Republic of Armenia Leveling the STEM Playing Field for Women : Differences in Opportunity and Outcomes in Fields of Study and the Labor Market

This report summarizes the challenges facing Armenian women at school and in the workplace with a special focus on STEM-related employment. As the world transitions to an increasingly digital economy, jobs in science, technology, engineering, and m...

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Main Author: World Bank
Format: Report
Language:English
en_US
Published: World Bank, Washington, DC 2017
Subjects:
Online Access:http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/355331495185406481/Armenia-leveling-the-STEM-playing-field-for-women-differences-in-opportunity-and-outcomes-in-fields-of-study-and-the-labor-market
http://hdl.handle.net/10986/26766
id okr-10986-26766
recordtype oai_dc
spelling okr-10986-267662021-05-25T09:00:28Z Republic of Armenia Leveling the STEM Playing Field for Women : Differences in Opportunity and Outcomes in Fields of Study and the Labor Market World Bank WOMEN IN WORKFORCE FEMALE LABOR FORCE GENDER GAP GENDER POLICY EDUCATION REFORM STEM INEQUALITY This report summarizes the challenges facing Armenian women at school and in the workplace with a special focus on STEM-related employment. As the world transitions to an increasingly digital economy, jobs in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) will become a powerful driver of economic growth in the twenty-first century. Changes in economic productivity brought through technological innovation require countries to focus on STEM; these high-productivity fields are increasingly in demand in the global economy, and are the key to competitiveness and gross domestic product (GDP) growth.Parity between men and women was one of the major achievements of socialist regimes in Eastern Europe and Central Cultural stereotypes about the types of work women should engage in and their responsibilities at home present the strongest barrier to equality between women and men in Armenia Asia. Although access, enrolment, and achievement rates are gender-equal in Armenia, women and girls tend to self-select out of STEM education tracks and career fields. At the level of education institutions, policy actions can address issues of access, information, biases, and system-wide changes to promote gender neutrality. In the short term, schools can engage teachers and students in discussions about the benefits of STEM fields of study and careers, encourage girls to embrace their interest in math and science, and provide positive role models of women who work in STEM careers. Policy action can help women make the school-to-work transition and promote their career advancement once they are working. At a national level, policy and regulatory actions can address systemic issues of bias, market failure, and information. Even at this level, some quick wins are feasible. The government may consider whether public information campaigns are needed to promote positive aspects of STEM careers to students in middle school and above, such as greater income, flexibility, and status, as well as launch a media campaign to promote and celebrate positive female role models in STEM. STEM sectors are an important source of growth for Armenia given the country’s geography and closed borders. Also, considering Armenia’s adverse demographic trends, lifting women’s participation in key growth potential sectors, including STEM, is increasingly critical. 2017-05-30T17:15:35Z 2017-05-30T17:15:35Z 2017-05 Report http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/355331495185406481/Armenia-leveling-the-STEM-playing-field-for-women-differences-in-opportunity-and-outcomes-in-fields-of-study-and-the-labor-market http://hdl.handle.net/10986/26766 English en_US CC BY 3.0 IGO http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo World Bank World Bank, Washington, DC Economic & Sector Work :: Women in Development and Gender Study Economic & Sector Work Europe and Central Asia Armenia
repository_type Digital Repository
institution_category Foreign Institution
institution Digital Repositories
building World Bank Open Knowledge Repository
collection World Bank
language English
en_US
topic WOMEN IN WORKFORCE
FEMALE LABOR FORCE
GENDER GAP
GENDER POLICY
EDUCATION REFORM
STEM
INEQUALITY
spellingShingle WOMEN IN WORKFORCE
FEMALE LABOR FORCE
GENDER GAP
GENDER POLICY
EDUCATION REFORM
STEM
INEQUALITY
World Bank
Republic of Armenia Leveling the STEM Playing Field for Women : Differences in Opportunity and Outcomes in Fields of Study and the Labor Market
geographic_facet Europe and Central Asia
Armenia
description This report summarizes the challenges facing Armenian women at school and in the workplace with a special focus on STEM-related employment. As the world transitions to an increasingly digital economy, jobs in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) will become a powerful driver of economic growth in the twenty-first century. Changes in economic productivity brought through technological innovation require countries to focus on STEM; these high-productivity fields are increasingly in demand in the global economy, and are the key to competitiveness and gross domestic product (GDP) growth.Parity between men and women was one of the major achievements of socialist regimes in Eastern Europe and Central Cultural stereotypes about the types of work women should engage in and their responsibilities at home present the strongest barrier to equality between women and men in Armenia Asia. Although access, enrolment, and achievement rates are gender-equal in Armenia, women and girls tend to self-select out of STEM education tracks and career fields. At the level of education institutions, policy actions can address issues of access, information, biases, and system-wide changes to promote gender neutrality. In the short term, schools can engage teachers and students in discussions about the benefits of STEM fields of study and careers, encourage girls to embrace their interest in math and science, and provide positive role models of women who work in STEM careers. Policy action can help women make the school-to-work transition and promote their career advancement once they are working. At a national level, policy and regulatory actions can address systemic issues of bias, market failure, and information. Even at this level, some quick wins are feasible. The government may consider whether public information campaigns are needed to promote positive aspects of STEM careers to students in middle school and above, such as greater income, flexibility, and status, as well as launch a media campaign to promote and celebrate positive female role models in STEM. STEM sectors are an important source of growth for Armenia given the country’s geography and closed borders. Also, considering Armenia’s adverse demographic trends, lifting women’s participation in key growth potential sectors, including STEM, is increasingly critical.
format Report
author World Bank
author_facet World Bank
author_sort World Bank
title Republic of Armenia Leveling the STEM Playing Field for Women : Differences in Opportunity and Outcomes in Fields of Study and the Labor Market
title_short Republic of Armenia Leveling the STEM Playing Field for Women : Differences in Opportunity and Outcomes in Fields of Study and the Labor Market
title_full Republic of Armenia Leveling the STEM Playing Field for Women : Differences in Opportunity and Outcomes in Fields of Study and the Labor Market
title_fullStr Republic of Armenia Leveling the STEM Playing Field for Women : Differences in Opportunity and Outcomes in Fields of Study and the Labor Market
title_full_unstemmed Republic of Armenia Leveling the STEM Playing Field for Women : Differences in Opportunity and Outcomes in Fields of Study and the Labor Market
title_sort republic of armenia leveling the stem playing field for women : differences in opportunity and outcomes in fields of study and the labor market
publisher World Bank, Washington, DC
publishDate 2017
url http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/355331495185406481/Armenia-leveling-the-STEM-playing-field-for-women-differences-in-opportunity-and-outcomes-in-fields-of-study-and-the-labor-market
http://hdl.handle.net/10986/26766
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