Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI)
Focusing on Gender Equality in the Legal Sector: Empowering Women and Breaking Barriers
At Gen Temizer, we are deeply committed to gender equality within the legal profession. With 65% of our team identifying as female or LGBTQ+, we recognise the importance of fostering an environment where all individuals, regardless of gender identity, have equal opportunities to thrive.
Despite progress, women continue to face systemic challenges, not least in the form of the infamous ‘glass ceiling’ that inhibits their advancement to senior management and partnership roles. At our firm, we prioritise smashing these barriers by actively promoting women to leadership roles to serve as an example for the legal sector and beyond. Through mentorship, professional development initiatives and a culture of inclusivity, we aim to create pathways for women to ascend to positions of influence and shape the future of our firm and the legal industry as a whole.
We give utmost importance to securing gender equality; prevention and prohibition of discriminative behaviour; and development of neutral and transparent work policies. With great effort, we established a strong DEI mechanism which we ensure is updated and applied by all. Our employees are regularly briefed on the Initiative.
Gender-Sensitive Recruitment Interview Guide/Handbook
These guidelines, adopted by our HR department, aim to ensure that the evaluation of candidates during recruitment is based solely on their skills, experience, and competencies. All employees involved in recruitment are responsible for acting according to the Handbook’s guidelines which are updated regularly.
We are committed to ensuring our employees work in an equal, safe, and inclusive environment at all times. We state our stance against any form of discrimination based on unique personal characteristics such as gender, race, or sexuality.
Diversity, Inclusion, and Gender Equality Policy
Prevention of Harassment and Violence in the Workplace Procedure
We ensure that our offline and office environment is free from all forms of harassment, discrimination and violence, and pledge to uphold our commitment to safety for all employees.
Acting in alignment with these policies, we have established an impartial committee solely responsible for the evaluation of complaints; conducting investigations into related incidents; and ensuring necessary confidentiality during the assessment process. The committee members include Gizem Esen and Orçun Horozoğlu with Irmak Seymen serving as a substitute member.
Establishing the Harassment and Violence Prevention and Ethics Committee
Attending Enterprise GC Türkiye 2023 Summit
Baran and other team members attended the Legal 500’s impactful Enterprise GC Türkiye 2023 summit where she moderated the panel, which was sponsored by our firm, titled "Cultivating Success: Empowering Excellence through Diversity and Inclusion."
Awarded with Advanced CEPS Certificate
We are proud to be the first Turkish law firm to receive TSKB's (Industrial Development Bank of Türkiye) Gender Equality Program Advanced Certificate (CEPS). The certification highlights our dedication to fostering gender equality within our corporate culture and demonstrates our commitment to driving meaningful change in the legal industry.
Participation in the '50:50 by 2030' Gender Project
We are honoured to participate in the '50:50 by 2030' Gender Project organised by the International Bar Association in collaboration with the LexisNexis Rule of Law Foundation. This initiative aims to address gender inequality in the legal sector and promote diversity. By collecting and analysing data from law firms, bar associations, and government agencies over an extended period, the project seeks to uncover the root causes of gender disparity in senior legal roles.
Moderating the first DEI Roundtable in Our Office
We proudly host client-facing Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) events as part of our collaboration with Legal 500. Our General Counsel D&I roundtable brought together Turkish thought leaders to foster discussion on the critical importance of diversity, equality, and inclusion in both the legal and corporate leadership realms.