WUNRN
Direct Link to Report:
Azerbaijan Human Development Report
2007 - UNDP
GENDER ATTITUDES IN AZERBAIJAN:
TRENDS AND CHALLENGES
Changing Gender Attitudes is the Key to the Achievement of Gender
Equality in Azerbaijan
UNDP and the Government launch the 2007 Azerbaijan Human
Development Report
Baku, 10 September 2007 - Azerbaijan has lately attained significant achievements in promoting equal rights and opportunities for women and men. However, the advancement of women requires further effort, states the 2007 Azerbaijan Human Development Report on "Gender Attitudes in Azerbaijan: Trends and Challenges" launched today in Baku's Hyatt Park Hotel. The Report goes on to argue that "despite the equality of men and women declared in the Constitution and other laws including the recent Law on Gender Equality, there is still considerable gender inequality in many spheres of social, political and economic life".
As the Millennium Development Goal (MDG), 'gender equality and women's empowerment" stands high on the international development agenda. As a state signatory to the Millennium Declaration, Azerbaijan is committed to the improvement of gender equality and therefore the process of defining key gender issues specific for Azerbaijan has become an integral part of the process of achieving the MDGs.
This year's Report is commissioned by UNDP and the State Committee for Family, Women and Children's Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan. Prepared by a team of national experts with the financial support from the Government of Norway, it explores the implications of gender attitudes and their impact on human development.
"If we restrict the opportunities of the huge part of the population, we severely limit the talent available to work for the country's best. This should indeed be a powerful argument for insuring equal opportunities", His Excellency, Mr. Jon Ramberg, Norwegian Ambassador, said. "Encouragement is indeed a crucial word in our common efforts to promote gender attitudes that allow for equal opportunities", he stressed.
The Report provides both qualitative and quantitative analysis of the first national independent survey of gender attitudes and assesses gender potential as a principal condition for improving the quality of life and eliminating gender discrimination as the source of poverty, low economic growth and inadequate governance.
"The main inquiry in this Report is to understand the deep rooted attitudes that exist in all parts of the society. In the Report, we draw attention to the existing inequalities, stereotypical attitudes and non-egalitarian gender norms that impede achieving greater gender equality in Azerbaijan.", Prof. Ayse Ayata of the Middle East Technical University (Turkey) and UNDP's international gender expert who supported the efforts of the Report's national contributors, stressed in her speech.
As in many former Soviet countries, in Azerbaijan transition has been defined by job losses, protracted periods of unemployment and contracting employment opportunities in both public and private sector, failing to address gender inequality. The Report states that women are unemployed to a larger extent than men - in particular IDP women who remain one of the most vulnerable groups with higher unemployment and greater marginalization in economic activities - and suffering from men's violence.
The Report argues that in Azerbaijan women and men tend to dominate in different sectors of the economy. Women are concentrated in "feminized professions," where they tend to remain in lower job categories than men. Socialization and negative stereotyping of women and men reinforces the tendency for political decision-making to remain the domain of men. The share of women among elected members of Parliament is 11.2%. The share of women among judges is 14%. In the private sector, there is, as is typical also in other countries, an under-representation of women in the management sector. Furthermore, women are concentrated at the lower levels of the management pyramid.
In her opening remarks at the launch of the Report Ms Hijran Huseynova, Chairperson of the State Committee for Family, Women and Children's Affairs stressed the importance of the first national survey of gender attitudes and encouraged other government institutions in taking advantage of similar researches that should play the role of a catalyst in bridging the existing gaps.
The survey showed that inequalities often due to negative attitudes and stereotypes which have their source in private life and inter-personal relations. "By launching the Report here today, we would like to stimulate public debate on the issues revealed by the survey of gender attitudes. We need to adopt attitudes that recognize that men and women are equal in social, political and economic life," Mr. Bruno Pouezat, UN Resident Coordinator, UNDP Resident Representative, said. Mr. Pouezat emphasised a role of the Government that can help by vigorously implementing laws promoting gender equality.
The Report presents a set of recommendations aimed to stimulate debate and encourage policy action for the attainment of gender balance in all spheres of political, economic and social life in the country.
================================================================
To leave the list, send your request by email to:
wunrn_listserve-request@lists.wunrn.com. Thank you.