Diversity

Women directors

Of a total of 245 board members in the BIST 30, 201 are male and 44 are female (18%). During the period under review, the cohort of women board members increased by six (from 38 in 2023). Overall, proportions are little changed — in 2024 men occupy 82% of board seats, from 83% in 2023. 19% of the women in the BIST 30 boards are also family members.

Data suggests that there has been a promising increase in the proportion of women in the BIST 30 companies. In the past 10 years, the female share of BIST 30 board seats has grown by almost 10%. In 2014, only 9% of board members were female, of whom 52% were family members.

However, when looking at our five-year analysis of trends from 2019 onwards, it becomes clear that the proportion of female representation on BIST 30 boards has in fact fallen slightly, from 18.5% in 2019 to 17.9% in 2024.

Even so, the proportion of women in BIST 30 boards is moving slightly closer to achieving the non-mandatory minimum target of 25% female representation required under the country’s Corporate Governance Principles (CGP). However, the proportion remains low from a European perspective.

Female representation by role

Foreign directors

We define foreign directors as having a nationality that differs from that of the company.

Foreign directors account for 9% of BIST 30 board members (22 out of 245), a proportion that has fallen from 14% (36 out of 252) in 2023.

The share of foreign board members has been shrinking for some years. In 2019, 17.8% of directors were foreign, compared with 17.1% in 2017 and 15% in 2014.

We note that some foreign board directors may have only limited experience in emerging markets such as Turkey. In order to improve governance, some companies prefer to appoint directors from countries where levels of investor protection are greater than they are in Turkey.

It should be noted, however, that the logistical issues for non-resident foreign directors themselves are considerable, given not only travel time but also the sheer number of meetings convened by many Turkish boards.

Boardroom diversity (Top 5 companies in the BIST 30)