This article explores the paradox of women’s academic employment in
Turkey. There is a low rate of female labour market participation in the formal
sector, yet a higher proportion of women professors than in any of the 25
European Union countries. We use a range of data to set the Turkish labour
market and its higher education sector in comparative European perspective, then
present findings from two qualitative studies of Turkish professors, concluding
that ideological state support rather than legal frameworks of equal
opportunities laid the foundations for women’s hierarchical
achievements in Turkey. However, the explanation is multilayered and lies in the
cumulative and interrelated effect of state policy, institutional transparency,
increased labour demand, the home-work interface, and the agency of the
professors themselves.
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