Future Women Leaders Program Graduates Its Participants

Future Female Leaders Program Graduates Turkey Women Entrepreneurs Association (KAGİDER) and Sanofi Turkey, in collaboration, held the 2021 meeting of the 'Future Female Leaders' project digitally on 19-22 October. Following this year's training program, the number of 'Future Female Leaders' graduates reached 1,250, together with 250 successful young women from across Turkey who participated in the program. The 'Future Female Leaders' project, conducted with the aim of contributing to women's employment and now completing its 11th cycle, graduated its new cohort. KAGİDER and Sanofi, continuing their efforts to enable young women to make a strong start in their careers, delivered the program digitally this year as well. The four-day training covered fundamental knowledge and skills for business life, career development and management perspectives, and job entry skills. At the 2021 project meeting, 250 young women were selected from across Turkey—recent university graduates or final-year university students, high-achieving and from disadvantaged backgrounds. The event opened with remarks from KAGİDER President Emine Erdem, Sanofi Turkey and Levant Corporate Communications Director Pınar Kaya, and Sanofi Turkey, Iran and Levant Finance Director Adil Lamrani. KAGİDER President Emine Erdem stated in her opening remarks: "Women's participation is key to the future of both our country and our world. Because every scenario that includes women more in the economy and social life creates a multiplier effect. A prosperous, equal and sustainable future is only possible through greater women's involvement in all aspects of life... When we launched the Future Female Leaders project 11 years ago, our aim was to prepare young women for employment and to convey the realities and experiences they would face in the business world through real-world examples and experience sharing. Following surveys after each program, we see young women most often talking about 'self-awareness', and this makes us happy. Because self-awareness is the first step to change and improvement, and we know that social change begins with young people. Looking back after 11 years, it is wonderful to see that our aim has been achieved." She said. Sanofi Turkey and Levant Corporate Communications Director Pınar Kaya, meanwhile, emphasized the importance of a solution-oriented approach: "As Sanofi Turkey, we always move forward with the question 'What more can we do for society?' in mind. Gender equality emerges as an area where much more needs to be done. There is a long way to go for women to have equal conditions at home, at work, and in the streets, and unfortunately the pandemic has made this path somewhat longer. Because when crises occur, women and girls are more severely affected by the economic impacts. Currently, 45 per cent of young women aged 20-24 in Turkey are neither in education nor in the workforce. At this point, we are aware that contributing to solutions rather than discussing problems is a key approach. We believe that equipping young women with skills and instilling confidence at the very beginning of their careers is critical on the path to a successful career. The fact that 92 per cent of the girls who have completed our training continue their careers successfully is a source of separate joy and pride for us." She stated.