Microsoft Word - 09_jwe_3-4.doc UDC: 305-055.2, 005.64(560)(569.5) JEL: B54, L26 PROFESSIONAL PAPER Development and Survival Strategies in Jordan and the Contribution of Female- Owned Firms to Domestic Economic Growth in Turkey Yildirim Kemal, Ministry of Education, Istanbul, Turkey A B S T R A C T This paper will help you to determine where to strive and in a way how to make changes to the cultures. Types of semi similar Cultures between two ethics - man and women have also been exemplified with diversity synthesis oriented on both Jordanian and Turkish local economic growth with a perspective on development, survival strategies and the role of woman owned firms/industries. The findings demonstrate that self-efficacy could represent an important individual trait for examining whistleblowing issues. Internal whistleblowing is becoming an important organizational consideration in many areas of survival strategy KEW WORDS: women, female-owned firms, economic growth, managers, leaders, organizational culture illiteracy rate,development, Turkey, Jordan Introduction The terms "developed" and "developing" (or "underdeveloped"), have proven problematic in forming policy as they ignore issues of wealth distribution and the lingering effects of colonialism. Some theorists see development efforts as fundamentally neo-colonial, in which a wealthier nation forces its industrial and economic structure on a poorer nation, which will then become a consumer of the developed nation's goods and services. Post-developmentalists, for example, see development as a form of Western cultural imperialism that hurts the people of poor countries and Yildirim, K., Development and Survival Strategies, JWE (2009, No. 3-4, 88-105) 89 endangers the environment to such an extent that they suggest rejection of development altogether. The best-known development critic is Mohandas Gandhi, who heavily criticized modern technology and many other characteristics of western culture. Like many other development critics, he recommended local food production for local consumption rather than for trade. Similar thinkers often criticize contemporary globalization. Development critics are often politically left-leaning and favour such ideas as pacifism and local-level democracy, though there are notable exceptions (for example, Ted Kaczynski supported local-level democracy, while supporting violent revolution against the State to achieve it). Although development critics are mostly humanistic, some are misanthropists who blame human nature for the destruction of the environment. Organizational culture is enduring and complex, and may have both a positive and a negative effect on the staff and the workplace. In many ways culture will determine the survival of an organization over the long term, especially in volatile industries. Cultures that can be a liability to an organization include those that create barriers to change, create barriers to diversity or barriers to mergers and acquisitions. (Stephen P. Robbins. Organizational Behavior, 8th ed., 602-603.) Understanding the organizational culture can help you to understand why change does not take place, or why a project fails. It will also help you to determine where to strive to make changes to the culture. As managers and library leaders, why do we need to get a sense of the prevailing organizational culture? It is essential to understand the organizational culture if you want to make changes to how work is done, what type of work is being done, or at the broadest level, to affect the organization's standing in its industry. Understanding the culture and, as required, changing it, can mean the difference between attracting and retaining good employees and driving away the best employees with an environment that doesn't encourage, challenge, or reward them. The organizational culture assessment that I participated in didn't provide any surprises regarding the existing culture--most people with any level of sensitivity can get a sense of what type of culture is prevalent in an organization. What was surprising were the results from the survey to Journal of Women's Entrepreneurship and Education (2009, No. 3-4, 88-105) 90 determine what type of culture staff would prefer to see the organization develop. As background, the organization had just gone through a major change. The executive director had departed after 20 years; there had been a period of several months with an acting ED followed by a new, external ED appointment. The assessment took place only a month after the new ED was in position. Business Cultures of Turkey and Jordan The assessment we used to assess the organization's culture used questions that sought to determine and enumerate such organizational traits as symbols (such as images, things, events), organizational-espoused values and beliefs (for example, the mission statement, constitution, espoused goals of the ED, slogans). Then the espoused beliefs and values were compared with the symbols and culture identified through the written survey and staff interviews. The written survey asked staff to answer questions related to the current culture and then asked how they would like to see the culture change. Responses were tabulated to determine which type of culture existed among the four metrics of organizational culture: hierarchy, adhocracy, clan, and market. The hierarchy aspect of an organization refers to how structured, inflexible, and process-driven an organization is in the way it operates. At the opposite end of the scale, adhocracy refers to how flexible, informal, innovative, and