Background and Contextinformation presents challenges to strategic planning of development interventions (and inconducting the present assessment).36. More information about specific groups of women and men is also needed. In itsmost recent review of compliance with the Convention on the Elimination of All Formsof Discrimination against Women, there was a lack of information and statistics about“vulnerable groups of women, particularly rural women, single mothers, women withdisabilities, refugees, and women belonging to ethnic and religious minorities who oftensuffer from multiple forms of discrimination, especially in regard to access to employment,health care, education and social benefits.” 28D. Country Gender Assessment Caveats37. This assessment examines differences between men and women in <strong>Armenia</strong>.Yet, neither women nor men are homogeneous groups, and the experiences and prioritiesof diverse groups of men and women should be kept in mind. Factors such as age,socioeconomic status, ethnicity, location, disability, and refugee status can all have aneffect on the relative status of women and men. Although the population is predominantlyethnic <strong>Armenia</strong>n, there are smaller minority groups of Yezidis, Russians, Kurds, refugeesfrom Azerbaijan, and others. 29 Little information was uncovered about gender issuesspecific to these minority groups, in part because official statistics and reports areinfrequently disaggregated in this way. The exception is information about some membersof the Yezidi community voicing criticism when the Family Code was amended in 2012 toincrease the marital age for women from 17 to 18, the same as it is for men. 3038. The topic of how gender and disability intersect, in access to resources, wasraised in consultations for this assessment. In <strong>Armenia</strong>, there is an approximately equalnumber of men and women officially certified as disabled (for the purpose of receivingsocial benefits), although among children with disabilities, boys outnumber girls (boysaccounted for 68.5% of children with disabilities in 2012). 31 People with disabilities (PWDs)face the possibility of marginalization and impediments to accessing basic resources, suchas education, employment, and even the use of public services, such as health care andtransport. Disability itself is often stigmatized, and PWDs may encounter discrimination. Apublic opinion poll revealed that the majority of respondents felt that they had a positiveattitude toward PWDs, but when speaking about others, the majority felt that the generalpopulation has a negative attitude toward PWDs. 32 It has also been observed that womenwith disabilities face double discrimination—based on both ability and gender—in findingjobs, for example. Women are also more likely to be primarily responsible for caring for achild or family member with a disability.28 United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). 2009. Concluding Observations of theCommittee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women. CEDAW/C/ARM/CO/4/Rev.1. Geneva. para. 36.29 In the 2011 census, about 98% of the country’s population reported their ethnicity as <strong>Armenia</strong>n.30 In amending the law, the government cited the need to prevent early marriage, especially before girls complete 12 years of compulsoryeducation, and to eliminate gender inequality. Some members of the Yezidi community claimed that the amendment contradictedtheir traditions, which allow girls to marry at even younger ages. See M. Grigoryan. 2012. <strong>Armenia</strong>: Ethnic Minority Rejects Marriage-Age Requirement. 20 September. Eurasianet.org. http://www.eurasianet.org/node/6594231 Women and Men in <strong>Armenia</strong> 2013, p. 55.32 Civic Development and Partnership Foundation. 2012. Report on Public Opinion Poll about People with Disabilities and Their Employment.Yerevan: United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and Save the Children. p. 31.11
II.Crosscutting Gender Issues39. This chapter provides an overview of several broad gender themes that are alsocrosscutting with regard to development planning. Disparities in these areas contributedirectly to gender issues observed at the sector level. For this reason, it is useful to reviewthe wider gender landscape in <strong>Armenia</strong> and to consider the influence of these variousthemes on projects funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and others.A. Gender Roles and Stereotypes40. Gender norms, or notions of the “traditional” roles of men and women, exist inevery society, and are often accepted as inevitable or natural. The concept paper ongender equality highlights the need to develop “an egalitarian gender culture to overcomepatriarchal stereotypes and promote positive public perception of the concept of equalparticipation of men and women in public administration and other areas of social life.” 33The Law on Equal Rights and Equal Opportunities for Men and Women prohibits thereproduction of gender stereotypes in the media, education, and general culture.41. The related topics of gender roles and gender-based stereotypes were referencedmany times during consultations for this assessment. Respondents explained that women’sprimary roles are centered on family life and caregiving to justify obstacles that womenencounter in such areas as starting a business or running for political office. When ninecivil society organizations working on women’s issues were asked to identify the primaryobstacles to improving the status of women in <strong>Armenia</strong>, 88% named “cultural beliefs, socialattitudes or patriarchal mentality.” 3442. According to prevailing attitudes in society, women and men have distinct genderroles, with women taking primary responsibility for the household, and men engaging inincome-earning activities outside of the home. A time-use study confirmed that for themost part, such gender norms hold true. In both urban and rural areas, men spend about3.0 hours per day more than women in formal jobs. In contrast, women spend up to 4.5hours more per day on housework and have about 2.0 hours less free time than men perday. 35 Regarding child care, women spend on average close to 3.0 hours per day caring forchildren as a primary activity, as compared with men, who spend 25 minutes on average. 3643. In <strong>Armenia</strong>, as elsewhere, people may acknowledge or even agree with stereotypesabout suitable activities for men and women that they do not necessarily follow. The33 Gender Policy Concept Paper of the Republic of <strong>Armenia</strong>, p. 4.34 International Foundation for Electoral Systems. 2013. <strong>Armenia</strong>n Survey of Women’s Organizations. Washington, DC. p. 5.35 Women and Men in <strong>Armenia</strong> 2013, pp. 137–138. The time-use survey was conducted in 2008.36 Ibid., p. 140.12
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