On March 6, 2019, ÖzU PLOTINA Team organized a gender equality seminar for the Deans, School Directors and Vice Rectors of Özyeğin University. This three-hour-long seminar was developed and given by Prof. Yıldız Ecevit who is one of the founding members of KA.DER (Association to Support Women Candidates in Elections), KEİG (Women’s Labor and Employment Initiative). Between 1996-2017, Prof. Ecevit acted as director of the MA Program in Gender and Women Studies at Middle East Technical University in Ankara and she is currently a member of the National Higher Education Council’s Unit of Women’s Studies in Academia.

Before the seminar, the PLOTINA Team made a brief presentation about the gender audit process at ÖzU and the Gender Equality Plan created as a result of the audit. Prof. Ecevit’s seminar was composed of four parts: 1) International Efforts to Achieve Gender Equality; 2) Relevant Concepts and Approaches; 3) Gender (In)Equality in Turkey; 4) Gender Equality and Mainstreaming in Academia. In the last part of the seminar, ÖzU’s Academic Managers had a fruitful discussion with Prof. Ecevit about the institutionalization of gender equality in universities.