On August 16th, with the support of CLDP and CIPE, the Corporate Governance Center organized the “Women on the Board of Directors” workshop.
The event was prompted by two main reasons: the adoption of the new CG Code, which sets the target that both genders should have at least 30% representation on the board, and the conclusion of the fourth phase of the “Women on the Board of Directors” training program.
At the Workshop, Konstantin Saroyan, Hasmik Zakaryan, Kristin Bushby, Luiza Ayvazyan, Michael Cofield, and Narine Melikyan delivered welcome remarks.
The Workshop featured speakers such as Natalia Otel Belan, Hagen Schweinitz, Carsten Bennike, Till Vestring, Richard Lepere, Kimberly Maucher-Lynch, Hasmik Khachatryan, Aram Babayan, Hasmik Ghahramanyan, Karine Minasyan, Marina Psomas, Svetlana Karapetyan, Ann Sultan, Michael Schweiger, and Narine Melikyan.
Natalia Otel Belan, Regional Director for Europe and Eurasia at CIPE, presented CIPE’s efforts aimed at expanding women’s economic rights and opportunities to the Workshop participants, focusing on the development of entrepreneurial thinking and governance skills among businesswomen, the promotion of developing networking opportunities, cooperation mechanisms, associations, and support for institutional reforms.
The participants had the opportunity to learn about the perspectives of independent male board members from foreign companies regarding their female colleagues on the board and the advisability of involving women in boards from the perspective of a company’s long-term success, as well as communicate with female board members of Armenian companies, whose experiences are particularly instructive for women paving their way to board positions.
The key presentations of the Workshop were dedicated to a comparative analysis of leadership styles between men and women, the representation of women in senior management positions of Armenia’s financial sector, the main advantages and potential risks of women’s representation on boards of directors, the adoption of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) policies, and approaches to ensuring their compliance.
In the final part of the Workshop, the participants were introduced to the mission, goals, and main directions of the Armenian Women on the Board of Directors Network, the procedures for participation and governance, and took part in the “Prominent Armenian Women” quiz.
The Workshop concluded with a certificate awarding ceremony for the fourth cohort of graduates from the “Women on the Board of Directors” training program.
