Capacitação das Mulheres, Liderança & Desenvolvimento Profissional em Istambul

Visão geral do programa

Women’s empowerment and leadership are now treated as core questions of institutional performance, not only of fairness. Organisations that recruit, develop and promote women effectively draw on a wider pool of talent, make better-informed decisions and serve their communities more fully. This programme in Istanbul combines gender-responsive leadership, professional development and practical tools for advancing women’s participation in public institutions, development projects and businesses.

Progress remains slow. The World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report 2025 finds that 68.8% of the global gender gap has been closed across 148 economies and estimates that full parity is about 123 years away at the current pace. UN data reported for SDG 5 show that women held 30% of management positions in 2023, only 2.4 percentage points more than in 2015.

The host country illustrates both the challenge and the policy response. Official statistics published by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) and UN Women show a labour force participation rate of 36.8% for women in 2024, compared with 72% for men. At the same time, Türkiye has adopted a Women’s Empowerment Strategy Document and Action Plan for 2024–2028, and the EBRD, the EU and the Turkish government have financed a dedicated Women in Business programme combining credit lines, advice and mentoring for women-led firms.

The programme is designed for women leaders and emerging leaders, and for the gender specialists, managers and safeguards staff who support them. It covers gender concepts and frameworks, leadership identity and style, communication and negotiation, economic empowerment and entrepreneurship, career development, mentoring and board readiness.

Each day ends with an applied exercise, and on the final day every participant presents a personal leadership development plan and one institutional action to advance women’s participation in her or his organisation.

O programa reforça a capacidade institucional em

• Gender equality concepts, terms and data
• International frameworks including SDG 5 and CEDAW
• Gender analysis of policies, projects and workplaces
• Gender-responsive leadership and management
• Leadership identity, values and personal vision
• Strategic communication and public speaking
• Negotiation and influencing skills
• Conflict management and difficult conversations
• Decision-making and problem-solving
• Advocacy, networking and coalition building
• Mentoring, sponsorship and coaching programmes
• Women’s economic empowerment and entrepreneurship
• Access to finance for women-led enterprises
• Career planning and professional development
• Board readiness and governance roles
• Prevention of and response to gender-based violence and harassment
• Work-life balance and wellbeing
• Monitoring progress with gender-disaggregated indicators

The programme respects participants’ different cultural and institutional contexts and focuses on practical steps that each organisation can adopt within its own rules.

The Growing Importance of Women’s Empowerment and Leadership

Gender gaps in leadership persist in every region. The WEF Global Gender Gap Report 2025 shows that the political empowerment gap is the widest of its four dimensions, with less than a quarter of it closed worldwide. As of January 2025, women held 27.2% of seats in national parliaments, according to the UN’s 2025 SDG 5 factsheet, and on the current trend it would take almost a century to reach parity in management roles.

Evidence on business performance adds to the case. An IFC study of more than 1,000 listed companies in China and six ASEAN countries found that firms with more than 30% women on their boards reported higher average returns on equity and assets than firms with all-male boards. The OECD SME and Entrepreneurship Outlook 2023 also notes that only 11% of women-led SMEs exported in 2022, against 19% of men-led SMEs, a gap that skills, networks and finance can help to narrow.

Governments and financiers are responding with strategies, quotas, credit lines and gender action plans. Türkiye’s 2024–2028 strategy sets five objectives covering education, health, the economy, leadership and decision-making, and environment and climate change. Turning such commitments into results depends on leaders, managers and specialists who can apply them in their own organisations.

As organizações precisam cada vez mais de profissionais capazes de:

• Explaining gender equality concepts accurately and constructively
• Applying SDG 5 and national gender strategies in practice
• Conducting gender analysis of policies, budgets and projects
• Leading teams in an inclusive, gender-responsive way
• Communicating with confidence to boards, ministers and the public
• Negotiating salaries, resources and project terms effectively
• Managing conflict and resistance to change
• Designing mentoring and sponsorship schemes
• Supporting women entrepreneurs to access finance and markets
• Preventing and responding to harassment and gender-based violence
• Building networks and coalitions for change
• Tracking progress with sex-disaggregated data

Strong women’s empowerment and leadership systems help organisations:

• Widen their talent pool and retain skilled staff
• Improve the quality and legitimacy of decisions
• Meet financier and government gender requirements
• Design services and projects that reach women and men equally
• Reduce the risk of harassment and its costs
• Strengthen governance through more diverse boards
• Support women-led enterprises in their value chains
• Report credibly on gender commitments

This programme connects personal leadership growth with institutional change. Organisations that want to identify priority skills before nominating staff can use Risalat’s free training needs assessment.

Who Should Attend This Women’s Leadership Training?

