Women in Higher Education in Turkey: What Has Changed in 100 Years?

In Turkey, women acquired the right to obtain higher education in 1914. Women’s demand for higher education, the increased number of high schools and the needs of teacher-training schools for girls led to an increase in the number of women in higher education over time. After the nation-building process in 1923, new universities were opened across the country and the number of women in higher education has increased from 22 (0.73%) (in 1914) to 3 675 986 (47.5%) (in 2018-2019). Within this framework, this paper aims to explore how female students’ profiles have changed over the last 100 years. What is the social make-up of the female students who enrolled in universities nowadays? What are the differences and/or similarities among women who attended the universities as first women students and those of today? Drawing on the Eurostudent Survey IV (2011), these questions are elaborated regarding women’s socio-demographic, family and educational backgrounds. Outcomes are discussed within the context of the modernization history of Turkey