The Status of Women in the Turkey’s Development Process within the Context of Development Plans

The development movements that emerged before the 1970s largely ignored the real and the potential contributions of women in the development process, and the situation which is seeing women as passive beneficiaries of development remained same both in the theory and policy area until the academic and the political interest that began in the 1970’s. The inclusion of women in the development process is closely related to the socialization of prosperity. It is one of the most important duties of the governments to ensure that all segments of the society participate equally and fairly in the development process and ensure that the high prosperity gained over time is optimal distributed to all segments of society. In this study, it is aimed to be revealed the importance given to women in the Turkey's development process. In this regard, the story of the inclusion of women in the development process from the historical perspective is addressed and the status of women in the Turkey's development process is analyzed depending on the policy approaches, within the context of five-year development plans. Although it is difficult to categorize clearly the relationship between policy approaches and development plans, it can be said that the first five development plans reflect a point of view of the Welfare Approach. The Sixth Development Plan bears the trace of both the Welfare Approach and the Women in Development Approach. The Seventh Development Plan reflects the perspective of the Equity Approach which is the original Women in Development Approach. The Eighth and the Ninth Development Plans considerably reflect the perspective of the Empowerment Approach. Finally, the Tenth Development Plan reflects the perspective of the Gender and Development Approach.