Armenia

Armenia Country Gender AssessmentBox 2:Opportunities for Women’s Entrepreneurship in the Tourism IndustryRepresentatives of development partners noted that hospitality is a promising sector for Armenia’sbusinesswomen for several reasons. According to a United States Agency for International Developmentassessment, women continue to dominate in only one value chain in Armenia: hospitality. In 2011, womenrepresented 53.9% of employees working in accommodation and food service activities, which is a closeproxy for employment in the tourism industry. a It is thought that in this industry, networking and marketingopportunities are easier for women; flexible hours are more often the norm; and big business does notyet dominate. In rural areas, in particular, tourism-related businesses are often home-based (e.g., runninga guesthouse or making souvenirs to sell on tourist routes), allowing women to divide their time betweenwork and family responsibilities.Focus group participants, especially those in Ashtarak, Berd, and Goris, described concrete ideas theyhad for businesses in this sector. At the same time, all noted that such businesses would not be possiblewithout first addressing serious infrastructure issues that are off-putting to tourists such as poor roadconditions, lack of roadside stops and signs, lack of a 24-hour clean water supply, and insufficient sanitationfacilities in public places.Women in focus groups also made clear that they are interested in developing responsible tourism intheir communities and expanding production of organic products based on the local ecology that couldbe marketed to tourists to promote their region. Many mentioned an interest in ecotourism but warnedthat some forms of development could spoil the beauty of the local environment.Armenia has a strategy for developing tourism, but several women said they were unaware of such agovernment policy. The strategy itself includes an objective on developing ecotourism, but does notdescribe any particular role for women in tourism development. b In fact, gender is only mentioned in thecontext of marketing.aNational Statistical Service of the Republic of Armenia. 2012. Women and Men in Armenia 2012. Yerevan. pp. 118–119.b Ministry of Economy. 2008. Tourism Development Concept Paper. Yerevan. 13 February. p. 21. http://www.mineconomy.am/eng/39/gortsaruyt.html180. Gender-specific features of common obstacles to starting and running abusiness. Many respondents were quick to point out that the business environment inArmenia presents challenges for start-ups, but that gender discrimination does not playa role. When asked about their personal experiences of gender discrimination, nearly allfemale entrepreneurs involved in a survey (95%) stated that they had not experiencedovert unequal treatment. 255 Male and female entrepreneurs certainly face many commonproblems such as unfavorable tax rates, bureaucratic requirements, and corruption.However, prevailing gender norms also play a role in hindering women’s ability to start andrun a business.181. One of the most often cited constraints to starting a business in Armenia isexcessive regulation, including a taxation system that is unfavorable for small enterprisesand that can lead to corrupt practices and demands for additional payments. In theabove-mentioned survey of 120 female entrepreneurs, the most commonly identifiedobstacles to starting a business were tax issues (which includes complicated regulations,frequent changes in legislation, and high tax rates; cited by 76% of respondents) andfinancial problems (including lack of resources, high interest rates for loans, and unstableincome; 61% of respondents). 256 When asked about the main factors that are affecting255 Ibid., p. 31.256 Ibid., p. 24.54