9th "Our Power, Our Equality" Summit Held in Bursa
9th "Our Power, Our Equality" Summit Held in Bursa
Leading representatives of the business community in Bursa came together at the 9th "Our Power, Our Equality" Summit (Gücümüz Eşitliğimiz Zirvesi) in support of gender equality. The Summit was organised on 30 September 2026 by the UN Global Compact Türkiye Bursa Platform for Women's Empowerment, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year. It examined, from different perspectives, the impact of digitalisation and technology on working life, work-life balance, strengthening women's representation and leadership at every level of business, and companies' practices and experiences in the field of gender equality.
The 9th "Our Power, Our Equality" Summit was hosted by Villa Verde under this year's theme "BALANCE: Yesterday's Experience, Tomorrow's Vision". It was organised by Bursa Platform for Women's Empowerment, which was established in 2016 under UN Global Compact Türkiye, coordinated by BUİKAD, BUSİAD and Yeşim Group, and supported by KalDer.
The Summit aims to strengthen women's representation in business, and this year it focused on shaping a vision for the future from past experience. It opened with welcome remarks from Dilek Cesur, Yeşim Group Corporate Communications and Brand Director; Zuhal Aslı Saka, Chair of the Board of BUİKAD; Tuncer Hatunoğlu, Chair of the Board of BUSİAD; Serkan Ürkmez, Chair of the Board of the KalDer Bursa Branch; and Özgür Tokgöz Altun, Treasurer Member of the Board of UN Global Compact Türkiye.
Özgür Tokgöz Altun noted that, although companies are increasingly prioritising gender equality, women's representation in senior decision-making bodies is still not at the desired level. Stressing that companies need to take deliberate steps so that technological transformation does not deepen labour market inequalities rather than eliminate them, Altun said:
“According to the UN Global Compact Türkiye 2025 Communication on Progress Analysis, which we published this year, 89 percent of companies in Türkiye prioritise gender equality and women's rights. However, women's representation reaches 37 percent in senior executive roles responsible for sustainability, while it remains at 14 percent in CEO roles. It is not enough for women to participate in working life. They must have equal opportunities at every stage of their career journey. This need becomes even more important at a time when artificial intelligence is rapidly transforming the business world. Today, women make up only 13 percent of C-level executives in AI companies, while they account for 57 percent of employees in the occupations expected to be most affected by generative AI. We must also address AI transformation as a governance issue.”
Perihan İnci, Vice Chair of the Board of TÜSİAD, delivered the keynote address. She said: "According to the World Economic Forum's Global Gender Gap Report 2026, Türkiye ranks 126th out of 145 countries, and if the current pace of progress is maintained, it will take approximately 120 years to achieve global gender equality. We cannot, and must not, carry today's inequalities into tomorrow's world." İnci continued: "As new technologies, new jobs and new ways of working emerge, we must also protect the gains women have made. At the same time, we must create a future in which women can benefit equally from the new opportunities that transformation brings. As women adapt to the future, they must also be equally present among those who shape it."
Noting that TÜSİAD treats care equality as an important part of the employment and sustainable development agenda, İnci said: “We have launched the Care Equality Companies Network. We also invite companies to join it.” She also added: “We need to make progress simultaneously in four key areas. First, strengthening equality of opportunity in education, employment and skills development. Second, expanding corporate mechanisms within the care economy. Third, equal representation in decision-making bodies and senior management. Fourth, adopting a zero-tolerance approach to all forms of violence by protecting safety and the right to life.”
Following the opening remarks, a session titled "BALANCE: Yesterday's Experience, Tomorrow's Vision" was held, moderated by Tuncer Hatunoğlu, Chair of the Board of BUSİAD. The speakers were Dilek Özmen, Sustainability Manager at FİBA Holding; Göktürk Demirel, Energy Communications Director at Enerjisa; Sibel Bayat, Supply Chain Director at Oyak Renault; and Filiz Akkaş Demir, Founder of Mapsis Metal.
About the Bursa Platform for Women's Empowerment:
The UN Global Compact Türkiye Bursa Platform for Women's Empowerment was established in 2016 under the coordination of BUİKAD, BUSİAD and Yeşim, with the support of KalDer. Its purpose is to bring work on gender equality and women's empowerment in Türkiye to Bursa and to position Bursa as a model city in this area within the business community.
The Platform includes 42 companies from different sectors that are signatories to the WEPs (Women's Empowerment Principles). It brings together stakeholders on gender equality to support learning between companies, promote the spread of the Women's Empowerment Principles across the country, and develop a shared business-community policy against domestic violence, thereby increasing impact.