Koç Holding Announces 3 Commitments on a Global Scale for Equal - Opportunity in Technology and Innovation

 
The Generation Equality Forum, convened by UN Women which will guide gender equality initiatives for the next 5 years, kicked off the Paris Summit on June 30. The global summit is uniting the presidents, international organizations, non-governmental organizations and private sector to ensure that they provide concrete and sustainable commitments in gender equality. The summit is expected to be a historical milestone for decisions to be taken for shaping the future of women and girls all over the world.
 
Koç Holding is among Action Coalition Leaders on Technology and Innovation at the Generation Equality Forum, which maintains several action coalitions that offer a global road map to ensure gender equality. Koç Holding Corporate Communications and External Affairs Director Oya Ünlü Kızıl announced the 3 commitments of Koç Holding for the first time during the Paris Summit.
 
“The researches and various analysis reveal that women and girls need more opportunities to be strengthened in digital transformation and innovation,” said Oya Ünlü Kızıl, adding: “As a Group of Companies believing equality on all fronts, we see it as a responsibility to pioneer the implementation of innovative digital applications and solutions. Through the global leadership role we assume in the Generation Equality Forum, we are working on a strategic road map aiming to narrow gender gap in technology and innovation. We are going to mobilize our sources to activate our ecosystem and support our cultural transformation program, which has achieved very successful results across Koç Group in digital transformation and innovation in recent years, with a gender equality perspective. And we are going to disseminate our lessons learned and position at a global scale.”
 
Oya Ünlü Kızıl announced 3 global commitments of Koç Holding to lead its gender equality initiatives in technology and innovation during the next 5 years:
 

1. To adopt a gender-sensitive approach to innovation activities carried out under the Koç Innovation Program throughout the Koç Group, and to create a global blueprint. In order to succeed inthis commitment, we will review all innovation processes, criteria and standards in research, management, evaluation, trainings, incentives and communication of the Koç Innovation Program. Accordingly, we will monitor and improve the ratio of women intrapreneurs, rate of innovation ideas and projects led by women, collaboration and partnerships with women-led start-ups. We will empower women in innovation across all functions with leadership skills and networks . In line with our actions, we will create a “Gender Equal Innovation Guide” will be created  and the lessons learned  and outcomes will be disseminated to the innovation ecosystem, to Koç Group companies, business partners and start-ups, as well as to Generation Equality Forum global network.

 

2. To endorse Koç Group Companies to carry their ongoing projects and future-oriented plans towards women and girls in technology and innovation into the global network of the UN Women Generation Equality Forum, and to become global commitment makers for solutions. In order to succeed in this commitment, we will identify the opportunities and challenges to achieve gender equality in technology and innovation with an industrial and sectoral approach. We will ensure women to actively participate in digital transformation, innovation and R&D functions so as to achieve the company commitments from idea generation to design and implementation phases, and we will promote the role models.  We will also support collaboration, alignment and best practice sharings between companies to maximize the impact.

 

3. To support the collaborations with women innovators to narrow the gender gap in technology and innovation. In order to succeed in this commitment, we will dedicate the regional BOOST program implemented in partnership with UNDP and Koç University Entrepreneurship Research Centre (KWORKS) to support the initiatives of women innovators We have the target to disseminate the lessons learned and scale up best practises among the regional and global innovation ecosystems.

 
About Generation Equality Forum:
The Generation Equality Forum is a global gathering for gender equality convened by UN Women and co-hosted by the governments of Mexico and France. Through the Generation Equality Forum, the UN Women aims to speed up the achievements of gender equality prior to 2030 in tandem with the vision envisaged by the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. The Declaration, created by the participation of United Nations Member States in the Fourth World Conference on Women organized in Beijing in 1995, is accepted as a landmark document in woman rights. The Generation Equality Forum, bringing civil society, governments, international organizations and business world together via global scale multi-stakeholder approach, is taking actions in order to resolve important issues focused on gender by means of know-how and visions of leaders.  The action coalitions will report their results in 6 different thematic areas, namely “Gender-Based Violence”, “Bodily Autonomy and Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights”, “Feminist Action for Climate Justice”, “Economic Justice and Rights”, “Feminist Movements and Leadership” and “Technology and Innovation for Gender Equality”.