dynamic an organization is. A clan culture supports a very friendly and social environment in which to work, while a market culture is often found in organizations that are results-oriented and sales-driven. The assessment determined that the existing culture was very hierarchical and quite clannish. The staff also indicated, through the anonymous written survey, that they would prefer the culture to be more adhocratic and less hierarchical, while at the same time being slightly more market culture and clannish. This showed the positive and optimistic view of the staff towards change. The process I used for assessing the culture involved conducting group employee interviews and written staff surveys, followed by analysis of the information. Staff responded to a series of prompts and questions regarding organizational symbols, organizational-espoused values, and Yildirim, K., Development and Survival Strategies, JWE (2009, No. 3-4, 88-105) 91 beliefs. These responses were analyzed, creating a pattern showing comparisons between espoused belief/values (in the form of phrases or statements) with their associated symbols (both positive and negative), and related culture types (hierarchy, adhocracy, clan, and market). The assessment we used to assess the organization's culture used questions that sought to determine and enumerate such organizational traits as symbols (such as images, things, events), organizational-espoused values and beliefs (for example, the mission statement, constitution, espoused goals of the ED, slogans). Then the espoused beliefs and values were compared with the symbols and culture identified through the written survey and staff interviews. The written survey asked staff to answer questions related to the current culture and then asked how they would like to see the culture change. Responses were tabulated to determine which type of culture existed among the four metrics of organizational culture: hierarchy, adhocracy, clan, and market. The hierarchy aspect of an organization refers to how structured, inflexible, and process-driven an organization is in the way it operates. At the opposite end of the scale, adhocracy refers to how flexible, informal, innovative, and dynamic an organization is. A clan culture supports a very friendly and social environment in which to work, while a market culture is often found in organizations that are results-oriented and sales-driven. The assessment determined that the existing culture was very hierarchical and quite clannish. The staff also indicated, through the anonymous written survey, that they would prefer the culture to be more adhocratic and less hierarchical, while at the same time being slightly more market culture and clannish. This showed the positive and optimistic view of the staff towards change. The process I used for assessing the culture involved conducting group employee interviews and written staff surveys, followed by analysis of the information. Staff responded to a series of prompts and questions regarding organizational symbols, organizational-espoused values, and beliefs. These responses were analyzed, creating a pattern showing comparisons between espoused belief/values (in the form of phrases or statements) with their associated symbols (both positive and negative), and related culture types (hierarchy, adhocracy, clan, and market). For a new leader or manager, understanding the organizational culture that is in place is essential for success in providing direction, Journal of Women's Entrepreneurship and Education (2009, No. 3-4, 88-105) 92 especially when the direction is different from what has come before. Are staff willing and eager to take on new challenges and to follow a new direction, or will they provide passive or active resistance to any changes? What is important to people today, based on their view of where the organization is and where it should be? Where are there disconnects between espoused values, such as the mission statement, and the over symbols and culture type? For example, if the organization's mission is to provide expert customer service, yet the strong hierarchical structure means that employees are not empowered to assist customers by providing creative solutions or don't have the required authority to provide responses or results, there is a disconnect. The organization that I surveyed was eager to see positive change and the time was right for providing impetus to staff to follow a new path. The assessment can reveal the opposite, however, which is just as valuable to managers or library leaders. If there is resistance to change, if the espoused values of the organization don't match with the staff perceptions and prevailing culture, you must try to change the culture or change the objectives and mission to reflect reality.Some ways that you can try to change the organizational culture include reviewing the mission and vision for the library with the staff to ensure that they are accurate. If changes are needed to reflect the reality of what you want to do and what you can do, then do so. For a start, make sure that departmental statements and staff actions reflect the type of culture you want. For example, to increase the market culture, it is necessary to try increasing the measurements of service activities and have staff involved in developing metrics and outcomes for services (as part of the performance management system, for example). İn Jordan the importance of development agencies such as JUSBP in giving businesses targeted technical and financial support in developing proper business plans, business strategies and capability enhancement training for women in business “JUSBP is exerting great effort in promoting jordanian women.” 