The “White Paper - Policy Recommendations for NEET Young Women in Türkiye”, prepared within the Young Women Building Their Future project, which is implemented by UNDP and the Sabancı Foundation in collaboration with the Ministry of Family and Social Services and the Ministry of Labor and Social Security, was launched in Ankara. The White Paper, prepared based on the first phase outputs of the project, is a strategic roadmap that will guide the second phase. It includes policy recommendations to support the participation of women who are not in employment, education or training (NEET) in education, employment and social life in Türkiye.

The “White Paper - Policy Recommendations for NEET Young Women in Türkiye” document, which was prepared within the Young Women Building Their Future project, implemented since 2021 by UNDP and the Sabancı Foundation in collaboration with the Ministry of Family and Social Services and the Ministry of Labor and Social Security, has been published. 

The ‘White Book’ document, prepared based on the outputs of the first phase of the project that was completed in March 2025 and developed an intervention approach with a holistic perspective for NEET young women in Türkiye for the first time, was introduced at a meeting held in Ankara on 21 May 2025. 

The event, attended by Sabancı Foundation General Manager Nevgül Bilsel Safkan, UNDP Türkiye Assistant Resident Representative (Programme) Mustafa Ali Yurdupak, Deputy General Director of Labor at the Ministry of Labor and Social Security Suat Dede and General Director of the Status of Women at the Ministry of Family and Social Services Süreyya Erkan, brought together representatives from private sector organizations, local governments, NGOs and universities.

UNDP Türkiye Assistant Resident Representative (Programme) Mustafa Ali Yurdupak said, “The White Paper is not only a document that identifies the problems faced by NEET women throughout their life cycle; it is also a strong example of bringing the voices of young women into policy processes. In the upcoming process, we will continue to work with international organizations, policy makers, public institutions, civil society, academia and the private sector, as we have done so far, to implement these recommendations.”

Sabancı Foundation General Manager Nevgül Bilsel Safkan said, “Thanks to the work we have carried out within the Young Women Building Their Future project, we have reached thousands of NEET women and created a social impact worth approximately 45 million TL per year by contributing to significant increases in their self-confidence, empowerment, awareness, emotional resilience and employability. The White Paper prepared as part of our project is not just a project output; it is a guiding, comprehensive and transformative resource for institutions that want to develop inclusive and holistic solutions for NEET women in our second phase. As the Sabancı Foundation, we will continue to support NEET women and produce solutions for them together with our valuable impact partners.”

Deputy General Director of Labor at the Ministry of Labor and Social Security Suat Dede said, “Our project has produced effective and inspiring results both locally and nationally. The increasing number of young women who step into business life after receiving training and whose employability increases with consultancy and mentoring services is a great source of happiness for all of us. We are also very excited about the start of the second phase of our project, the 2025-2027 period. We will continue to support the work for NEET women with all our might in the coming period.”

General Director of the Status of Women at the Ministry of Family and Social Services Süreyya Erkan said, “As the Ministry, we implement comprehensive policies to support the empowerment of women in all areas of life, and we continue to include practices for NEET young women in all our work. The special policies developed for NEET young women aim to build a more inclusive future in terms of equality between women and men. The White Paper is a guiding document in this area. As the Ministry, we see the empowerment of NEET women as a strategic development investment, and we are very pleased to carry out the second phase of the project with the aim of developing good practice examples and mechanisms that will increase the employability of NEET women in light of the experiences gained from the first phase of the project.”

Strategic Guide Aiming to Empower Young Women

The White Paper, prepared to guide the second phase of the Young Women Building Their Future project, covering the period 2025-2027, offers several practical policy recommendations to support NEET young women, under the headings of education, employment and participation in social life.

The policy recommendations in the White Paper were prepared by taking into account the views of NEET women, local stakeholders, international organizations, public institutions, civil society, academia and private sector representatives, and project partners, following the work carried out under the project and the activities in the pilot provinces. The importance of cooperation is emphasized by identifying potential stakeholders who can play a role in the implementation of these recommendations. 

The second phase of the project aims to develop good practice examples and mechanisms that will increase the employability of NEET young women between the ages of 18-35.

Over 6,000 NEET women were reached in 3 years with the Young Women Building Their Future project

As part of the project that aims to make the problems and needs of NEET women between the ages of 18-29 in Türkiye more visible and to develop mechanisms that focus on these problems and needs, a ‘Baseline and Needs Analysis Research on NEET Young Women Report’ was prepared. In the pilot provinces of the project, Adana, Diyarbakır and Izmir, in addition to vocational training provided to NEET young women in different fields such as fashion design and automotive repair, training was also organized to increase their strength and psychological resilience. Grant and mentoring programs aimed at supporting the employability of NEET young women were implemented. In addition, an Opportunities Map, accessible from the website geleceginikurangenckadinlar.org, was established to increase their access to job, internship and training opportunities.

As a result of all these efforts, more than 6,000 NEET women were reached in 3 years. Over 3,000 NEET women benefited from training and mentoring services, and nearly 850 NEET women were supported to be employed. The project, involving collaboration with more than 80 local and national stakeholders, contributed to the empowerment of NEET young women and raised awareness among NEET young women and different segments of society on the issue.