Women are usually associated with child care and housework, whether they are employed outside the home or not, says the report of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations entitled “Gender, agriculture and rural development in Armenia.” 

Pursuant to the report, men are usually seen as responsible for the economic well-being and survival of their families in their role as the main bread winner and “head of household.”

“This is directly linked with stereotypical gender roles and has a direct impact on uneven access to resources and economic opportunities, and on women’s overwhelming workload in relation to unpaid domestic activities. This may result in time poverty, the limitation of women’s capabilities in engaging in gainful activities, the reduction of women’s self-confidence in areas that are not stereotypically attributed to them, and the economic dependence of women.”

According to the authors of the report, with a sex ratio at birth of 1.13 males for every female, and 27.5 induced abortions per 100 live births and stillbirths at birth, sex-selective abortion is still prevalent in Armenia. This is further evidence for the preference of boys over girls (UNFPA, 2012, 2013; Das Gupta, 2015) and the lower status of women in society.

This is further evidence for the preference of boys over girls and the lower status of women in society. Patrilocal marriages are another possible reason for the preference of sons over daughters.”

It is also noted that an additional indicator of the status of women in society is control over their own earnings. Women in urban areas are three times more likely to make decisions about their earnings than women from rural areas (34 and 11 percent of women respectively).

“In relation to women’s voice, the results of the 2012 elections in local self-governance bodies demonstrate the low level of women’s access to political power: there were only 43 women (or 3.5 percent) out of 1 237 candidates running for the position of “Head” in 638 rural communities; and less than two percent of the women candidates were elected to this position. Furthermore, women account for only 8.6 percent of members of elected local Councils (Armenian Association of Women with University Education, 2014, p. 17).

The identification and even registration of men as “heads of households” and representatives of the families (for example, in land registration), also contributes to the maintenance of the uneven and hierarchical status of women and men in rural areas,” the reports says.