Supporting Women’s Economic Empowerment in Turkey

Bank of America Merrill Lynch and the Mother Child Education Foundation Help Advance Economic Growth for More Than 1,500 Women

Bank of America Merrill Lynch is proud to report on the success of its ongoing partnership with the Mother Child Education Foundation (AÇEV).

Recognising the significant role that women play in advancing economic growth within their communities and in the global economy, BofAML’s Istanbul-based team is connecting local women to the resources, networks and mentoring needed to help them gain employment and economic stability.

AÇEV focuses on strengthening the position of women in society by giving young women the skills that will help them to more actively participate in social life. The foundation helps women to secure jobs, though much of its work centres on advanced literacy sessions for the participants.

More than 1,500 women have been impacted since the organisation’s partnership with BofAML began three years ago. In 2016 alone, the firm supported a women’s literacy and empowerment project for more than 800 low-educated young women, and last year, volunteers supported financial literacy training programmes.

The most recent financial literacy session engaged BofAML volunteers and 50 local women who discussed topics including the definitions of basic economic terms, the time value of money, and the importance of savings and pension funds.

Banu Başar, country executive for Turkey at BofAML said, “We are very proud of our work with AÇEV, which is giving hundreds of women the confidence and skills that will contribute towards their success. Almost half of our employees in Turkey are women, and their involvement in this programme plays a crucial role in supporting the inclusion and advancement of women both locally and in financial services.”

Meltem Cantürk, division manager in charge of Female Empowerment and Literacy at AÇEV said, “With this project, we contribute to the advancement of financial literacy of women. While preparing programme content and preparing the trainers, we identified the needs of women in the field of financial literacy and addressed them. They were particularly interested in basic economic concepts and budgeting skills.

“The seminars given by volunteers from Bank of America Merrill Lynch and their visit to our groups added to the impact of the project. It is a fantastic example of successful private sector/civil society cooperation.”

Participant and trainer feedback reaffirms the programme’s success:

• Alya Sanığ (participant) – “I became aware of the training through AÇEV, and I decided to join because I thought that learning about these topics would help me plan my future. I obtained particularly useful information about individual retirement and the use of credit cards; I do think that what I learned here will contribute to my life. As an example, I will make an appointment about individual retirement at the end of the course. I also learned how to use credit cards in a more responsible way.”
• Arzu Uludağ (participant) – “I joined to learn more about saving, budgeting and the economy. Seeing that what I have been doing up to now is the right thing to do made me happy. For example, we have been diverting the scholarship we receive for my daughter into a bank account opened in her name; it turns out this is correct, so that is the way forward. I will also reconsider my expenses at home and refrain from needless shopping.”
• Ayşegül Koç (AÇEV volunteer trainer) – “I think very highly of all types of education support, and consider it even more meaningful if such support is targeted at the education of women. Thus, I am very happy with Bank of America Merrill Lynch’s support for the project and would like to thank them.”