1 1 Jordan times – Thursday april 8. 2004 Yildirim, K., Development and Survival Strategies, JWE (2009, No. 3-4, 88-105) 93 Jordan’s Women in Culture and Business Jordan is embarking on a radical reform process aimed at modernising the country's political system. One of the key reforms is getting Jordanian women more involved in public affairs. Women often occupy different roles in a foreign culture. Avoid offensive assumptions and behavior by understanding the position of women in Jordanian society: their legal rights; access to education and health care; workforce participation; and their dating, marriage, and family life. Boost your knowledge about how things work in Jordan to avoid insulting its people or their heritage. Both men and women can make a better impression and show respect by understanding how women are viewed in Jordan: whether they enjoy the same legal rights as men; how they are represented in Jordanian politics, law, medicine, and business; if they can date or choose their own mates and professions, and what they tend to choose. As a woman, you’ll gain insight on how to blend in with dress and behavior and make appropriate travel or business plans to fit in with cultural norms. Women of Jordan in terms of Cultural term answers the following types of practical questions: How are women and girls treated in this country? Are there dress code restrictions for women? What are women’s rights for voting, owning a business, and owning and inheriting property? What are traditional jobs for women in this country/culture? Who assumes childcare if the female head of the family works? What types of businesses do women typically own? From what age are women allowed to date? Is it considered bad if a woman has no children? What happens to women in case of divorce? Do women in Jordan have access to birth control? But l will leave to the reader to comment anout the answers fort he questions quoted above.Criticism differes from the reader to reader .Therefore one should investigate himself/herself on how to cope with the world standards on woman rights The king also appointed a female minister, Asma Khader, to serve as the government's spokesperson. Ms Khader is a prominent lawyer and champion of human rights, particularly women's rights Jordan's Prime Journal of Women's Entrepreneurship and Education (2009, No. 3-4, 88-105) 94 Minister, Faisal Fayex, for his part, has also urged women's organisations to spur political development in the country.Jordan is a very conservative society. It is a society of men2 Most Powerful Women in Turkey Guler Sabanci was defined as one of the “the most successful woman in Turkish economy today. Guler Sabanci, head of Sabanci Holding, thinks the West has the wrong perception about her country - women have always been highly regarded, unlike in other countries It is that Guler Sabanci is all these things in Turkey, a country more bound to tradition than most. None of this is lost on the defiantly single, staunchly progressive Sabanci. As chair of Sabanci Holding, an industrial conglomerate whose consolidated revenues last year amounted to $10.6bn, she is, at 51, Turkey's most feted female entrepreneur - and, by virtue of her impact on finance and culture, probably its most powerful woman to date. But if she embodies the Muslim nation's myriad contradictions - as the living incarnation of its founding secular principles - it appears to leave her unfazed. She is first woman ever to have sat on the board of Turkey's influential Businessmen's Association. Companies the size of hers - employing 45,000 people - are the backbone of the Turkish economy. The answer seems categorical: professional women have always been highly regarded in this country, whereas going to England in the early Eighties where women were not allowed to lunch in a famous bankers' club in the City. As we all are aware that over the world there is a gender issue ... but in business it is less of a problem because you can be more specific and result-orientated, and measure the results.' Results, unsurprisingly, are what Sabanci likes best. The influence of women in the world of business is increasing by the day. As presidents and CEOs they direct the largest companies in Turkey. They manage thousands of people and are responsible for the realization of major projects. 2 Senator Wijdan Talhouni Saket Yildirim, K., Development and Survival Strategies, JWE (2009, No. 3-4, 88-105) 95 In recent years this reality has changed the appearance of the major groups in Turkey. Sabancı Holding is managed by Güler Sabancı, the representative of the third generation. The captain of the ship at Yaşar Holding is Feyhan Kalpaklıoğlu, while the Kale Group is run by Zeynep Bodur Okyay. Nor is this something which is only happening in family companies. The influence of women as professional executives is also increasing. Canan Edipoğlu is general manager of Shell Turkey. İmre Barmenberk is vice president of Dogan Holding. Gülsüm Azeri is household goods group president at Şişecam. There are also those who have established their own businesses and are competing with the giants, like Emine Kamışlı, head of Esas Holding, and Aynur Bektaş, owner of Hey Tekstil…Appointed head of Sabanci IN 1993 Turkey elected its first female prime minister, Tansu Ciller. Many wealthier nations have yet to equal that feat. In business, too, some Turkish women stand out. For