STATUS PROBLEM OF WOMEN'S COOPERATIVES IN TURKEY: BEING POSITIONED IN THE RIGHT PLACE (EXAMPLE OF WORKER COOPERATIVES)

Year 2024, Volume: 17 Issue: 3, 603 - 625, 31.07.2024

Başak Gül Akar

https://doi.org/10.25287/ohuiibf.1437683

Abstract

Wherever you put the woman as a subject in any sentence about labor, she carries the burden of the sentence, just as she suffers her job. For example, in a sentence about cooperatives, the person who produces is worthy of the subject of the sentence. While everything has been running smoothly so far, the role of women conflict with the fact that the type of cooperative is production. Because maybe women are the producers, but the way rights are distributed, how they are implemented, and the compensation provided for the labor of women in women's cooperatives indicates that these women are better positioned as workers, and thus better aligned with the concept of worker cooperatives. Looking at the world in general, it is seen that worker cooperatives are mostly involved in the health, care, and domestic services sectors and provide employment opportunities for more women in terms of gender. In the organizational form of this employment, women; are positioned as a partner, business owners, and employees. In this sense, when the role of women in our country is examined, it is predicted that they will predominantly take place in the services sector and that they will have a clearer definition of status within worker cooperatives than in women's cooperatives. Due to its organizational structure, worker cooperatives act primarily intending to meet the needs of workers and their communities, rather than aim to provide financial gain. The issue of women's more prominent positioning within worker cooperatives, which are characterized as enterprises that distribute the wealth they produce and are motivating and highly productive, is one of the topics of discussion in this study. In this context, considering that women participate more intensively in domestic and care services worldwide, the advantages/disadvantages of their participation in worker cooperatives should be discussed further. In this present study, a comparative research methodology was employed to gather insights regarding the importance and necessity of women's organizations within two types of cooperatives. It was assumed that women might have a more favorable position within workers' cooperatives compared to women's cooperatives. The main objective of adopting this comparative approach was to investigate the role of women in both workers' and women's cooperatives, identify commonalities and differences among women's participation in these contexts, and explain the role of women in these cooperatives within their respective frameworks. This study aims to contribute to the debate that women's labor can take the struggle of women's labor in worker cooperatives to a higher level, with similar goals and commonalities, and that women can perhaps start a new organization to write their own stories.

Keywords

Women, cooperative, women cooperatives, worker cooperatives, development

Türkiye’de kadın kooperatiflerinin statü sorunu: Doğru yerde konumlanabilmek (İşçi kooperatifleri örneği)

Abstract

Özet
Kadını özne olarak emekle ilgili hangi cümlede nereye koysanız oturur yerine, taşır cümlenin yükünü işin de cefasını çektiği gibi. Örneğin kooperatifçilikle ilgili bir cümle içerisinde de üreten kişi vasfıyla yakışır cümlenin öznesine. Buraya kadar her şey sorunsuzca ilerlerken kooperatifin türünün üretim olması ile kadının rolü çakışmaktadır. Zira kadın üretendir belki ama kadın kooperatifleri içerisindeki hak dağılımı, çalışma şekli ve emeğin karşılığına bakıldığında kendisini işçi tanımında ve bu bağlamda da işçi kooperatifleri içerisinde daha doğru bir yerde bulmaktadır. Dünya geneline bakıldığında işçi kooperatiflerinin daha çok sağlık, bakım ve ev hizmetleri sektörlerinde yer aldığını ve toplumsal cinsiyet açısından da daha çok kadına istihdam olanağı sağladığı görülmektedir. Bu istihdamın örgütlenme biçiminde ise kadın; ortak, işletme sahibi ve çalışan olarak konumlanmaktadır. Bu manada kadının ülkemizdeki rolü incelendiğinde ağırlıklı olarak hizmetler sektöründe yer alması ve işçi kooperatifleri içerisinde kadın kooperatiflerindekine nazaran daha net bir statü tanımına kavuşacakları öngörülmektedir. İşçi kooperatifleri örgütlenme yapısı gereği, finansal kazanç sağlamayı hedeflemekten ziyade, öncelikle işçilerin ve topluluklarının ihtiyaçlarını karşılama amacı ile hareket etmektedir. Ürettikleri zenginliği dağıtan ve oluşumları gereği motive edici, oldukça üretken çalışma özelliklerine sahip işletmeler olarak nitelendirilen işçi kooperatifleri içerisinde hiç şüphesiz ki kadın, kendini daha belirgin şekilde konumlandıracaktır.
Bu bağlamda kadınların dünya genelinde çalışma hayatlarına ev ve bakım hizmetlerinde daha yoğun katıldıkları dikkate alındığında işçi kooperatifleri içerisinde yer almalarının avantaj/dezavantajları ayrıca tartışılmalıdır. Ülkemizdeki kadın kooperatifleri ekonomik ve sosyal katkıları başta olmak üzere incelendiğinde, işçi kooperatiflerine dönüştürülmelerinin ve bu şekilde tanım ve hukuksal çerçeve gereği bir statüye kavuşturulmalarının önemi açıktır. Mevcut çalışma, kadın emeğinin işçi kooperatiflerindeki mücadelesini, kadın kooperatiflerinin benzer amaçlarına paralel bir biçimde ancak farklı sonuçlar elde ederek iş piyasasında daha etkin bir şekilde devam ettireceğine dair bir inanç taşımaktadır.

Keywords

Kadın, işbirliği, kadın kooperatifleri, işçi kooperatifleri, kalkınma

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