Sabancı University

The situation of women in Turkey as revealed in the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap report issued every year is grave. In the 2014 report, Turkey was in 125th place among 142 countries.

A new global report has again put Turkey near the bottom of gender equality rankings, yet women maintain a prominent presence in academia that mirrors the situation in Western countries, according to an academic at Sabancı University.

The findings of a new survey suggest Turks are pround of their country’s achievements but don’t know exactly why. The survey conducted by two professors also shows that despite the country’s elite’s global aspirations, ordinary citizens have remained parochial.

Checks and Balances network, an initiative that brings some 150 civil organizations, warns that problems may arise on the accountability of presidential campaign financing due to shortcomings in the law. ‘We believe all contributions should be done through banking transactions,’ says the group’s Turan Hanrçerli Turkey will elect its president directly for the first time.

The Ankara-based Middle East Technical University (ODTÜ) topped the list of the most entrepreneurial and innovative universities, as was also the case last year.