Women Leaders of the Future
Gender equality and women's empowerment as global priorities are the most critical items of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. We recognize the importance of educating women to help them contribute to society on an equal basis with men and to ensure human development.
At Cargill, we believe that inclusive societies create value and work to make gender equality a permanent value for a stronger future in the world and our country. With this vision, we are taking concrete steps both within Cargill and on a societal scale. In line with our commitment to increasing the proportion of women managers worldwide to 50 percent by 2030, we are carrying out significant work to create women's employment, promotion and development opportunities. As of 2021, 50 percent of our board of directors and 40 percent of our executive board in the META (Middle East, Turkey and Africa) region consists of women leaders.
To spread our vision within the organization to the society we are a part of, we launched the "Women Leaders of the Future" program in cooperation with the Turkish Education Foundation (TEV) in 2021, contributing to the training of female leaders who will shed light on the future of our country.
Within the scope of the program since 2021, we have been contributing to the professional development of more than 120 young women who will be the leaders of the future. Most importantly, we work together to educate women who believe in themselves and have the perseverance and determination to reach their highest goals step by step.
Promising Future with Woman Leaders of the Future
The female leader candidates of the future in the program are selected from among students who have applied to the Turkish Education Foundation and met the criteria for TEV Education (University) Scholarship, and are entitled to receive a scholarship.
We support young women studying at various departments of universities in Turkey, such as Food, Industry, Chemical and Electrical Engineering, Veterinary Medicine, Zootechnical, Business and Law, to become successful female leaders in the future.
Within the scope of the program, we aim to increase the professional equipment and future success of students with opportunities such as:
- Scholarship support,
- Mentoring,
- On-site training in production facilities,
- Participation in R&D projects,
- Seminar studies,
- Internship opportunity,
- Professional and personal development training,
- Written and media sources supports
In addition, we organize meetings between students and Cargill’s female employees from different cultures and positions working in various regions. By offering them different perspectives, we provide the opportunity to experience our work in the fields in which we operate as Cargill and learn about the best practices of the sector.
Contribution to Social Development
Although significant progress has been made in gender equality, we are aware that there is a long way to go both in the world and in Turkey. We believe that creating equal opportunities in education and preparing women for work-life with a multi-faceted perspective are the most important steps in this path. We work to ensure that young women become well-equipped individuals with the educational scholarships we provide so that they can be active not only in their professional life but also in social life. We also try to help them see how they can break bias with the mentoring support, and to contribute to their career opportunities to become successful and confident individuals in the future.
UN 2030 Sustainable Development Goals
Our Women Leaders of the Future Program contributes to the following from the UN 2030 Sustainable Development Goals:
1. Goal: Ensuring access to basic services through education scholarships by supporting the ‘No Poverty’ goal.
4.Goal: Increasing awareness and knowledge with the scholarships by supporting the 'Quality Education' goal.
5. Goal: Ensuring gender equality and empowering all women and girls by supporting 'Gender Equality' goal.
8.Goal: Reducing the number of young people who are not educated with educational scholarships by supporting "Decent Work and Economic Growth" goal.
10.Goal: Ensuring that everyone is empowered and included, regardless of their status, with the education scholarships by supporting the “Reduced Inequalities” goal.
17.Goal: Contributing to the multi-stakeholder cooperation in all practices and activities carried out within the scope of the program by supporting “Partnerships for the Goals” goal.