example, one of them heads the Sabanci Group, a large conglomerate. Guler Sabanci succeeded her uncle when he died in 2004. There are plenty of Turkish women who appear scantily clad in the local gossip magazines, and there are those who parade up and down Istanbul's ultra-smart Abdi Ipekci Street, buying fashion labels. There are also brilliant female professors, glamorous TV ... Future Trends and Strategies for both Development and Survival Perspectives in Jordan and Turkey As a rule, the best strategies in governments and public services mainly are: − clear about objectives, relative priorities and trade-offs − underpinned by a rich understanding of causes, trends, opportunities, threats and possible futures − based on a realistic understanding of the effectiveness of different policy instruments and the capacities of institutions (strategies that work well on paper but not in practice are of little use) − creative - designing and discovering new possibilities − designed with effective mechanisms for adaptability in the light of experience Journal of Women's Entrepreneurship and Education (2009, No. 3-4, 88-105) 96 − developed with, and communicated effectively to, all those with a stake in the strategy or involved in its funding or implementation. Strategies vary greatly. Some are very precisely defined and imposed top-down through organisational hierarchies. Others emerge in a more evolutionary and co-operative way from discussions, experiments and learning. Taking a strategic approach should ensure that decisions on strategic direction, policy design and delivery are seen as an end-to-end process of change management, with constant testing, feedback, learning and improvement The most complete data of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) comes from Asia, which shows that growing numbers of women are moving to Japan, Singapore and Hong Kong, often illegally, and most are from the Philippines, Indonesia and Sri Lanka. In the three labour markets, 12 of 13 Philippines, three of four Indonesians, and three of five Sri Lankans are women, accordingto Youyun Zhang, ILO special adviser on women's labour issues Peru is seeing a similar emigration phenomenon, where three of every five people leaving the country in search of work are women. For most women emigrating from Latin America and the Caribbean, the goal is western Europe, especially Italy, Spain and France. In Europe, the migrant women find work as domestic employees,nurses, retail workers, or waitresses. If they are young and attractive they may find work as hostesses in casinos or other entertainment centres. More than a few, however, find themselves exploited in prostitution networks. The number of Latin American women working in Europe is unknown.But the government of Peru, for example, calculates that in Italy alone there are some 18,000 Peruvians, mostly women. But the number is only an estimate because the subject population is mostly illegal. In Europe, however, there is reliable data showing that most immigrant women are coming from Nicaragua, the Dominican Republic, Panama, Brazil, Colombia and Peru. The testimonies that appear regularly in the press about the difficult living conditions faced by immigrant women in Europe do not appear to change women's decisions about taking the leap. They say they cannot Yildirim, K., Development and Survival Strategies, JWE (2009, No. 3-4, 88-105) 97 imagine it could be any worse than the lives they are living in their home countries. The massive migration of women overseas obscures what experts warn is a survival strategy, and they call on the authorities tobe more flexible in handling the problem.The entry of women "into the international labour markets is one of the most impressive responses to the deterioration of options in their national labour markets," affirmed Youyun Zhang. This phenomenon "represents a strategy of family survival," shestated in her study of women's participation in the globalisedlabour market.The presence of foreign women working illegally or for extremely low wages has permitted a continuous and intensive industrialisation of the work force, which attracts investments,stressed the ILO adviser. The Asian countries once again provide an illustration for her statements. South Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Hong Kong, and, to a lesser extent, Japan, have been able to grow economically thanks to the supply of female workers, whether local citizens or immigrants. The benefits of this influx for investors and manufacturers has been so great that they are now recruiting women workers in Indonesia, China, Bangladesh, India and Vietnam. The work force is cheap in those countries and women do not tend to demand much as far as their work conditions or compliance with labour laws. In Central America, the expansion of the maquiladoras (duty-free zones for producing exports, especially assembly), another indicator of economic globalisation, has also prompted the mass exodus of women from rural areas to the cities, where the maquiladoras are located. Migrational flow between the region's neighbouring countries has soared as women cross boarders hoping to find work in maquiladoras, the majority of which are financed by South Korea,Taiwan and Hong Kong. In Honduras alone, the maquiladora companies employ an estimated 60,000 people - 90% are women and the remaining 10% are men andminors. Work conditions are generally difficult, the pay is meager, and workers must occasionally bring their work home in order to meet their required quotas. "Women are most vulnerable