Economic participation and empowerment of women is the focus of OSCE-hosted discussion in Yerevan

Supporting the economic empowerment of women in vulnerable situations in Armenia was the topic of discussion at an OSCE meeting held on 1 March 2019 in Yerevan. The event was part of the Organization’s overall efforts to promote social cohesion, stability and security by tackling socio-economic inequalities.

Representatives of national and local authorities and international and civil society organizations debated ongoing and future initiatives to promote gender equality in the economic sphere in the country. The goal was to explore synergies and maximize the impact of the OSCE project “Economic empowerment of women in the Syunik region and other regions of Armenia”, which will be implemented over the next two years. The project is aimed at improving the employability and income-generation capacities of women in vulnerable situations.

Through a combination of capacity-building activities targeting the network of Women’s Resource Centres in Armenia and direct assistance measures benefitting women in vulnerable situations, the project helps to improve women’s access to psycho-social, technical and financial services provided by civil society organizations and public social services at the local and national levels.

“Developing women’s human capital is critical to rebalancing inequalities,” said Ermelinda Meksi, Deputy Co-ordinator of the Office of OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities. “Consolidated economic research demonstrates that women reinvest close to 90 per cent of their incomes into their families and communities. Investing in women means investing in everybody else.”

“At the global level, women continue to experience significant gaps in accessing the labour market, income-generating opportunities, education, and innovation,” said Meksi. “Armenia is no exception and we wish to join forces with a wide variety of actors who play a role in fostering positive change for women in this country.”

Based on the lessons learned during the project’s implementation, the OSCE in co-operation with relevant stakeholders will upon its completion develop a set of guidelines for the economic empowerment of women in vulnerable situations in Armenia, to be used as an advocacy tool by the Women’s Resource Centres.

The project is financially supported by Finland, Italy, Norway and United States.