The Wearing of the Headscarf & Labor Market Outcomes for Women in Turkey

Historically, female labor force participation (FLFP) rate has been very low in Turkey. As the majority of women in Turkey wear head- scarves, this study examines if the ban on the religious garb contributed to the low FLFP rate. The study links the wearing of headscarves to labor market outcomes for women using the individual level data from 2 rounds of the National Demographic and Health Surveys (NDHS) conducted in 2003 and 2008, and 2 surveys conducted by the Konda Research Company in 2007 and 2011. After controlling other religious behaviors and values, it is demonstrated that urban women who wear headscarves are 3.6% to 8.5% less likely to be employed while the rate increases to between 17% to 28.2% among women with a university degree. This suggests that the impact of the headscarf ban was more damaging among women with degrees.

Türkiye’deki Kadınlar için Başörtüsü Takmak ve İş Hayatına Katılım

Türkiye’de tarihsel olarak kadınların iş hayatına katılım oranları çok düşüktür. Bu çalışmada Türkiye’deki kadınların çoğunun başörtüsü kullanmasına rağmen uygulanan başörtüsü yasağının kadınların iş ha- yatına katılımının düşük olmasında rolü olup olmadığı incelenmiştir. Bu amaçla, 2003 ve 2008 yıllarında yapılan Türkiye Nüfus ve Sağlık Araştırması (TNSA)’nın bireysel düzeydeki verileri ve Konda Araştırma Şirketi tarafından 2007 ve 2011 yıllarında yapılan 2 anket kullanılarak kadınların başörtüsü takma durumu iş hayatı çıktıları ile ilişkilendiril- miştir. Diğer dini hayat ile ilgili davranışlar ve değerler kontrol edildik- ten sonra, kentte yaşayan kadınlar arasında başörtüsü kullananların çalışıyor olma ihtimali %3.6 - %8.5 oranında daha düşüktür. Bu oran üniversite mezunu başörtülü kadınlar için %17 ila %28.2’ye kadar daha düşüktür. Bu bulgular, başörtüsü yasağının özellikle üniversite eğitimi almış kadınları daha çok etkilediği sonucuna götürmektedir.

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