AraratBank participated in "Women's Empowerment Principles in Armenia: Promoting Inclusive and Equitable Economic Growth" conference held by UN Women in Yerevan. 

The event was an important step toward strengthening the long-standing partnership between UN Women and the private sector in Armenia. The conference aimed to deepen strategic dialogue among business leaders, WEPs signatory companies, and key stakeholders to promote inclusive and equitable economic growth.

During the conference, AraratBank shared its experience with other representatives of the private sector.

Lilit Hayrapetyan, Chief Specialist of the Human Resource Management Department of AraratBank, delivered a presentation on the application of the Women's Empowerment Principles at AraratBank. "AraratBank joined the WEPs in 2022, with a view to continuing the development of areas such as the economic empowerment of women, increased women’s involvement in leadership roles, and the high social responsibility of the bank and its employees”. Ms. Hayrapetyan also presented the changes made since joining the program: “The results are impressive - from leadership training for women employees to promotions, from financial literacy campaigns to lending to women entrepreneurs on favorable terms as part of cooperation with international institutions.” According to Ms. Hayrapetyan, the application of the WEPs not only enhances the role of women in society, but also contributes to the development of businesses and communities while promoting corporate social responsibility.

During the conference, AraratBank was awarded the WEPs Signatory Certificate.

As a reminder, in July of this year, AraratBank participated in a UN Women regional workshop titled “Workshop – WEPs Exchange: Developing the Capacity of the Private Sector to Implement WEPs”. The statement on behalf of the Armenian delegation was delivered by Anna Allahverdyan, Head of Communication and CSR Programs Coordination Division of AraratBank. Ms. Allahverdyan spoke about women's representation in leadership positions in the private sector, citing AraratBank’s as an example and noting that in 2022, the bank joined the UN Global Compact and the WEPs, becoming the first financial institution to join the WEPs initiative that year.