Young Female Not in Education or Employment (NEET) in Türkiye: Regional Analysis for 2010-2023 Period

Türkiye is a country with a very high rate of young people who are not in education, employment, or training (NEET), and two-thirds of the NEETs are female. The aim of this study is to investigate the reasons for the imbalance in question by addressing the situation of the NEET female population in Türkiye with the help of indicators in education and the labor market, and to examine the factors affecting the NEET female rate. For this purpose, panel data analysis was conducted for the period 2010-2023 with the NUTS Level-2 macro data set. The findings revealed that the young dependency ratio and the old dependency ratio of the regions are factors that increase the NEET female rate. While the increase in the unemployment rate of the regions increases the female NEET ratio, the expansion of the service sector in GDP decreases it. Public education expenditures are important in reducing the NEET rate. As the proportion of females with higher education increases, the NEET rate decreases, and that they can more easily open up a space for themselves in the employment market. As the number of young women placed in jobs by the Turkish Employment Agency (ISKUR) increases, the NEET female rate also decreases, and women have permanent employment opportunities. As a result, gender-focused public policies should be developed and generalized in the fields of education and employment in order to reduce the NEET female rate.