in the globalisation process because,unlike men, they are not as demanding in their wages or in work conditions," Journal of Women's Entrepreneurship and Education (2009, No. 3-4, 88-105) 98 "For women, the most important thing is to have an income, especially if they are the head of the family, poor and lack specific training for the labour market." Many men prefer unemployment to working under adverse conditions,. "But often women don't have a choice. Then we could ask What is important for them to ensure the well-being of theirchildren? For nearly four decades, King Hussein of Jordan has managed to survive and to consolidate his rule in the face of difficult internal and external circumstances. Indeed, Hussein's will to survive has been and will remain the central organizing principle of his statecraft. Throughout Hussein's reign, there have been several constant factors: Hussein's identity as a conservatively inclined, hereditary Hashemite monarch; a regular leavening of this essentially elitist posture with periodic populist appeals, especially towards the large Palestinian population of Jordan; Jordan's weak economic base and its social, geographic and military precariousness; a concomitant need for foreign patronage; and Hussein's personality, which over the years has changed remarkably little. The first major challenge that Hussein faced in the mid-1950s was the wave of pan-Arab nationalism inspired and led by Egypt's Gamal Abdul Nasser. Hussein responded to Nasserism first by swimming with the tide and then making a tacit alliance with the anti-Nasserist Muslim Brothers and discreetly winning American patronage with promises to resist "communist" influence. A key pillar of his survival from the mid- 1950s to the 1967 war with Israel was his loyal army and security forces, an abiding presence in Jordan, seldom used apart for times of crisis when they were deployed ruthlessly. Contrary to popular wisdom, Hussein ' s decision to participate in the 1967 war was, under the circumstances, a reasonable course for him to follow. He had long been suspect as a traitor to Arabism, an image that would have been reinforced had he stayed on the sidelines, and he never had reason to fear a direct Israeli attack against the East Bank core of his kingdom. Afterwards, the chief threat to his survival came from the Palestinian nationalist organizations, which Hussein first tried to appease but then was forced to oppose with the full weight of his army in September 1970. From 1971 to 1988, Hussein enjoyed relative calm. That period was marked by a strategic understanding with the U.S. and Israel and by large- scale financial aid from the oil-rich Gulf states. By the outbreak of the Yildirim, K., Development and Survival Strategies, JWE (2009, No. 3-4, 88-105) 99 intifada in late 1987, Arab aid had dried up and many Israelis had begun to raise the slogan of "Jordan is Palestine." Internally, the intifada coincided with an upsurge of Islamic fundamentalism within Jordan. Hussein attempted to save himself from these dilemmas by announcing an administrative disengagement for the territories in July of 1988. At home, he allowed limited democratization that allowed some fundamentalists into the political system, giving them a stake in the status quo. The 1980s also witnessed the development of deep and wide-ranging ties with Iraq, conditioned in part by the King's longstanding fear of Iran and, especially, Syria. Given those ties and the great popularity that Saddam Hussein's invasion of Kuwait enjoyed among the Jordanian people, Hussein felt he had no choice but to publicly side with Saddam. Yet throughout the crisis, Hussein tried to maintain a role as sympathetic mediator, identifying more with the people of Iraq than with its government. He genuinely tried to give no more offense to the anti- Saddam forces than was absolutely necessary. In the end, this proved a wise strategy. The West has forgiven and almost forgotten. Hussein's politics are essentially passive: whosoever poses in his judgment the danger of the moment determines his reaction. His one guiding principle is survival. Other goals, such as economic development, expansion, or dynastic ambition are subordinate to this. This makes him a dubious partner for undertakings requiring political courage or innovation. The essentials of his survival strategy on the whole are: − Today's perils must be looked at today, while tomorrow's may be looked after tomorrow. − It is important to be popular and bad to be hated. − Powerful allies are a necessity, but one must keep all options open. − Syria is a perennial object of suspicion and fear, while Israel must be made to feel secure along its Jordanian frontier. No breakthroughs with Israel should be made to seem imminent. − Direct and efficient control of the army is the ultimate fundament of survival. Position of Women in the Business Ssector of Turkey The status of women in Turkey is different from what it is in your home country. Not "better," not "worse," but different. In some ways, Journal of Women's Entrepreneurship and Education (2009, No. 3-4, 88-105) 100 women may seem subservient to men; but Turkey had a female supreme court justice long before the USA did, and Turkey has had a female head of government, something the USA, for all its success in women's liberation, has not yet had; thus each gender seems to be more or less sovereign within its appropriate realm. The husband-father is head of the household, but the wife-mother mainly appears to be in charge of the house and family. Men goes out of the