Gender Assessment for USAID/Caucasus/Azerbaijan

(Convention on Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women), USAIDfunded
assessments, and various American and Azerbaijan research sources. A
bibliography of resources consulted is included as Annex A. Of equal importance, the
analysis below also reflects the opinions expressed in interviews with key informants,
including USAID staff and implementing partners, selected Azerbaijan NGO leaders,
government officials and individuals. See Annex B for a list of those interviewed.
Current Strategy
The findings in the current strategy’s gender section 10 are still true. In particular the three
statements about women continue to present a development challenge: (i) “… traditional
social norms continue to restrict women’s roles in the economy.”; (ii) “As a result of
social and physical displacement, as well as loss of jobs by men, women are increasingly
become [sic] family breadwinners.”; and (iii) “Females represent a large proportion of
small traders and vendors, so the challenge will be for them to move into small
enterprises.” As discussed in the economic sector sections below, the opportunities for
female entrepreneurs have largely not been recognized.
CONCEPTUAL ISSUES
Patriarchal Traditions Reemerging
In many spheres in which inequalities between men and women are identified,
Azerbaijan’s “traditional” or “Eastern“ culture is used as an explanation and even a
justification for continued inequality. For example, both men and women often express
approval for the notion that
women should not work
outside the home or that
preferences should be given to
men in employment because
the man should be the
breadwinner in the family.
This gender stereotype is
pervasive despite the fact that
a significant number of
households in Azerbaijan are
women-headed. In 1998, the
CEDAW Committee
expressed concern about
“insufficient governmental
10 USAID/Caucasus/Azerbaijan Strategy (2001-2003) p.10.
DevTech Systems, Inc. 5 USAID/Caucasus/Azerbaijan
Gender Assessment