Armenia

Crosscutting Gender IssuesFigure 7: Women’s Wages as a Proportion of Men’s Wages, 2004–2012 (%)66.064.064.164.7 64.462.060.058.056.056.059.260.058.260.854.02005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012Sources: National Statistical Service of the Republic of Armenia. 2008–2013. Women and Men in Armenia 2008–2013.Yerevan.found that in formal jobs, women’s wages were 64% of men’s. While both men and womenearned less in the informal sector, women’s average earnings were only 47% of men’s. 137103. The government has acknowledged that discrimination contributes to the wagegap. The Labor Code states that men and women shall receive equal pay for equal work(Article 178), and the Law on Equal Rights and Equal Opportunities for Men and Womenprohibits gender discrimination in remuneration. In a 2006 review, the InternationalLabour Organization recommended that the Labor Code be amended to “provide notonly for equal remuneration for men and women for the same, similar or equal work butalso for work of equal value,” based on a finding that women face both direct and indirectdiscrimination in remuneration. 138104. Still, perceptions about the suitability of women taking on higher-paid (andpresumably more skilled) jobs continue to play a role in limiting women’s access to toppositions. According to responses to the most recent World Values Survey in Armenia,47% of men and 31% of women believe that “problems are likely to happen if the wife earnsmore money than the husband.” 139 Women’s wages are also presumed to be supplementaryto those of a male breadwinner.105. Women also face discrimination in hiring practices based on stereotypes aboutmale and female labor. For example, a representative of an employers’ association statedthat she would give preference to male employees who could be asked to work long hours(even more hours than are permitted under the Labor Law), while, in her view, womenwould inevitably have to take time off to care for children. Another respondent expressed137 The Informal Sector and Informal Employment in Armenia, p. 24.138 Decent Work Country Profile: Armenia, p. 34.139 Women in Armenia—Equality through Challenges!31