house to deal with the world of business, government and military; women stays close to home and tends the crops, the animals and the household. The illiteracy rate among Turkish women, according to Kagider, the women entrepreneurs’ association which helps start-ups and campaigns against violence against women, is 20%, compared with less than 5% for men; generally, girls leave school 18 months earlier than boys and the courts, prodded by the Erdogan government, have stepped up prosecutions of families refusing to send their daughters to school. Women - 52% of the 70 million population - earn 40% less than men and provide just a quarter of the registered labour force, while 42% of them work unpaid for their families - mainly in the fields. They hold just 4% of seats in the Ankara parliament, 0.4% of local council seats and there is just one woman minister in the Islamist AKP-led government, “and she fought a court case with the biggest women’s NGO”, scoffs Umit Nazli Boyner, chief financial officer of the Boyner Holding, which owns Turkey’s biggest non-food retailer. Mustafa Kemal had declared openly women and men are equal there would be no difference between men and women .Moreover he had promised Turksih women would be free and enjoy education and occupy a position equal to that of men, since they were entitled to equality. He therefore tried to break the traditional norms and overcome the the prejudices of male dominated institutions, including religion Many states in the middle east Could be characterised as patriarchal ,authoritarian states During the transition to and thorugh modernity some of them had been sympathetic to the idea of woman’s emancipation and empowerment, like Turkey and the Kemalist reforms in the 30’s Jordanian women in business enjoy reforms of their King whatsoever rights were granted for them and Turkish women also enjoy rights granted by Kemal Ataturk of their founder of the Republic it looks they both need to struggle a lot to shape themselves for an equal non dominant world. Yildirim, K., Development and Survival Strategies, JWE (2009, No. 3-4, 88-105) 101 Turkey's top business group TUSIAD, which was set up in 1970, weighs in not only on economic matters, but in politics as well, issuing critical and often influential statements on questions ranging from the Kurdish conflict to Turkey’s ties with the EU.Women in major urban areas are emancipated to the point that they hold traditionally male-dominated jobs - such as football referees or fighter pilots - but many in rural or conservative communities are still in the grip of die-hard patriarchal traditions. Turkey, a Muslim-majority but secular country, is under pressure to improve women's rights as part of its struggling bid to join the EU. Many of the non-Turk peoples located in the Arab, Kurdish areas of the country, mostly in the south east, are not given the special group privileges given to the recognized 3 minority groups. The Turkish people do not include ethnicities other then the main Turkish population and the country’s considered minorities in their census. Today, internal strife’s among Secularists and Islamic traditionalists invade the states political affairs. The military, which has intervened 3 times within the last generation claims the next president must be a follower of the established secular order. Many fear that this might affect Turkey’s acceptance into the European Union. Through it all, Turkey has been a great example of how secularism and Islam can work in an area dominated by tradition, and religion. So we could argue thus how could women improve her status under such circumstances while she is not free In fact, Women's participation in the urban labour force is low. Once women come from the rural ares to the cities, they prefer to become housewives because they are unskilled, and so would get only very low- paying jobs. Second, there is a tradition and ideology of being a housewife. Not many men want their wives to work. What kind of right or freedom does a woman have to select her partner? Does the famWily play a role or pressure her? Are there many love marriages? Sort of in-between. In the rural areas, there are more arranged marriages. But many younger women from villages want to marry into urban areas. Usually, among the non-Kurdish girls, the parents get the consent of the girls. Now the practice of bride pric e is decreasing and becoming symbolic. However, in the Kurdish areas, the bride prices is still an important revenue for the girl's family. This is the reverse of dowry... Yes, the father will get money for marrying off his daughter. Journal of Women's Entrepreneurship and Education (2009, No. 3-4, 88-105) 102 How much would the price be for a farmer having medium land holding in a Kurdish rural area? Something like $2,000. What about polygamy? Is it allowed in Turkey? Polygamy is legally not allowed. But it happens, like everywhere else... Yes, but it is not very common. About 12 per cent of the marriages are only Muslim marriages, which are not legally valid. A civil marriage is the legal marriage. So does that mean that the 12 per cent who go in for Muslim marriages, can keep more than one wife? No, that is not legal. But we are suspecting that among this 12 per cent, there is more potential for polygamy. So, legally, the second wife is a mistress... Yes. And the child will not enjoy inheritance rights? The child will enjoy inheritance rights, if the father says it is his. But the second wife does not have this right. How does divorce work? Is the triple talaq concept