ŞOK Marketler attaches great importance to its goal of developing the communities in which it operates and contributing to Turkey’s sustainable growth in every possible field. As per this goal, one of the main issues the Company focuses on is ensuring equal opportunities for women. The number of female employees at ŞOK Marketler, one of the companies with the highest number of employees in Turkey, increases every year. In 2023, 54% of the Company’s employees were consisting of females.

Aware of the importance of women’s economic empowerment by participating in production and employment for social welfare, ŞOK Marketler has been developing projects in this field for a long time. The “Count Me In” social responsibility project, which was first launched in 2019 to add value to women’s labor, was designed to offer the cloth bags produced by housewives for sale in stores and give the resulting income to them. In 2023, the scope of the project was further expanded, and after negotiations with women’s cooperatives from different parts of Turkey, various handmade products supplied from these cooperatives were offered for sale in selected ŞOK stores. This project aims to provide economic support to women.

In the selection of products to be offered for sale within the scope of the “Count Me In” project, local and geographically indicated products and various products produced by women are given priority. Nevertheless, it is important that the products meet quality and sustainability criteria.

The cooperatives from which products were procured included cooperatives from the regions affected by the earthquake disaster that deeply saddened the entire country in February 2023. In this way, ŞOK Marketler has not only continued its support to the region since the first day of the disaster, but also contributed to the economic re-development of the region and healing the wounds.