Access to Employment for Underrepresented Groups

Sakarya University (SAU) strengthens equitable access to employment, professional development, and career progression for under-represented and structurally disadvantaged groups, including individuals with disabilities, women, low-income students, international and refugee-background learners, and minority identities. This institutional commitment is grounded in a publicly articulated anti-discrimination policy, a binding ethical code, and a national legal framework that collectively guarantee equal opportunity, non-discriminatory recruitment, and protected access to advancement pathways.

SAU’s Measures Against Discrimination policy explicitly states that no individual may be treated differently on the basis of gender, disability, ethnicity, religion, language, nationality, or socio-economic background, while affirming positive action (affirmative support) where structural inequalities exist. These guarantees are reinforced by Higher Education Institutions’ Ethical Behaviour Principles and the Higher Education Personnel Law No. 2914, which together establish institutional obligations for fairness, impartiality, confidentiality, and protection of rights across student and staff recruitment. The SAU Ethics Board operationalizes these principles, providing governance oversight and misconduct review mechanisms, while the Quality Management Complaint Portal and Security Hotline offer secure, protected reporting channels for discrimination and harassment concerns.

Aligned with these frameworks, SAU implemented targeted outreach and empowerment programs in 2024 to expand employment access and participation among historically under-represented groups:

• Careers Beyond Barriers – Disability Employment (6 December 2024): A major inclusive employment forum featuring leading national employers (including UNICEF, AstraZeneca, Garanti BBVA, Enerjisa, and L’Oréal Türkiye), with live sign-language interpretation and disability-inclusive recruitment showcases.
• Women Leaders in Management Panel (19 December 2024): A campus forum amplifying women’s leadership and representation in decision-making roles.
• Women in Business Micro-Credential Program (25 April 2024): A structured career empowerment pathway supporting women’s professional advancement.
• Barrier-Free Summer Education Initiative (12 August 2024) and Barrier-Free Unit Representatives Meeting (6 November 2024): System-level coordination and accessibility improvements supporting students with disabilities.
• Violence Prevention Strategies Workshop (29 November 2024): A campus-wide awareness initiative promoting gender equality and safe participation environments.
• Career Psychological Counselling Services: Continuous access to individualized employability support, mentoring, and confidence-building guidance.
• AA+ New Graduate Career Program: Dissemination of inclusive career transition opportunities for graduating students.

Monitoring and accountability are ensured through transparent institutional data systems, including the 2024 Administrative Activity Report, which documents student employment support indicators and outreach engagement levels. These reporting tools demonstrate that inclusion is not only conceptual but measured, evaluated, and continuously strengthened.

Taken together, these policies, legal commitments, support mechanisms, empowerment programs, and structured partnerships show that SAU in 2024 actively improved equitable access to employment and professional development pathways, particularly for disadvantaged groups. The university’s practices reflect a systemic, sustained, and evidence-based approach to reducing inequalities, fully aligned with Reduced Inequalities framework.

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