Pay Scale Gender Equity Monitoring Policy

Atatürk University | SDG 8 – Decent Work and Economic Growth | Indicator 8.2.7

Reporting Year: 2025

1. Policy Statement and Institutional Commitment

Atatürk University is committed to ensuring gender equality in remuneration and preventing unjustified differences in compensation between female and male employees.

As a public higher education institution, the University operates within Türkiye’s nationally regulated remuneration framework. Academic and administrative salaries are determined through statutory salary scales, employment classifications, professional ranks, seniority and legally established allowances.

Gender is not a legitimate factor in determining remuneration for equivalent work.

The University’s gender pay equity approach addresses two related dimensions:

1. Equal pay within comparable positions: Ensuring that employees performing equivalent work under comparable conditions are remunerated according to the same applicable rules, regardless of gender.
2. Monitoring differences in actual earnings: Examining whether women and men receive different average remuneration because of differences in academic rank, seniority, administrative appointments, additional teaching assignments or other compensation components.

This distinction is important because equal statutory salary scales do not automatically eliminate differences in average earnings across the workforce.

The University’s policy framework therefore supports the examination of pay scales and gender-disaggregated compensation data across relevant employment categories.

This commitment contributes to SDG 5 – Gender Equality and SDG 8 – Decent Work and Economic Growth.

2. Legal and Regulatory Framework

2.1. Constitution of the Republic of Türkiye

Article 10 of the Constitution establishes equality before the law and prohibits discrimination based on sex.

The principle of equality provides the legal foundation for fair treatment in public employment and remuneration.

2.2. Labour Law No. 4857

Article 5 of Labour Law No. 4857 establishes the principle of equal treatment in employment.

It prohibits gender-based discrimination and explicitly protects the principle of equal remuneration for the same work or work of equal value.

These provisions apply to employees covered by the Labour Law and provide an important legal safeguard against discriminatory wage practices.

Evidence: Turkish Labour Law No. 4857

2.3. Civil Servants Law No. 657

The remuneration of public-sector administrative personnel is governed by statutory provisions, including Civil Servants Law No. 657.

Relevant salary determinants include:

• Employment classification.
• Grade and step.
• Length of service.
• Applicable salary coefficients.
• Statutory allowances.
• Additional duties and entitlements.

These factors are established by law rather than determined through gender-specific institutional salary arrangements.

2.4. Higher Education Personnel Law No. 2914

Academic personnel remuneration is governed by Higher Education Personnel Law No. 2914 and related legislation.

The law regulates academic salary classifications, grades, additional indicators and applicable allowances.

Evidence: Ministry of Justice – Higher Education Personnel Law No. 2914

2.5. International Labour Standards

The University’s gender pay equity approach is consistent with the principles reflected in:

• ILO Convention No. 100: Equal Remuneration Convention.
• ILO Convention No. 111: Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention.

These conventions provide an international reference framework for equal remuneration and non-discrimination in employment.

3. Gender Equity in Academic Salary Scales

3.1. Standardised Academic Remuneration

Atatürk University’s academic salary framework follows nationally established rules.

Academic salaries are determined primarily by:

• Academic title.
• Grade and step.
• Seniority.
• Applicable salary coefficients.
• Statutory allowances.
• Additional academic or administrative responsibilities.

A female professor and a male professor with equivalent statutory employment characteristics are subject to the same base salary calculation rules.

Similarly, the same principle applies to associate professors, assistant professors, lecturers and research assistants.

3.2. Academic Staff Categories Monitored

The gender pay equity monitoring framework distinguishes between the following academic positions:

3.3. Academic Salary Scales in 2025

The University’s previously reported indicative academic salary figures provide a reference for examining the remuneration structure during 2025.

These indicative figures illustrate salary differences associated with academic position and grade.

They are not gender-disaggregated institutional payroll results and therefore cannot independently establish the size of any gender pay gap.

For gender equity assessment, female and male employees must be compared within equivalent salary classifications.

4. Gender Equity in Administrative and Technical Salaries

Administrative and technical personnel are included in the University’s gender pay equity framework.

Relevant employee groups include:

• Administrative officers.
• Technical personnel.
• Information technology staff.
• Financial and administrative support personnel.
• Other public-sector employees.

The monitoring approach considers the legal employment category, grade, step, seniority and applicable compensation components.

For example, two administrative employees of different genders who hold equivalent positions with the same statutory salary determinants should be subject to the same base remuneration rules.

Differences in total earnings may arise from legally recognised factors such as seniority, additional responsibilities or applicable allowances.

