Zorlu Enerji Elektrik Üretim : Brings The Future Female Technicians Into The Industry

Press Release ______ December 2022

"Power of Women, Power of Future Program" rolls out from Gaziantep

ZORLU ENERJİ BRINGS THE FUTURE FEMALE TECHNICIANS INTO THE INDUSTRY

Zorlu Enerji operates with its vision of becoming the energy company of the future, "An Equal Life" approach, and a sustainability strategy focusing on "Human and Culture." To increase female employment in the industry's technical fields, Zorlu Enerji launched the "Power of Women, Power of Future Program" in Gaziantep, one of the company's operating areas. The program aims to train future female technicians.

In line with its 'Smart Life 2030' sustainability approach, Zorlu Enerji considers diversity and inclusion as basic needs for an innovative and creative business culture. Accordingly, the company maintains its operations to improve female employment in the energy sector, where female employees are less represented than in many other sectors.

Focusing on providing equality of opportunity to ensure sustainability in business life, Zorlu Enerji considers internal discourse, an egalitarian business environment, and collaborations for women -a vital pillar of society. Collaborating with its stakeholders and initiating essential partnerships, Zorlu Enerji launched the Power of Women, Power of Future Program in Gaziantep, one of the company's operating areas, to train future female technicians to increase female employment in technical areas in the energy sector.

Gaziantep University Vice Rector Prof. Dr. Recep Yumrutaş, Gaziantep Provincial National Education Deputy Director İbrahim Necip Kafadar, Zorlu Enerji General Manager Responsible for Gas and Electricity Distribution Fuat Celepci, Zorlu Enerji Human Resources Assistant General Manager Serpil Köşker, and female students attended the launch meeting of the program carried out by Zorlu Enerji and Gaziantep Provincial Directorate of National Education and Gaziantep University.

Within the scope of the training program, future female technician candidates studying in the technical departments of vocational high schools will take theoretical and field practice courses for 8 months, and candidates continuing their education in vocational schools will be trained for 2 months. Also, female participants of technical seminars will be provided with mentoring support within the program's scope to prepare them for the business world.

"The development index of countries improves with the participation of women in business"

Zorlu Enerji General Manager Responsible for Electricity and Gas Distribution Operations Fuat Celepci, made a speech at the launch meeting of the Power of Women, Power of Future Program. He stated: "According to the Turkish Statistical Institute's 2022 data, only 10 million of our 33 million working-age women in our country are working. Thus, at Zorlu Enerji, we started this project to increase women's employment. We know that the development index of countries improves with the participation of women in business. Therefore, we take ensuring Gender Equality, strengthening the position of women, and ensuring sustainability in business life at the heart of our priorities. As part of our efforts to make Gender Equality a corporate culture, we say providing 'An Equal Life for All' is possible. We continue to work to ensure that our discourse is not sexist, workspace conditions become more egalitarian, and new practices are implemented. And we continue cooperating with civil society, academics, and the business world on these issues. Our 'Power of Women, Power of Future Program' we have implemented with the support of the Provincial Directorate of National Education and Gaziantep University, is of great importance not only on behalf of our company but also because of its contributions to ensuring Gender Equality in the energy sector. We will bring future female technicians into the sector with these programs we conduct to touch the lives of more women in all areas of our business operations. With our program started today with 25 women, we aim to increase this number every year and raise awareness of equal opportunities in the sector."

We took responsibility for empowering women"

Zorlu Enerji Human Resources Director Serpil Köşker stated that they were sensitive about employing women to combat sectoral prejudices and strengthen women's position in the business. She added: "We cooperated with many institutions, including WING (Women in Geothermal), TWRE (Turkish Women in Renewable Energy), EBRD (European Bank for Reconstruction and Development), and signed many programs together to promote Gender Equality and the empowerment of women in business life and society. We support female engineers within the scope of the mentorship program we initiated for industry professionals. We especially promote women in our sector who want to work in this field with counseling programs. We are glad to ensure equality of opportunity, among today's most important problems in the energy sector, where female employees are less represented than in other sectors. In line with our vision of becoming the energy company of the future, we prioritized diversity in our management to become a successful company, and we took responsibility for empowering women in our sector. We take the equality of opportunity that we try to provide to women, the key to social development, as a vital area in career management."