Armenia

Armenia Country Gender Assessmentby election cycle since independence from the Soviet Union. 51 The figure also shows thegap between women’s current representation, the goals of the electoral quota (20%), andthe critical mass considered necessary to have influence over decision making (30%).54. The reasons for the failure to obtain 20% female representation are varied. Electionmonitoring confirmed that initial party lists met the legal requirements, and women madeup 22% of candidates across all lists. However, before the election, seven female candidatesdropped out of the race “to make way for male colleagues” on the list. The quota alsoonly applies to the 90 seats allocated by proportional representation. 52 Among candidatesrunning for the 41 remaining seats, fewer than 8% were women (12 of 155 candidates), andof these, 3 female candidates reported no campaign expenditures, suggesting that theywere not genuine. Only 9 of the 41 constituencies had female candidates on the ballot. 5355. Women’s representation in nonelected government positions shows a patternsimilar to that of the National Assembly. Women make up only 11%–13% of high-level postsbut are well represented among presidential and government staff (Table 2).56. The ministries with the most female staff members (more than 50%) are thoseconcerned with culture, education and science, labor and social issues, the economy,sports and youth, and health care. Women represent fewer than 35% of ministerial staff inthe ministries of transport and communication and urban development. 542. Women in Local Government57. When discussing women’s lack of representation in government positions at thenational level, several respondents to this assessment stated that women have, in fact,made greater gains in political office at the local level. However, data revealed that here,Table 2: Women in the Executive Branch and Government, 2012–2013PositionTotalPositionsNumber ofWomenProportion ofWomen(%)Ministers a 19 2 11.1Ministers and deputy ministers, combined b 80 9 11.3Highest civil service posts 124 17 13.7Presidential administration 331 121 36.6Government administration 302 139 46.0aIncludes the Prime Minister and 18 line ministers.bIncludes the deputy ministers in the Office of the Prime Minister and in line ministries.Sources: Government of the Republic of Armenia. Structure.http://www.gov.am/en/structure/; and National StatisticalService of the Republic of Armenia. 2013. Women and Men in Armenia 2013. Yerevan. pp. 150, 153, and 155.51 The Supreme Council of the Republic of Armenia was formed in 1990, with its first convocation the same year. In 1995, the firstconvocation of the National Assembly took place, followed by the second through fifth convocations (1999–2012).52 G. Mkrtchyan. 2012. Women Fail to Gain Ground in Armenian Election. Institute for War and Peace Reporting. 29 June. http://iwpr.net/report-news/women-fail-gain-ground-armenian-election53 Ibid.54 Women and Men in Armenia 2013, p. 154. Data are for 2012.16