Armenian officials reaffirm commitments to gender-responsive governance with EU support

Armenian Government representatives have stronger capacities on gender-responsive governance following a two-day training course organised by the EU-funded EU4Gender Equality Reform Helpdesk (16–17 May 2023). Participants included representatives of the Ministries of Labour and Social Affairs, Justice, the Economy, Territorial Administration and Infrastructure, Health, Education, Science, Culture and Sports, as well as the Republic of Armenia’s Statistical Committee, the National Assembly, and the Office of the Human Rights Defender.

Participants explored the gender-related aspects of governance, international standards on gender equality, the local legal basis of gender equality, gender mainstreaming, and the inclusion of a gender-responsive approach in recovery and development programmes. The training highlighted examples of implementing gender mainstreaming at the political level – in strategies, policies, programmes and budgets. In mixed agency groups, participants also benefitted from practical exercises on how to implement a gender-responsive approach in strategic documents.

At the end of the training, all of the participants welcomed the prospect of similar trainings and meetings in the future. They echoed the training’s underlying focus on peace and security as the cornerstone of gender-related reforms.

This training was part and parcel of ongoing support for the Republic of Armenia by the EU4GenderEquality Reform Helpdesk project, funded by the European Union and implemented by Niras. The Reform Helpdesk aims to ensure effective and equal results for women and men across Eastern Partnership countries – including Armenia – by expanding the use of gender analysis in decision-making and reforms. The training was conducted by Tatiana Ivanina and Natalya Chermoshentseva, Reform Helpdesk experts from Ukraine, with the support of project expert Gohar Shahnazaryan, who presented Armenia’s national legislation and gender equality machinery. The Reform Helpdesk will continue to support the Armenian Government on its path towards greater gender equality and democracy until the project concludes at the end of 2023.

Learn more about EU support for gender equality:

EU4GenderEquality Reform Helpdesk

EU4 Gender Equality Reform Helpdesk – Factsheet

EU4Gender Equality Reform Helpdesk’s support (2021–2022) for Armenia