Arçelik's Global Initiative to Empower Women in STEM Welcomes its First Cohort

ISTANBUL, July 4, 2022 /PRNewswire/ --  Arçelik, the global household appliance manufacturer, expanded the coverage of its WE-inTech programme works to ensure gender equality in technology and innovation, and welcomed its first cohort of students to its inaugural WE-inTech programme from Turkey, Romania, South Africa and Pakistan.

Nihat Bayız (Chief Production & Technology Officer, Arçelik)

Arçelik officially welcomed 45 women to a year-long programme to empower and support their career progression in the STEM industry. The programme kicked off with a three-day workshop, focusing on guided coaching to prepare women for a career in various STEM areas, providing access to industry experts for insight and mentorship, and supporting participants' professional development in technology and innovation. The scheme is being delivered together with Arçelik's subsidiary companies Arctic (Romania), Dawlance (Pakistan) and Defy (South Africa).

Earlier this year, Arçelik, along with other Koç Group companies renewed its commitment to gender equality in technology and innovation and announced ambitious goals to increase the number of women working in STEM areas. Arçelik has been supporting women's empowerment in STEM through the 'We-inTech' programme, which has been running locally in Turkey as 'You are an Engineer, You are with Us' since 2019. As part of its Action Coalition commitments, Arçelik expanded the programme's coverage to reach out to young women engineers in Romania, Pakistan and South Africa.  

Nihat Bayız, Chief Production & Technology Officer of Arçelik, commented: "Arçelik is committed to empowering women in technology and innovation. Our We-inTech programme supports women currently pursuing an education in STEM, to not only support the career development but also to ensure their full and effective participation in their related educational background."

Additionally, he said: "We share a collective vision to driving real change when it comes to gender equality in the STEM field which is a man-dominated area. It is in service of this vision that we have become a supporter of the Action Coalition platform and committed to advancing gender equality in the fields of technology and innovation, in cooperation with the UN Women's Generation Equality Forum. We know that we have to offer a programme not only supports their education but opens a field to ensure their career start. Following the positive impact, we decided to expand our 3 years old programme, thus, we aim to reach out to young women engineers globally starting with Romania, Pakistan and South Africa. We believe that our leading brands in these countries will help us to support the career progression of young women in STEM."

The WE-inTech programme is aimed at women who are currently in their third or final year of undergraduate studies in STEM areas. The programme structure consists of three full days of workshops, mentoring sessions, and networking events.

During these three days, attendees met industry experts and researchers from all over the world, as well as teams from Arçelik, Arctic, Defy and Dawlance. During the one-year program, participants will also be able to work on ongoing projects, in addition to receiving technical and career development training, mentorship and support within the scope of their mentorship program.

For more information, please visit: We-inTech.

Note to Editors:

About Arçelik

With over 40,000 employees throughout the world, Arçelik's global operations include subsidiaries in 52 countries, and 28 production facilities in 9 countries and 12 brands (Arçelik, Beko, Grundig, Blomberg, ElektraBregenz, Arctic, Leisure, Flavel, Defy, Altus, Dawlance, Voltas Beko). As Europe's second-largest white goods company by market share (based on volumes), Arçelik reached a consolidated turnover of 6.5 billion Euros in 2021. Arçelik's 28 R&D and Design Centers & Offices across the globe, are home to over 2,200 researchers and hold more than 3,000 international patent applications to date. In 2021, Arçelik achieved the highest score in the DHP Household Durables category for the 3rd year in a row in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index of the S&P Global Corporate Sustainability Assessment. Through its leadership position in sustainability and credible decarbonization roadmap for achieving net zero, Arçelik became the first and only company from its industry to receive the Terra Carta Seal by HRH Prince of Wales. Arçelik's mission is 'Respecting the World, Respected Worldwide.'

www.arcelikglobal.com