The geography of women employment and regional convergence

The development of lagging regions and the reduction of income differences between regions have been discussed both in the world and in Turkey for many years. So much so that minimizing regional differences is used as an indicator of development. This study has a framework that addresses regional differentiation in Turkey through the phenomenon of underemployment. A situation where labor is not in the production process in a region is defined as underemployment. In this sense, income level of regions is also directly related to whether they can use their current potential. In this study, regional differences in terms of the proportion of women in total employment will be illustrated and it will be revealed whether there is any convergence in this sense. In this regard, we used the insured numbers for the period covering 2008 2019. As a result of the analysis, it is found that the proportion of women employment in Turkey is rising steadily. The steady rising give rise to that certain regions tend to converge, some regions diverge, and some regions stable. Accelerating convergence can occur based on regional and gender-based policies. This, in turn, is important in terms of ensuring economic progress and reducing regional differences.