Career development of professional women in Turkey

Abstract

Professor Çiğdem Kağıtçıbaşı was a mentor and a role model to me. She has influenced my life in more than one way by being instrumental or supportive in many of my key life decisions. She was influential in my choice of cross-cultural and industrial/organizational psychology as my areas of specialization, and my recruitment to Koç University, one of the leading research universities in Turkey. She was the “best woman” at my wedding, sharing the happiness and joy in one of the most important days of my life. I have always been deeply honored to be her student and colleague. This chapter I proudly dedicate to her. Introduction: In their guide to western businesspeople, Morrison et al. (1994) described the status of women in the Turkish business context as follows: “Remember that Turkey is primarily a Muslim country, so the vast majority of your business contacts will be male. … Any business women you meet will probably be Greek or Armenian rather than Turkish” (p. 394). When I read this quotation, I thought that portrayal of Turkish professional women in this way was wrong and that the authors had made a serious mistake in their research. Later, as my interactions with colleagues and business people from western developed countries increased, I realized that similar misconceptions about Turkish women were not uncommon. In fact, some have openly admitted that they were surprised to meet me as a young and modern-looking Turkish woman pursuing a Ph.D. in Canada.