Turkey's Arcelik awarded for gender equality project

By Gokhan Yildiz

ISTANBUL

Turkish consumer goods manufacturer Arcelik was honored with two prestigious international awards Thursday for its project promoting gender equality.

Equal Dictionary -- a project launched in 2018 to raise awareness about gender equality -- received Golden World Award of International Public Relations Association (IPRA) in corporate responsibility category.

The projects also won the Silver Stevie award under the category of "Corporate Social Responsibility Program of the Year in Europe" at the 2018 International Business Awards.

The awards are among most prestigious awards in public relations and business world.

A keyboard application available on computers and mobile devices, the dictionary warns users about sexist expressions and suggests alternatives, preventing any slip of the tongues or blunders.

Zeynep Ozbil, the corporate communications director, said: "We believe we should avoid using sexist language to achieve gender equality in communication. Equal Dictionary raises awareness of this issue and offers a solution through using technology.”

Arcelik reached 20 million people through the activities on digital channels as part of the project, Ozbil said.

The application has nearly 20,000 users in Turkey, she said, adding: “The number of expressions on the Equal Dictionary's database increased by 20 percent with the suggestions of users.”

Arcelik introduced the project on International Women's Day in an effort to avoid sexist and discriminatory expressions.