Driving a taxi need no longer be seen as just a
“man’s job” thanks to a project that aims to provide job opportunities
for unemployed women in non-traditional sectors across Turkey.
“We are trying to kill the prejudice that says ‘women are bad
drivers,’” Yahya Çark, an official at ACTUS, a private consultancy that
began the project to provide employment for jobless women in fields such
as driving taxis, told the Hürriyet Daily News on Monday.
Emphasizing that Turkey had fallen behind European Union standards in
terms of women’s employment, ACTUS General Manager Pelin Akman said
Turkey was now beginning to train people in jobs that had traditionally
been viewed as the sole purview of men. “We want to prove that these
jobs can also be done properly by women,” Akman told the Daily News.
Mehmet Yanıkdağ, an official from a taxi stand in Istanbul’s Beyoğlu
district that is used by the female drivers, told the Daily News that
customers were very happy to see women behind the wheel, adding that
some even preferred to have a female driver.
Safe working environment
Customers are pleased by the idea of getting into a cab that smells
like perfume rather than cigarette smoke, one of the female cab drivers,
37-year-old Vildan İstanbul, told the Daily News, adding that she was
working as a manager in a drug company until it went bankrupt.
“[Then one day] I saw a woman driving a taxi; I gave the thumbs up to
her and she stopped the car and asked me whether I wanted a job or
not,” İstanbul said. “I’m a single mother who has to take care of a
15-year-old daughter, I don’t care whether people compare my job with my
previous profession; as long as I feel safe and get respect, I will
continue my duty.”
The cab driver said they only received minimum wage but added that there would soon be opportunities for a raise.
Unemployed women can inquire about the project, which was established
by the Istanbul Taxi Drivers Tradesmen’s Association, or İTEO, and the
Labor and Social Security Ministry in conjunction with ACTUS, by
contacting a special call center.
“Many women have called the company but they need more courage; some
changed their minds before visiting here, yet everything is under
control,” said İstanbul, adding that they only accepted customers from
their station and did not work night shifts.
Ten women started working in Istanbul as drivers on Sept. 17, Akman
said, adding that the project would eventually encompass the whole
country.
Çark also said 13 women had also been hired as painters in Istanbul as part of the project.
/Hurriyet Daily News/