Özet:

Local Equality Action Plans (LEAPs) are the key local documents and action plans to set the roadmap to ensure the equality of women and men at local level by strengthening and empowering women’s status. LEAPS are essential tools for the fight against gender inequality and increasing global poverty. The existing study is investigating the three LEAPs of Turkey and asking the following current and challenging questions: What role can local governments play in the fight against poverty and, more specifically, the gendered implications that arise from poverty at the local level? What strategies do local governments employ to combat the impact of poverty on women locally? Local equality plans are strategic plans that lay out how local governments will create equal opportunity structures in their cities and create more inclusive governance that addresses gender-based discrepancies. With the growing economic crisis in Turkey, the problem of poverty and the gender-based impact has become a new area of concern for local leaders. This problem is therefore addressed in many of the local equality plans of larger cities. This study will address how the cities of Istanbul, Izmir, and Ankara address poverty in their local equality plans, how they plan to combat women’s poverty and the key performance indicators they will utilize in measuring their performance in successfully combatting this issue. The study will also seek to determine the shortcomings of local governments in creating such strategic plans and will take a deeper look into gender aggregated data collection, gender awareness in local government structures and experience in the area of development plan creation.

Anahtar Kelimeler: