The Turkish Union of Chambers of Engineers and Architects (TMMOB) data show that 11,000 of the 106,000 registered members of the Chamber of Civil Engineers are women whereas 9,492 of the 103,700 members of the Chamber of Mechanical Engineers are women.

The ratio of female engineers, according to TMMOB membership, is above 22% in Turkey. Turkey’s Engineer Girls Project implemented jointly by Limak Foundation and UNDP Turkey Office makes great efforts to increase the number of female engineers. Instrumental in such increase are the social responsibility projects involving scholarship support to girls studying engineering, and employment assistance.

Implemented in cooperation of Limak Foundation, Ministry of Family and Social Policies and United Nations Development Programme, Turkey’s Engineer Girls Project provided support to 102 girls who are successful, need support and study in the departments of electrical-electronic, industrial, civil, mechanical and environmental engineering of state universities.

Engineer girls who are granted scholarships work in large projects including the construction of a new airport in Istanbul. Assistance is provided to girls, after graduation, for employment in Limak and other organisations in the sector on availability basis.

"WE WANT THEM AS FUTURE MANAGERS "

Ms. Ebru Özdemir, President of Limak Foundation, the project’s architect, and herself an engineer, said: “We have more girls every year. Each has own mentor. We provide courses including English. We arrange for internship and business interviews. This is not only a scholarship programme. The scholarship carries a pre-requisite. They work 4 hours a month in social responsibility projects for everyone will teach others what she has learned. Our purpose is to see them as managers in the companies in the future. We raise fully-equipped girls. We never let them go before our girls have full self-confidence, are independent and aspire to manage something.”

NUMBER OF FEMALE MEMBERS OF CHAMBERS OF ENGINEERS ACCORDING TO TMMOB DATA AS OF 31 DECEMBER 2017

Chamber of Civil Engineers: 11017

Chamber of Mechanical Engineers: 9492

Chamber of Computer Engineers: 1173 

Chamber of Environmental Engineers: 6423

Chamber of Electrical Engineers: 5603

Chamber of Physical Engineers: 547

Chamber of Shipbuilding Engineers: 163

Chamber of Maritime Machinery Operation Engineers: 21

Chamber of Food Engineers: 10022

Chamber of Cartography and Cadastral Engineers: 2247

Chamber of Geophysical Engineers: 1491

Chamber of Geological Engineers: 4509

Chamber of Chemical Engineers: 8567

Chamber of Mining Engineers: 2176

Chamber of Meteorological Engineers: 240

Chamber of Forest Engineers: 2675

Chamber of Petroleum Engineers: 131

Chamber of Textile Engineers: 729

Chamber of Agricultural Engineers: 12400