Target Gender Equality is a gender equality accelerator programme for participating companies of the UN Global Compact. Companies participating in Target Gender Equality have the opportunity to deepen implementation of the Women’s Empowerment Principles and strengthen their contribution to Sustainable Development Goal 5.5, which calls for equal women representation, participation and leadership in business globally. Companies will be equipped with the latest data and research supporting the business case for gender equality and gain insights from UN partners and experts on how to accelerate progress on gender equality.

CGFT Director Melsa Ararat who is also a board member of UNGC Turkey Network made the opening speech at the first meeting of Program on July 24, 2020. In her speech, Ararat emphasized the importance of the Istanbul Convention and stated:

"Turkey which is proudly the first signatory of the Istanbul Convention, now attempts to withdraw from it and totally ignores the violence against women who are not married. This comes from the mentality of justifying the male violence against women under cover of protecting the 'moral values'. However, both our society and our economy will recover from the pandemic with the contribution of independent and confident women."