Este programa destina-se a:

• Women managers and heads of department in public institutions
• Women leaders in state-owned enterprises and companies
• Emerging women leaders preparing for senior roles
• Women entrepreneurs and business owners
• Gender officers, specialists and consultants
• Gender focal points in ministries and agencies
• Social safeguards and social development specialists
• Project and programme managers in development projects
• Human resources and diversity managers
• Members of boards and audit committees
• Staff of NGOs and women’s organisations
• Officials of intergovernmental and donor organisations
• Gender researchers and analysts
• Trainers and coaches working on leadership development

Men in management and HR roles who sponsor or support women’s advancement are also welcome, as institutional change depends on leadership from all staff.

Women’s Leadership Training Objectives

Upon successful completion of this Women’s Leadership Training, participants will be able to:

• Explain key gender equality concepts and the patterns behind gender gaps
• Apply SDG 5, CEDAW and national strategies to their own context
• Analyse how stereotypes and bias affect careers and decisions
• Define a personal leadership vision, values and style
• Communicate with clarity and presence in high-stakes settings
• Prepare and conduct principled negotiations
• Manage conflict and resistance constructively
• Use advocacy and networking to advance institutional goals
• Identify finance and support options for women-led enterprises
• Design a mentoring or sponsorship scheme for their organisation
• Recognise and respond appropriately to harassment and gender-based violence
• Prepare a personal leadership development plan with measurable milestones

Objectives are reviewed against each participant’s pre-assessment so that examples reflect the sectors and countries represented.

Conteúdo e estrutura do programa

Women’s Leadership Training Methodology

The programme uses a highly participatory and action-oriented approach. Participants share their own experience, test tools in a supportive group and adapt them to their organisations and cultural settings.

O programa combina:

• Apresentações breves de especialistas
• Case studies from published programmes and reports
• Cenários ilustrativos claramente identificados como tal
• Self-assessment and peer feedback
• Negotiation and communication simulations
• Role plays for difficult conversations
• Group work on gender analysis and data
• Personal reflection and journalling
• Peer coaching in small groups
• Guest perspectives on the host country’s gender profile, where available
• Action planning and presentation of commitments

The trainer gathers feedback at the end of each day and adjusts the next sessions. Discussions follow agreed ground rules on confidentiality and mutual respect.

Resultados esperados

Upon completion of this Women’s Leadership Training, participants will be able to:

• Lead with greater confidence and a clear personal vision
• Present data-based arguments for gender equality
• Negotiate more effectively for themselves and their teams
• Handle conflict and resistance constructively
• Contribute to gender action plans and strategies
• Support women entrepreneurs and women-led suppliers
• Design or improve a mentoring scheme
• Prepare for board and senior leadership roles
• Track progress using sex-disaggregated indicators

Participants leave with a personal leadership plan and an institutional action they have already tested with peers, together with follow-up guidance from Risalat.

Institutional Application of Women’s Leadership Training

Este programa ajuda as organizações a reforçar:

• Gender equality policies and action plans
• Recruitment and promotion practices
• Leadership pipelines and succession planning
• Mentoring and sponsorship schemes
• Board and committee composition
• Prevention of harassment and gender-based violence
• Family-friendly workplace policies
• Gender mainstreaming in projects and services
• Support for women-led enterprises
• Gender-disaggregated data and reporting
• Inclusive organisational culture

Os participantes regressam com ferramentas práticas para melhorar:

• Gender profile and data template
• Leadership self-assessment
• Negotiation preparation sheet
• Stakeholder and influence map
• Mentoring scheme design outline
• Gender action plan template
• Indicator set for tracking women’s participation
• Plano pessoal de desenvolvimento de liderança

Institutions can combine these tools with Risalat’s institutional capacity assessment to set a baseline before agreeing priorities.

Relevância regional e aplicação

Europa

UN Women and TurkStat data put the average share of women in EU national parliaments at 33.6% in 2024, well above many neighbouring countries but still short of parity. European institutions continue to use targets, transparency rules and leadership programmes to close the remaining gaps.

Middle East and Central Asia

Several economies in these regions have low female labour force participation alongside rising education levels among women. Development banks, including the EBRD, have supported women-led businesses through credit lines and advisory programmes, creating demand for leaders who can design and manage such initiatives.

África

Women are highly active in small enterprise and agriculture but under-represented in senior management and boards. Donor-financed projects increasingly include gender action plans and safeguards on gender-based violence, which require trained staff to implement.

Ásia

IFC research on listed companies in China and six ASEAN countries found that firms with more than 30% women on their boards recorded higher average returns than those with all-male boards, while nearly 40% of the ASEAN companies surveyed had no women directors.

Across all regions, the same skills matter: understanding the data, leading with confidence, negotiating effectively and building institutions that open doors for others.

Perfil do país anfitrião – Turquia

Istanbul is Türkiye’s largest city and its main commercial, financial and cultural centre, linking Europe and Asia across the Bosphorus. It hosts many national and international companies, banks, universities and civil society organisations, making it a practical and stimulating venue for a leadership programme.

