Breaking Barriers to Women's Employment in Azerbaijan (English)

Table of Contents

• Cover 1
• Disclaimer 2
• Contents 3
• Abbreviations 4
• Acknowledgments 5
• Executive Summary 6
• Key findings 7
• Recommendations 10
• 1. Introduction 15
• 1.1. Context 17
• 1.2. Structure of the report 18
• 1.3. Methodology 20
• 1.3.1 Company gender assessments 21
• 2. Women’s employment in Azerbaijan 22
• 2.1. National policy and legislative commitments to gender equality 24
• 2.2. Women’s participation in the labor market 26
• 2.3. Key challenges to women’s employment in male-dominated technical sectors 28
• 2.3.1. Technical education and skills 28
• 2.3.2. Gender bias and stereotypes 28
• 2.3.3. Care responsibilities and lack of flexible working arrangements 30
• 2.3.4. Gender-based violence and harassment 31
• 3. Increasing women’s participation in the transport sector: Azerbaijan Railways and Port of Baku 33
• 3.1. Workforce profile 34
• 3.2. Attraction: Encouraging more women to pursue careers in the transport sector 34
• 3.3. Recruitment: Increasing the number of women joining the company 36
• 3.4. Inclusion at work: Building a respectful and safe work environment for all employees 38
• 3.5. Progression: Supporting women’s professional developmentand advancement toleadership roles 39
• 4. Examples of best practices on equal opportunity and women’s empowerment in Azerbaijan 43
• 4.1. Technical skills training, mentoring, and scholarships for female engineering students: Sumgait Technologies Park (STP) Group of Companies 44
• 4.2. Building respectful and inclusive workplaces: Coca-Cola Içecek 45
• 4.3. Supporting women’s access to education through scholarships: AGA Group of Companies 46
• 4.4. Professional development program for women: Nobel Energy 46
• 4.5. Organizational diversity and inclusion strategy and flexible workingarrangements: Azerconnect 47
• 5. Recommendations 48
• 5.1. Recommendations for policymakers 50
• 5.2. Recommendations for companies 53
• References 57