Looking beyond the obvious—being a childless female employee in Turkish labour market

Female labour force participation in Türkiye is quite limited and gender gaps in the labour market are quite high. Due to the downward trend in fertility rates and women’s high household responsibilities, the share of childless female employees tends to increase in female employment in the country. Although the stated share is notable, there is no study in the literature that examines childless female employees in Turkish labour market. This research aims to investigate the multi-faceted challenges of being a childless female employee in Turkiye. In the study, ten female childless employees were interviewed by in-depth interview method and the data were analysed by MAXQDA software. As a result of the thematic analysis, 39 different subcodes were identified within 6 main themes emerged. According to the findings, while ease in climbing the career ladder, increase in free time, having fewer obligations are the prominent advantages of childless female employees, the demand for overwork, increased performance expectation are main disadvantages. Moreover, prioritisation of employees with children on leave dates, marriage pressure, negative streotypes, prejudices, being evaluated as incomplete and unsuccessful, exclusion from social life, abuse of goodwill and harassment are other prominent challenges faced by childless women. Findings revealed that men are prioritised in working life and especially male employees with children are the group prioritised for promotion due to father profile they portray. The research unearths that the intensification of patriarchal ideology has a negative impact on women and the difficulties faced by childless female workers are greater in the eastern regions. By shedding light on challenges faced by childless female employees, this study improves a deep understanding of the issue and lays a foundation for the development of policies that will pave the way for more equitable working conditions in Turkish labour market, where gender gaps are high.