From ‘Civil Marriage’ to ‘Imam Marriage’, the Happy Marriage of Capitalism and Patriarchy: Women’s Employment in Turkey

Abstract

In this study, we will address changing aspects of female employment in Turkey in the context of the development process of capitalism. Our aim is to highlight the general characteristics of female employment in different periods. Within this framework, the study initially looks at the period until 1980. In this part, after providing an overview of the early period of Republic, the general nature of female employment during the significant social changes in the 1950s and the effects of the industrialization period between 1960 and 1980 on female employment are addressed. The period after 1980 is divided into two sections: before 2000 and after 2000. The impacts of the export-oriented development strategy on female employment are discussed in the section before 2000. The study surveys the period after 2000 focusing specifically on the multiple aspects of female employment and unemployment, and the flexibility, informality, and insecurity of female labor within this process.