project adopts the Sustainable Development Goals set by the UN
The "Empowerment of Women in the Digital Economy- Elazig 4.0" program was created in alignment with the Sustainable Development Goals that the United Nations (UN) calls the world to act for.
The project adopts the 17 goals set by the UN, including “No Poverty”, “Quality Education”, “Gender Equality”, “Decent Work and Economic Growth”, “Reduced Inequalities”, “Sustainable Cities and Communities”, and “Partnerships for the Goals".
The project will continue in the following years with a sustainable approach to empowering women in the digital economy and boosting women's employment rate in the IT sector.
