Protocol speech

Thank you for inviting me to participate in this important conference.

Congratulations on the Conference programme to which I am greatly looking forward.

Likewise I would wish to congratulate your recent constitutional referendum result - your country is on the move.

May I also express my sincere sadness at the events of this weekend in your city.

I had the pleasure earlier this year to host an event in the European Parliament in Brussels on gender issues in both the EU and Turkey, at which I was glad to welcome many who are involved with this event but particularly KADIGER. It was also a pleasure to meet with Mrs Guldal Aksit and other female members of her Parliamentary Committee.

What I think was remarkable to me about that conference and I am sure we will experience the same here is the similarities of the challenges which women face everywhere. The hard law legal frameworks were long ago put in place, but the reality of the possibilities open to women still eludes far too many.

We as women and many of our sex who went before as have always expected that we stand on the threshold of a brave new world. I note that in 1911 a feminist Fatma Nesibe gave a series of lectures here in Istanbul and then predicted that the Ottoman Empire like the rest of Europe was on the eve of a feminine revolution. To an extent she was right, but not I suspect to the extent she hoped. Of course women here had the right to vote and stand in national election before some other European countries.

Likewise in the European Union we were proud that in 1975 Gabrielle Defrenne, an air hostess took a legal case invoking the principle of equal pay for equal work - her successful case lead to the adoption of the first European laws, directives on gender equality.

It is the case now that as far as the European Union is concerned; equality is one of the basic five values upon which the Union is founded. Where there are inequalities between men and women; these inequalities, let us be clear, violate fundamental rights. Of course, those rights are essential, and should be championed, but perhaps what is more distressing is the loss of that great pool and fund of female talent to our economies and wider societal development.

The EU's most recent strategy published by the Commission for the years 2010 to 2015 foresees action under 5 headings. These underline the need for the economic independence of women in attaining their full potential. It is frankly a scandal given Gabrielle Defrenne's legal victory now 35 years ago that the average gender pay gap across the EU still remains at 17% with at least one country as high as 30%; it is unacceptable. Of course, transparency about pay is one method of combating this inequality and something the Commission is committed to taking up. There will be a European Equal Pay Day to highlight the issue both within the Union and I hope beyond as well.

Women are still unrepresented in key decision making roles. In politics only one in four members of EU national parliaments and ministers of national governments is a woman. Women represent only one in ten board members of the largest listed companies in the EU. Only 19% of full professors in EU universities are women. So you see there is still a lot of work to be done even in a block of 27 countries that recognise equality as a fundamental right; yet without that basic recognition goodness knows where we would be!

Of course, much of the problem remains in how women are perceived in society at large and here the media have a huge and responsible role to play and I look forward to more in depth discussions on this during the conference. Yet in all our societies women need to be accorded dignity, integrity and how women are seen in this respect is key to bringing an end to gender based violence.

I, and I believe many other commentators are increasingly concerned about the way in which women are portrayed in our media and in advertising. We all, and particularly young girls, need role models and heroines, but they do not all need to be compliant air brushed Barbie dolls!

Rather and especially in what are difficult and testing times economically for most of our countries we need women's full intellectual contribution towards public life, business life and to our communities as a whole. Our societies would doubtless be stronger and more successful. It is surely no coincidence that in one small country, Iceland, that suffered the full shock of financial collapse that women have now been put in the key roles in the banking sector!

We should not have to wait for such events to learn the lessons of accepting and welcoming women's full involvement. Women bring something different but equally useful and valid to the task. Indeed perhaps something more. One of the best statements I read recently was - Women who imitate men lack ambition!

I am sure we have no lack of ambition, and indeed no lack of ambition for the success of this conference.

End.