Armenia

RecommendationsB. Sector Opportunities for Gender Mainstreaming1. General• In all projects, ensure that data are sex-disaggregated and include gender-sensitiveinformation in the collection of baseline data, in project monitoring, and in thecollection of end-line data to show gender impacts.• Promote meaningful participation of women in government discussions, design,and implementation of infrastructure projects. This should not only includeconsultative processes but should also institutionalize a system in which womenare part of discussions about municipal services and have a role in overseeing theirimplementation.• Strengthen the capacity of executing and implementing agencies and other keystakeholders to mainstream gender when conducting preliminary assessments,project planning, and monitoring and evaluation (including collection, analysis, anduse of sex-disaggregated data for evidence-based planning).2. Entrepreneurship and Micro, Small, and Medium-Sized EnterpriseDevelopment• Develop a unified and sex-disaggregated system of classifying and countingbusinesses that takes into account the complexities described above and usesconsistent criteria.• Support qualitative studies of the experiences of successful businessmen andbusinesswomen to identify key factors that contribute to their success. In addition,conduct longitudinal studies of women’s businesses to identify both success andfailure rates. Map the multiple ways that women may be engaged in business inArmenia, including as individual entrepreneurs and as members of family businesses.• Provide female entrepreneurs with opportunities to enter new sectors and toexpand their micro and small-scale businesses. Identify barriers to women enteringspecific sectors (e.g., manufacturing and information technology) that may includecompetition, low placement on value chains, or lack of knowledge, so that they can bebetter addressed.• Work with women across the business hierarchy, from the level of individualentrepreneurs to women who own or manage large businesses. Identify keybusinesswomen in varied sectors, and sponsor them to become mentors to otherfemale entrepreneurs and support them in developing women-friendly workplaces.• Conduct analysis of the hospitality and tourism industries and the potential entrypoints for female-owned and -managed businesses.• Give consideration to issues of women’s entrepreneurship in infrastructuredevelopment projects to create conditions that will assist women to start and expandtheir businesses.• Develop varied business training programs that are continual and harmonized with theprojects of other donors. Improve partnerships with other donors that manage or aredeveloping training programs aimed at women’s entrepreneurship.• Training programs should be tailored to the needs of female entrepreneurs, whichare specific to the sizes and types of businesses and sectors in which they operate.Training should be aimed at women who already have basic skills and advanced skillsbuilding (e.g., in marketing, accounting, and taxation) should be offered as well asmentoring with established business owners.79