Gender and Employment in the South Caucasus and Western CIS

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Gender and Employment in the South Caucasus and Western CIS

October 4, 2016

The collapse of the Soviet Union initiated an unprecedented social and economic transformation of the successor countries, which counted gender equality as a key legacy of their socialist past. This transformation was bound to alter the gender balance in the region. The transition experience of the region has amply demonstrated that the changes in the gender balance triggered by the economic expansion are unclear. Moreover, it has underscored that active measures to enhance women’s economic empowerment should be of central concern to the policy dialogue aimed at inclusive growth and poverty and inequality reduction.

In this paper, our goals are to highlight gender inequality in the labour markets in the countries of the South Caucasus (Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia) and Western CIS (Belarus, Moldova and Ukraine) and to propose steps aimed at reducing inequality in the context of inclusive growth through employment.