YEREVAN, Armenia — The American University of Armenia (AUA) Manoogian Simone College of Business and Economics (CBE) recently organized an engaging two-day workshop titled “Closing Gender Gaps Through Economic Research.” Held on June 3-4, the workshop is part of the Swedish Institute-funded Eastern Partnership Cooperation Project jointly implemented by scholars from AUA and the Stockholm Institute of Transition Economics.
This two-year project, launched in September 2024, aims to enhance research capacity in gender economics at AUA and leverage that capacity to inform the public and policymakers on the existence of gender gaps in Armenian society, as well as their causes, consequences, and potential solutions. Two major groups of activities will be designed and implemented for achieving the project’s objectives: (1) the organization of workshops and research seminars on gender economics, and (2) the development of a joint research project designed to address women’s underrepresentation in STEM fields in Armenia.
The workshop hosted internationally recognized keynote speakers. Dr. Lídia Farré, tenured scientist at the Institute for Economic Analysis (IAE-CSIC) and affiliated professor and program director of the master’s program in economics of public policy at the Barcelona School of Economics (Spain), delivered an insightful presentation on “Promoting Female Talent in Science: Evidence from Affirmative Action Policy.” Highlighting one of the key findings of her research, Dr. Farré noted, “When talented women are excluded from research leadership, we don’t just lose equity — we lose knowledge, opportunity, and progress.”
In her turn, Dr. Sarah Smith, professor of economics at the University of Bristol (England), guided participants through her work on “Attracting more diverse students: Evidence from economics.” Highlighting one of the takeaways from her research, Dr. Smith noted: “The evidence is that stereotypes — or distorted perceptions — of economics and economists are a big barrier to girls taking up the subject. In the United Kingdom, at least, girls think that economics is a boring subject that is just about money, and that their fellow — mostly male — students are likely to be opinionated and arrogant. However, our outreach sessions show that communicating the breadth of economics through relatable role models makes a real difference to how economics is perceived.”
The keynote lectures were followed by paper development sessions, which included four presentations by scholars from both AUA and institutions abroad:
- “Gender discrimination at work over the life course: Are women less satisfied with the main job of their working career?” by Monika Oczkowska, senior research economist, Centre for Economic Analysis (CenEA) and SGH Warsaw School of Economics (Poland)
- “Gender quotas in bank boards: Evidence from post-communist countries” by Dr. Joanna Rachuba, researcher and lecturer, Institute of Economics and Finance, University of Szczecin (Poland)
- “Unpacking gender differences in behavior: What (dis)empowers women?” by Dr. Vardan Baghdasaryan, associate professor, CBE, AUA
- “Gender aspect of microfinance performance: Does the country-level institutional context matter?” by Dr. Knar Khachatryan, associate professor, CBE, AUA; affiliated researcher, Center for European Research on Microfinance (Belgium)
Representatives from academia, research institutions, and international organizations attended the workshop and engaged in active discussions.
The Workshop Organizing Committee consisted of Dr. Maria Perrotta Berlin, assistant professor in the Stockholm Institute of Transition Economics at the Stockholm School of Economics and affiliated researcher at the Mistra Center for Sustainable Markets (Misum), Dr. Khachatryan, and Dr. Baghdasaryan.
Founded in 1991, the American University of Armenia (AUA) is a private, independent university located in Yerevan, Armenia, affiliated with the University of California, and accredited by the WASC Senior College and University Commission in the United States. AUA provides local and international students with Western-style education through top-quality undergraduate and graduate degree and certificate programs, promotes research and innovation, encourages civic engagement and community service, and fosters democratic values.
Media Coverage:
[CivilNet] Mounting repercussions of unacknowledged gender gaps in Armenia
