This study sets out to understand the position of Turkish women in gendered jobs and jobs with different levels of prestige from the 1980s to the 2000s, and to compare this position to that of women in similar countries where possible. Although Turkish women's enrolment rates in traditionally male subjects in higher education is above the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) average and despite the fact that they exceed their male counterparts in their graduation rates in most of the university subjects, this success is not reflected in the labour market. Turkish women are mostly trapped in female occupations with medium level of prestige and are particularly excluded from top-ranked jobs. This study argues that the vicious circle of society's expectations of women in the private sphere and the statistical discrimination based on the fulfilment of these expectations affect women's likelihood to be in these jobs negatively. While increasing educational level strongly improves women's position in male-dominated jobs (within 'professional, scientific and technical jobs' category in particular) and their prestige levels, evidence also shows that there is still a drastic lost potential in respect of highly qualified women's employment considering that still in 2010s, there is a remarkable proportion of highly educated women who are not in paid work. It is observed that in 2012, women expanded their attainment in relatively low-prestige jobs and increased their participation further in professional jobs in accordance with their rising higher educational attainment, yet still only 3% of working women are in managerial jobs (TurkStat, 2012). This implies that the prescribed gender roles that saddle women with the heavy burden in the private sphere, which also affect highly educated women's career trajectories, could even be more persisting than the influence of the traditional social structure on women's work that is expected to cause low qualified women to be represented at low rates in (less prestigious) jobs with non-traditional conditions. Considering that women withdraw from the labour market mostly due to marriage, and the findings show that marriage and having children have a negative impact on women's careers at large, attention should be focused on the private sphere. Looking at Turkish households, it is found that the gender segregation at work is reflected in the private sphere: women undertake the demanding traditionally female housework and while there are more potential sources of support for childcare compared to household chores, women's employment status and level of income also do not make a substantial difference in terms of the former also the unbalanced domestic division of labour unlike it is for the latter. Results demonstrate that Turkish men do not have a particularly traditional gender ideology regarding women's paid work. However, their lack of involvement in female chores creates a barrier for women's careers in a semi-direct pattern. The findings refer to the need for a faster increase in Turkish women's higher educational attainment and a stronger external support system via social policies at work and at home. It is also important to reinforce a more egalitarian gender ideology regarding men's roles as spouses and fathers as well as to promote the importance of women's different roles in private and public spheres, not only as wives and mothers but also as individuals, citizens and employers/employees.

DRUMOND, Nágyla Maria Galdino. A saga de uma Macabéa: corpo e trabalho feminino na indústria de beneficiamento de castanha de caju no Ceará. 2007. 126 f. Dissertação (Mestrado em Sociologia) – Universidade Federal do Ceará, Departamento de Ciências Sociais, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Sociologia, Fortaleza-CE, 2007. / Submitted by nazareno mesquita (nazagon36@yahoo.com.br) on 2011-12-09T13:02:32Z No. of bitstreams: 1 2007_diss_NMGD.pdf: 825829 bytes, checksum: 122394dbdcad735bcdb5e402d3cb86e6 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Maria Josineide Góis(josineide@ufc.br) on 2012-01-11T14:19:12Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 2007_diss_NMGD.pdf: 825829 bytes, checksum: 122394dbdcad735bcdb5e402d3cb86e6 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2012-01-11T14:19:12Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 2007_diss_NMGD.pdf: 825829 bytes, checksum: 122394dbdcad735bcdb5e402d3cb86e6 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2007 / The present dissertation analyzes the relationship between female body and work at the cashew industry in Fortaleza, Ceará – Brazil. The data were taken from testimonies of “castanheiras” women who live in the outskirts of Fortaleza. These women are single mothers and/ or head of their families. Also called “Macabéas”, they tell the story of their daily lives set not only by poor work conditions but also urban and domestic violence. In contrast, these women are subject of their own stories, writing their own saga resulting from a lot of work and resistance. Being a technical assistant of the Labor Party of Cashew Industry, activist, and feminist led me to this field of study. In order to collect data, I arranged interviews, lived with informants on a daily basis, and conducted some research at the Labor Party. The research shows that the female factory workers are still undergoing exploitation, being characterized by the hegemonic capitalist system reinforced by a discourse between capital, gender and work. Linked to these issues, the “Macabéas” of this research are women that have fun, play, tell anecdotes about their lives with pain and anguish, but with a dose of happiness for being able to survive. What type of women are these? What kind of factory is this? What types of resistances are these that are able to help them overcome a circle of exploitation, control and discipline, which may seem insurmountable? To sum up, the current study shows ways that avoid seeing these female workers from a reductionism point of view which considers them as eternal victims and/ or robots without desires, will and pleasure / Esta dissertação analisa as relações entre corpo e trabalho feminino na indústria de beneficiamento de castanha de caju em Fortaleza – Ceará/ Brasil, a partir das falas das mulheres castanheiras e do lugar social que ocupam dentro e fora da fábrica. Mulheres pobres, migrantes, moradoras da periferia de Fortaleza, mães solteiras e/ou chefes de famílias. Macabéas que narram suas vidas cotidianas marcadas pelas más condições de trabalho, pela violência doméstica e urbana, mas, ao mesmo tempo mulheres que se mostram como sujeitos de sua própria história, escrevendo uma verdadeira saga, construída com muito trabalho e resistência. A pesquisadora foi assessora sindical do então Sindicato dos Trabalhadores da Indústria da Castanha, é militante partidária e feminista, arenas de debate que a conduziram a este objeto de pesquisa. Para o desenvolvimento do trabalho, realizou entrevistas, acompanhou o dia-a-dia das informantes, e fez algumas inserções no Sindicato dos Trabalhadores, não mais no papel de assessora pedagógica, mas como pesquisadora. A pesquisa revelou que as mulheres operárias da castanha continuam submetidas a um ciclo contínuo de exploração da mão-de-obra, marcadas por características do sistema capitalista hegemônico e reforçadas por um diálogo entre capital, gênero e trabalho. De maneira intrínseca a estas questões, as Macabéas desta história são mulheres que se divertem, brincam, narram suas vidas com muitas dores e angústias, mas com uma boa dose de alegria por conseguirem sobreviver. Que mulheres são estas? Que fábrica é esta? Que pequenas resistências são estas capazes de fazer com que burlem um cerco de exploração, controle e disciplina que parece instransponível? O trabalho aponta pistas para que se abram caminhos que se distanciem de uma visão reducionista que as enxerga, apenas, na condição de vítimas eternas e/ou de robôs sem desejos, vontades e prazer