Such differences require examination before they can be interpreted as evidence of gender-related pay inequality.

5. Gender Equity Monitoring Methodology

Atatürk University’s policy framework identifies gender-disaggregated salary analysis as the appropriate method for evaluating compensation equity.

The methodology distinguishes between base salary equality and differences in total earnings.

5.1. Data Classification

The following information is relevant to gender pay equity monitoring:

• Gender.
• Employment category.
• Academic or administrative title.
• Grade and step.
• Length of service.
• Employment status.
• Base salary.
• Additional allowances.
• Administrative duty payments.
• Additional teaching remuneration.
• Other applicable compensation components.

5.2. Comparison Within Equivalent Positions

The first stage compares employees within the same or equivalent salary classifications.

For academic personnel, comparisons are made within academic rank and relevant grade or seniority groups.

For administrative personnel, comparisons are made within comparable employment classifications and statutory salary levels.

This approach helps distinguish potential gender-related differences from differences arising from the legal salary structure.

5.3. Mean Gender Pay Gap

The mean gender pay gap may be calculated as:

Gender Pay Gap (%) = [(Average Male Salary − Average Female Salary) / Average Male Salary] × 100

A positive result indicates that the average salary of male employees is higher than that of female employees within the population being examined.

A negative result indicates the reverse.

The calculation should be performed separately for relevant employee groups and remuneration components.

5.4. Median Gender Pay Gap

The median gender pay gap compares the median salaries of female and male employees.

Median analysis is useful because it is less sensitive to exceptionally high or low individual payments.

5.5. Adjusted Gender Pay Gap

A more detailed assessment can account for legitimate salary determinants, including:

• Academic rank.
• Employment grade.
• Seniority.
• Administrative responsibilities.
• Additional teaching assignments.
• Employment status.

An adjusted comparison helps identify differences that remain after accounting for these factors.

5.6. Salary Distribution Analysis

Gender equity monitoring may also examine the distribution of women and men across salary ranges.

Relevant indicators include:

• Percentage of women in higher salary categories.
• Percentage of women in lower salary categories.
• Gender distribution by academic rank.
• Gender distribution in administrative leadership.
• Differences in additional compensation.

These indicators can identify structural patterns that are not visible through a comparison of base salaries alone.

6. Gender Pay Equity Monitoring Indicators

The following indicators form the University’s analytical framework for pay equity assessment.

These indicators provide a structured basis for institutional reporting and future monitoring improvements.

7. Institutional Responsibilities

7.1. Personnel Administration

The University’s personnel administration functions are relevant to:

• Maintaining employee classification records.
• Managing employment status information.
• Recording academic and administrative appointments.
• Supporting the verification of grade and seniority information.
• Providing relevant personnel data for authorised institutional analysis.

7.2. Financial and Payroll Administration

The University’s financial and payroll functions are responsible for administering remuneration under applicable legislation.

Their records provide the principal source for examining:

• Base salary payments.
• Statutory allowances.
• Additional remuneration.
• Payroll calculations.
• Relevant payment classifications.

7.3. Big Data Management Office

The Big Data Management Office provides an institutional basis for supporting data-driven analysis and reporting.

Within the gender pay equity framework, relevant analytical functions include:

• Integrating authorised personnel and payroll data.
• Producing gender-disaggregated summaries.
• Comparing compensation across employee categories.
• Developing statistical indicators.
• Visualising salary distributions.
• Supporting institutional monitoring and management reporting.

These functions describe the Office’s potential analytical contribution to pay equity monitoring. Completion of a specific 2025 gender pay audit or operational payroll dashboard should be established through the corresponding institutional records.

7.4. University Management

University management is responsible for ensuring that employment and remuneration practices comply with applicable legislation.

Where potential discrepancies are identified, the relevant administrative units can examine their causes and determine whether corrective action is required.

8. Identification and Assessment of Gender Pay Differences

8.1. Initial Screening

The first stage of monitoring involves identifying differences in mean or median remuneration between female and male employees.

Comparisons should be conducted separately for:

• Academic personnel.
• Administrative personnel.
• Technical and support personnel.
• Other relevant employment categories.

8.2. Examination of Salary Determinants

When a difference is identified, the analysis should consider whether it can be explained by:

• Employment classification.
• Academic rank.
• Grade or step.
• Length of service.
• Additional duties.
• Statutory allowances.
• Supplementary payments.

8.3. Identification of Unexplained Differences

A difference that remains after considering relevant salary determinants may require further administrative examination.

