AKRA HOTELS CROWNED ITS EFFORTS IN THE FIELD OF EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES WITH KAGİDER'S FEM CERTIFICATE

Akra Hotels, one of Turkey's leading hotel management groups, has been awarded the "Equal Opportunity Model" (FEM) certificate by KAGİDER (Women Entrepreneurs Association of Turkey) for its human resources practices that support the employment of women and provide equal opportunities for women in all areas of business life.

KAGİDER, with the technical support of the World Bank, PricewaterhouseCoopers and EY, has developed the FEM (Female Equality Model) certification program to promote gender equality in business and increase women's productivity. Akra Hotels also took its place among the companies entitled to FEM certification.

Akra Hotels, which holds the title of Great Place To Work® Turkey's Best Employer™ and is one of the signatories of the United Nations Women's Empowerment Principles (WEPs), stands out for its equal opportunity practices in areas such as recruitment, training, career development, talent management, feedback monitoring and policies to support women's employment.

In cooperation with KAGİDER, Akra Hotels has received the Equal Opportunity Certificate and has registered in the eyes of the national and international public opinion that it is sensitive to gender equality and women's empowerment in employment with its structure, actions and employment facts.

BHM Board Members Ali Ramiz Barut and Sinan Barut, Group Human Values Director İbrahim Hakan Yılmaz, Group Brand and Business Development Director Özgür Balta, Group Sales Director Okşan Esmen, Group Revenue Manager Müzeyyen Özsözgün, Akra Fethiye and Akra Fethiye The Residence General Manager Aslıhan Atıl, Assistant Group Marketing Manager Ebru Ertek Sezer, KAGİDER President Esra Bezircioğlu, KAGİDER Board Members Neşecan Çekici, Özlem Derici Duyarlar, Secretary General Yeşim Seviğ, Corporate Relations Manager Aylin Dinler attended the certificate delivery ceremony held at the Istanbul Head Office of the Women Entrepreneurs Association of Turkey.

Akra Hotels became the 55th company in Turkey and the first in the tourism sector to receive the Equal Opportunity Model (FEM) Certificate.

Esra Bezircioğlu, President of KAGİDER, began her speech at the certificate ceremony by saying: "Every company that receives FEM certification gives us hope for a more equal world." In her speech, she congratulated Akra Hotels and thanked them for their practices that provide equal opportunities for women in business life.

Bezircioğlu continued her remarks as follows: "Our dream is to reach a world where women and men are equally represented and have equal opportunities in all areas of life. For this to happen, both companies and we have a lot of work to do. The more human resource practices of companies and institutions that support the employment of women and provide equal

opportunities for women in business, the more we hope to achieve a more equal world. We would like to thank Akra Hotels for setting an example for other organizations by crowning its efforts in this area with the FEM certificate. I hope that more companies will join this process in the coming days and be entitled to receive the FEM certification".

KAGİDER Board Member Neşecan Çekici stated that the FEM Certificate Program is an exemplary model for achieving gender equality in the business world in Turkey. Çekici continued as follows: "The companies that join us are contributing to both employment and women's empowerment. We invite all companies to become FEM certified".

Özlem Derici Duyarlar, a member of KAGİDER's Board of Directors, stated that the number of applications for FEM certification from companies has increased especially in the recent period and expressed her satisfaction with the interest shown. Duyarlar said that the increase in the number of applications for the FEM certificate is an indication of how sensitive organizations are to strengthening women's employment.

Emphasizing that they are the third generation to manage Akra Hotels, one of the leading brands in the hospitality industry with more than 50 years of experience, BHM Board Member Ali Ramiz Barut said, "We recognize that providing a work environment where our female and male employees have and benefit from equal rights, equal opportunities and equal opportunities is very important to sustain the success of our company.

As the Board of Directors and Executive Committee of Akra Hotels, we are committed to implementing policies based on equal opportunity, merit, trust and justice, and we are working to ensure that a corporate culture that supports these principles takes root. In support of this, we are continuing our efforts to increase female employment, women's active role in management and women's empowerment, which we hope will inspire our industry and set a good example. We would like to thank KAGİDER for launching this program, which supports the transformation that will ensure equal social opportunities and women's empowerment in the business world. We will continue our efforts in this area with determination.”

Sinan Barut, BHM Board Member, said, "As Akra Hotels, we approach this issue with sensitivity and adopt the approach that it is critical to ensure equal participation of our female and male employees in business life. With all our Human Values policies and activities, we aim to increase the employment of women in our facilities, diversify and expand our career programs, and set a good example by creating a work environment where our female employees can work with peace and confidence. We are honored to receive the FEM certificate, which is a valuable indicator of this. As a signatory of the United Nations WEPs, we will continue our efforts to strengthen the presence of women in business," emphasized the importance they attach to equal opportunities.

BHM Group Human Resources Director İbrahim Hakan Yılmaz said, "We recognize that we can unleash the full potential of our company by providing equal rights, equal opportunities and equal opportunities to our female and male employees. Accordingly, our Akra Hotels 2023-25 Human Resources Strategic Plan and Goals emphasize sustainability, corporate responsibility and women's empowerment, as well as fair treatment, increasing women's representation, empowering women in leadership roles, promoting their personal and professional development, diversity - equality - participation.

We believe that an equal and bright future is possible with the active participation of women in all aspects of life, especially in the business world, ensuring equal opportunities and fair human resource practices. We are honored that the valuable results of our efforts to shape the future of our company and our responsibility to create value for our society have been crowned with

the FEM Certificate. We congratulate all Akra Hotels employees and thank KAGİDER for their pioneering work in this field.

FEM certification can be achieved through a rigorous independent audit process

The FEM certification aims to identify inequalities in processes such as recruitment, training, career planning and development, and to eliminate gender discriminatory approaches in business. It also aims to support the private sector in promoting gender equality in business life, to increase the productivity of women in the Turkish workforce by supporting equality in employment and income, and to promote equal opportunity procedures in the business world.

Within the framework of the FEM Program, the issues that are independently audited in institutions are listed as follows: management's commitment to equal opportunities, equal opportunities in recruitment and selection, equal access to training opportunities, equal opportunities in performance evaluation and promotion, career support practices, feedback and complaint monitoring, communication and company advertising.