Türkiye offers a frank benchmark for this topic. The WEF Global Gender Gap Report 2025 ranked it 135th of 148 economies with an overall score of 63.3%, and TurkStat data show that women’s labour force participation rises sharply with education, reaching 68.9% among women with higher education in 2023. The national Women’s Empowerment Strategy Document and Action Plan 2024–2028 and the EBRD, EU and government-backed Women in Business programme provide concrete reforms and financing models that participants can study.

Istanbul is served by two major international airports with direct flights to most regions. Many nationalities can obtain an electronic visa through Türkiye’s official e-Visa system, while others apply through a consulate. Risalat provides visa support letters and advice for every registered participant.

Women’s Leadership Training Deliverables

Participants receive a full package of preparation, learning resources and follow-up so the week in Istanbul translates into progress at work.

Antes do programa

• Avaliação prévia dos participantes
• Women’s Leadership Readiness Assessment
• Women’s Leadership Resource Pack
• Materiais de leitura preparatória
• Apoio e aconselhamento gratuitos em matéria de vistos
• Recolha no aeroporto e apoio de boas-vindas
• Alojamento com pequeno-almoço
• Jantar de boas-vindas e networking

Durante o programa

• Kit de formação Risalat (saco, garrafa, caneca, t-shirt, boné, capa de passaporte, canetas, bloco de notas, íman e porta-chaves)
• Comprehensive Women’s Leadership Training Manual
• Gender Profile and Data Template
• Leadership Self-Assessment Tool
• Ficha de preparação de negociações
• Stakeholder and Influence Map
• Mentoring Scheme Design Outline
• Gender Action Plan Template
• Workshops práticos e simulações
• Discussões de grupo e aprendizagem entre pares
• Almoço e pausas para café diários
• Acesso total às instalações do local de formação
• Mini tablet com materiais de aprendizagem digitais
• Visita de campo (quando aplicável)
• Passeio recreativo pela cidade

Depois do programa

• Certificado de Conclusão
• Prémio Risalat de Reconhecimento da Participação no Programa
• Materiais de referência pós-formação
• Plano Pessoal de Desenvolvimento de Liderança
• Institutional Action Commitment
• Peer Mentoring Network Contacts
• Apoio pós-formação e orientação de acompanhamento
• Relatório do programa

Institutions that want to develop a cohort of women leaders, or train gender focal points across a ministry or project, can request a tailored in-house version of this programme. Please request a proposal, or explore related courses in our programme categories.

Common Challenges in Women’s Empowerment and Leadership, And How This Training Helps

How can women leaders build confidence in male-dominated settings?

Day 2 works on leadership identity, presence and dealing with bias, and Day 3 gives participants practice in assertive communication and public speaking in a supportive group.

How can organisations move from gender commitments to measurable results?

Day 1 shows how to read gender data and choose indicators, and the Day 5 capstone asks each participant to define one institutional action with milestones and a way to report progress.

How can women negotiate more effectively for pay, promotion and resources?

The Day 3 negotiation simulation uses interest-based methods and a preparation sheet that participants can reuse before real negotiations.

How can institutions build a stronger pipeline of women leaders?

Day 5 covers career pathways, mentoring and sponsorship, and participants outline a mentoring scheme suited to their organisation’s size and rules.

How can women entrepreneurs gain better access to finance and markets?

Day 4 examines barriers to finance and exports, and the Türkiye Women in Business case shows how credit lines, advice and mentoring were combined to reach women-led firms.

How can workplaces prevent harassment and respond well when it happens?

Day 1 includes a session on gender-based violence and workplace harassment, covering prevention measures, reporting channels and survivor-centred responses.

How can women prepare for board and governance roles?

Day 5 explains board responsibilities, reviews evidence on gender-diverse boards from IFC research and helps participants plan the experience and networks they need.

Perguntas frequentes

Who should attend this women's leadership programme in Istanbul?

Women managers and emerging leaders, women entrepreneurs, gender officers and focal points, safeguards specialists, HR managers and project managers. Men who sponsor women's advancement are also welcome.

What topics does the programme cover?

Gender concepts and data, SDG 5 and national strategies, leadership identity, communication, negotiation, economic empowerment, mentoring, board readiness and prevention of harassment.

O programa utiliza material de casos reais?

Yes. It draws on published sources such as the WEF Global Gender Gap Report 2025, TurkStat and UN Women statistics and the EBRD Women in Business programme in Türkiye.

O que levarão os participantes para casa?

A personal leadership development plan, an institutional action commitment and templates for gender data, negotiation preparation, mentoring schemes and gender action plans.

Pode ser realizado internamente?

Yes. Risalat can tailor the programme for a ministry, agency, project or company, for example to build a cohort of women leaders or train gender focal points.

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