Women's Employment in Local Administrations: The Example of Mus Municipality

Abstract

In this study, it is aimed to analyse women's employment in local government institutions and the gender-based difficulties experienced by women working in municipalities. In this direction, purposive sampling method was preferred, and interviews were conducted with female employees of Mus Municipality. Data were collected by applying semi-structured interview technique and three themes were determined by analysing the data with content analysis method. Sub-themes were created for each theme. It has been determined that participations are generally satisfied with their employment, but they encounter some basic problems in their employment satisfaction and evaluation of their after-hours time. It has been observed that the women employed in the municipality are spiritually comfortable due to their profession, but they have financial problems and do not focus much on their personal development. Although women could not reach the level they wanted to spend time in social activities and for themselves, it was seen that there was progress in this area and moreover, they were supported by their spouses and relatives while doing housework. On the other hand, gender-based discrimination, external factors and marital status/parenting theme shows that one of the main problems women experience in their working life is to struggle with the gender-related behaviour and role expectations of the society they live in. Gender roles negatively affect women's business life and prevent them from benefiting from employment areas in the municipality as much as men.

In this study, it is aimed to analyse women's employment in local government institutions and the gender-based difficulties experienced by women working in municipalities. In this direction, purposive sampling method was preferred, and interviews were conducted with female employees of Mus Municipality. Data were collected by applying semi-structured interview technique and three themes were determined by analysing the data with content analysis method. Sub-themes were created for each theme. It has been determined that participations are generally satisfied with their employment, but they encounter some basic problems in their employment satisfaction and evaluation of their after-hours time. It has been observed that the women employed in the municipality are spiritually comfortable due to their profession, but they have financial problems and do not focus much on their personal development. Although women could not reach the level they wanted to spend time in social activities and for themselves, it was seen that there was progress in this area and moreover, they were supported by their spouses and relatives while doing housework. On the other hand, gender-based discrimination, external factors and marital status/parenting theme show that one of the main problems women experience in their working life is to struggle with the gender-related behaviour and role expectations of the society they live in. Gender roles negatively affect women's business life and prevent them from benefiting from employment areas in the municipality as much as men.