Istanbul, March 7 () - Sabancı Holding Chairwoman Güler Sabancı urged that women demand "equality" not "privilege", while underlining "women's participation to business life is not a preference, privilege or a matter of equality, but it is an 'obligation' to lead the country to success".

"It is an accurate business decision to ensure women's participation to business life" Sabancı said.

"I consider this day as an opportunity to remember once again the importance of women who shape every part of life, beyond celebrating this day" Güler Sabancı added in her message released ahead of the March 8 International Working Women's Day

According to Güler Sabancı, although women's participation to business life has risen, "we should not see this participation as consisting of numbers only". Thus, the quality of their contribution and their added-value should not be ignored within the success of business, she said.

Having referred to researches conducted by Fortune and Credit Suisse, Sabancı said that companies that bring gender into balance as well as companies with more female managers show greater performance and build-up more quickly, compared to others. Decisions of acquisition are 70 percent made by women in the European Union, while this number reaches 80 percent in the United States, she added in her message.

Therefore, "We cannot speak of economic development by not including women", Güler Sabancı stressed.

"We do not want privilege, we want equality"

"As we always say, we do not want privilege; we want 'equality'" said Sabancı, adding that women should be assessed "depending on their qualities, skills and capacities, in an equal manner".

According to World Economic Forum Gender Inequality Report, only 13 percent of women work in top-level positions in Turkey, reiterated Güler Sabancı, calling on for fast reforms “expected for a better future in every domains”, in a bid to “uncover women's potential”.

Women employers make 38.5 percent of the Sabancı Group, she said, defining the institution as a "model" and "leader" regarding gender equality.

Güler Sabancı urged on the need for a "transformation of mentality" to solve women's problems.

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