valid? No. Divorce is a totally legal process. It is easy with both sides having equal rights to divorce and both sides can have `no fault' divorce. On grounds of incompatibility... Yes. But we have very few divorces in Turkey. Hardly 2 per cent. And the woman can get divorce easily... Yes. But the problem now is that you have no money so what do you do with divorce? What about alimony? She can get it but it is meagre. Now they are trying to introduce a new civil code, where a divorced woman will get half the property. It is under discussion in Parliament. What about the representation of women in politics? Very little. We have hardly four per cent women in politics. And women ministers? None at the moment. That is a shame. Yildirim, K., Development and Survival Strategies, JWE (2009, No. 3-4, 88-105) 103 We had, once upon a time... in fact, we also had a woman prime minister. The main problem is that women themselves do not want to get into politics because they feel they cannot compete with men in terms of time and money. And men do not want women in po litics. Feminist organisations in Turkey have tried, though unsuccessfully, to have a quota for women. How strong is the women's movement in Turkey? It was very strong until a few years ago. Then why and how did it become diluted? In conclusion The majority of women are not interested in the feminist movement as they did not have the means to address a wider public. Also, they did not want to make it more radical because that would alienate the masses even more. So they w ere caught between two things. It is an internal crisis. Conclusion Appointing women to public office may be a good way to set a model in Jordan it looks that "jordanian women are taking positions of authority, they can do it and there is nothing wrong with it." Although this is just one of many reforms King Abdullah is initiating, critics say a number still concentrate power in the hands of the king and do not go far enough. Another problem is they have not caught on at the grassroots level. Turkish women are not as alone on the road to female independence. Turkish women typically have a close knit family structure and a greater closeness among their friends and neighbors. However, "Men generally dont’t like to be ruled and managed by women" Turkish working woman is able to overcome much more easily the "many daily small or large challenges that a European woman faces mostly alone." On the other hand, women in Turkey are fearful of becoming an Iranian example. And in the end, they fear in unison of going down the "slippery slope," of which there is no return. "so- called modern Kemalist Turkish women generally tend to fight tooth and nail not to lose their basic freedoms and liberties they have enjoyed all their lives." Education and financial independence are of top priority along the road to women being able to assert what is written as their rights in the Turkish system but most Journal of Women's Entrepreneurship and Education (2009, No. 3-4, 88-105) 104 of the women are not well trained. There are three groups in the hub of Turkish Islamic women. One group consisting of migrants who move to larger cities and have difficulty assimilating. Therefore, by hanging onto the hope that utopic Islamic times could be replicated, then those women who are highly educated and are disgusted by the moral corruption of what they see as the Western societies and ruling elite. They also consider women to be promiscuous and lacking family values. Those in this group isolate themselves with Islam. And then the third is of women wanting to fit into the modern lifestyle, but cannot for one reason or another and "in total humiliation" turn to Islam. Efforts by Islamist parties to deprive women of their rights to vote, to education and to other civil rights are real, the dangers posed to modernity and what it has done for women by fundamentalist Islam are real, and they are most frightening for Muslim women." In short I believe one of the main problems facing the Islamic world today stems from the unchallenged authority of a few men believing they know the absolute truth." So the women can not develop herself while man believes his own truth . Reference The Washington Institute for Near East Policy-King Hussein's Strategy of Survival 2008 Zoraida Portillo - Migration of women is a survival strategy-What factors attract foreign direct investment? Culture, leadership, and power: the keys to organizational change - includes... Globalisation and the Development of Underdevelopment of the Third World Guler Sabanci in German Press - Pres Release 17 Feb 2008 - Handelsblatt: “Most Successful Woman in Turkish Economy of Today” - Analysts’ View: “She Is the Very Right Person” Fadime Coban - The 30 most powerfull women in the Turkish Business Community Arturo Escobar: Encountering Development: The Making and Unmaking of the Third World, Princeton University Press 1995. Gilbert Rist, The History of Development: From Western Origins to Global Faith, Expanded Edition, London: Zed Books, 2003. Wolfgang Sachs -The Development Dictionary: A Guide to Knowledge as Power, ed. London: Zed Books, 1992. Mohandas Gandhi: Hind Swaraj (1909) Ivan Illich: Tools for Conviviality (1973) Henry Thoreau: Walden (1854) [Post-Development Reader] (Zed Books, ed.Majid Rahnema, 1997). Yildirim, K., Development and Survival Strategies, JWE (2009, No. 3-4, 88-105) 105 Helena Smith –The 30 Most Powerful Women In The Turkish Business The Observer, Sunday September 17, 2006 Article history Received: March 2009 Article history: Accepted: July 2009