Such differences should not automatically be classified as unlawful discrimination without reviewing the applicable legal and employment circumstances.

8.4. Corrective Action

Where an unlawful or unjustified discrepancy is confirmed, the appropriate institutional response may include:

• Reviewing payroll calculations.
• Correcting administrative errors.
• Examining relevant employment decisions.
• Applying the appropriate statutory remedy.
• Reviewing the effectiveness of corrective measures.

Corrective action must be consistent with public-sector remuneration legislation.

9. Gender Equity and Additional Payments

Although statutory base salary rules are standardised, total remuneration may include additional payments.

For academic staff, these may include:

• Additional teaching payments.
• Academic incentive payments.
• Administrative duty allowances.
• Development allowances.
• Other legally established entitlements.

Differences in access to additional duties or eligibility for supplementary payments can affect average earnings.

Accordingly, gender pay equity assessment should examine both base salary and total remuneration.

For example, a gender difference in average academic earnings may reflect unequal representation in higher academic ranks or different distributions of additional teaching assignments.

These patterns require separate analysis and should not be confused with differences in the statutory salary scale for an equivalent position.

10. Data Protection and Confidentiality

Gender pay equity monitoring involves sensitive employment and remuneration information.

Atatürk University recognises the importance of processing such data in accordance with Personal Data Protection Law No. 6698 (KVKK) and relevant institutional data protection requirements.

Appropriate safeguards include:

• Restricting access to authorised personnel.
• Using aggregated data for institutional reporting.
• Removing direct personal identifiers from analytical outputs where appropriate.
• Limiting data processing to legitimate institutional purposes.
• Protecting confidential payroll records.

Public reporting should focus on aggregate indicators rather than identifiable individual salary information.

Evidence: Atatürk University – Personal Data Protection

11. Transparency and Institutional Reporting

Gender pay equity monitoring supports transparency and evidence-based institutional management.

Relevant reporting outputs may include:

• Gender-disaggregated salary summaries.
• Academic rank comparisons.
• Administrative staff remuneration comparisons.
• Salary distribution charts.
• Adjusted pay gap analysis.
• Trends across reporting periods.
• Records of investigated discrepancies.

The University’s sustainability reporting framework provides an appropriate channel for communicating verified aggregate findings.

Any published numerical gender pay gap should be calculated from the University’s actual payroll data for the relevant reporting year.

12. National and International Context

12.1. International Labour Organization

The International Labour Organization identifies gender-related differences in earnings as an important labour market issue.

ILO research provides a methodological basis for examining gender pay gaps and distinguishing between observed earnings differences and their underlying causes.

Evidence: International Labour Organization – Gender Wage Gap Research in Türkiye

12.2. Turkish Statistical Institute

The Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK) publishes national statistics concerning employment, earnings and gender equality.

These data provide broader context for interpreting gender differences in remuneration.

Evidence: Turkish Statistical Institute

12.3. Higher Education Context

Gender representation across academic ranks is relevant to remuneration analysis because academic rank is a principal determinant of statutory salary levels.

An institution may apply identical salary rules to female and male employees within each academic rank while still displaying differences in average earnings because women and men are distributed differently across ranks.

Consequently, gender pay equity monitoring should consider both within-rank remuneration and the overall structure of academic employment.

13. Evidence Framework for the 2025 Reporting Year

The legal framework establishes equal remuneration obligations. Evidence of actual measurement and tracking requires gender-disaggregated institutional payroll analysis.

14. Contribution to SDG 8 – Decent Work and Economic Growth

Atatürk University recognises equal remuneration for equivalent work as an essential component of fair employment.

The University’s academic and administrative salary structures are governed by nationally established legislation, including Civil Servants Law No. 657 and Higher Education Personnel Law No. 2914.

Gender-based wage discrimination is prohibited under the applicable legal framework, including Article 5 of Labour Law No. 4857.

The University’s gender pay equity monitoring framework considers remuneration differences across academic ranks, administrative classifications, seniority levels and additional payment categories.

By distinguishing statutory salary equality from differences in actual earnings, this framework supports a more accurate assessment of gender equity in compensation.

The involvement of personnel, payroll and institutional data analysis functions provides a basis for gender-disaggregated monitoring, investigation of unexplained differences and evidence-based reporting.

Through its commitment to equal remuneration and systematic assessment of pay differences, Atatürk University supports SDG 8 – Decent Work and Economic Growth, Indicator 8.2.7: Measurement and Tracking of Pay Scale Gender Equity, while contributing to SDG 5 – Gender Equality.