Breastfeeding and Family-Friendly Environment in Armenia

Breastfeeding and Family-Friendly Workplaces

In Armenia, due to a lack of family-friendly policies at workplaces, women, who have breastfeeding children, face a dilemma - cease breastfeeding or quit the job.

A family-friendly work environment has a direct impact on the well-being of the family.

Having a designated nursing room at the workplace and flexible working conditions help working mothers to continue breastfeeding after returning to work, keeping the emotional bond between mother and baby uninterrupted․

Accommodating workplace environments and policies for women and children have a direct impact on the well-being of the family.

Important components of a family-friendly work environment are paid maternity leave, non-discrimination on the basis of pregnancy and marital status, flexible working hours, protection of the right to breastfeeding, and so on.

Haykuhi's Dilemma: Work or Breastfeed a Baby?

23-year-old Haykuhi is a mother of a 5-month-old baby boy. Months ago she would not have even thought that because of motherhood would face the problem of not finding a job. She tells: "My contract with the employer was for a three-month period. Then it turned out that I was pregnant, I had to go on maternity leave and the employer refused to extend the contract and I could not go on maternity leave."

In the 7th month of her pregnancy, Haykuhi lost her job. Now she is taking care of the baby. She is faced with a dilemma: to stop breastfeeding or not work?

Haykuhi says: "There are no special places where I can feed, I have to feed in the storeroom or the kitchen, where the feeding is not hygienic. Also, it is a "little problem" when employers know you have a baby. Now I am looking for a freelance job."

59% of Women do not Work in Armenia

According to the Statistical Committee of Armenia, 59% of women are not engaged in the labor force. Most of them are of the reproductive age. This leads to a gender gap in the labor market, and also has a negative impact on the use of economic potential and birth rates/demography.

The Gender Gap is especially high in the 25-49 age group mainly due to the engagement of women in family responsibilities (pregnancy, childbirth, child care, household workload, etc.).

— Statistical Committee of Armenia, "Women and Men in Armenia", 2021

Lusine Kalantaryan, Head of Labor Statistics Department at Statistical Committee of Armenia

Why is there a tendency for a sharp decrease in the birth rate?

Countries with high female labour force participation rates tend to have higher fertility. If in the 1950s countries had a higher birth rate due to low female labor market participation, nowadays countries with high female labor market participation have a higher fertility rate. Post-industrial countries, which have provided work-family balance for women, have increased levels of population reproduction and birth rates.

-Professor Mary Brinton
Reischauer Institute Professor of Sociology at Harvard University

“

"Countries with rigid labor markets where employment entry after school or a career break is difficult usually have low fertility”.

– UNFPA, “Policy responses to low fertility”, 2020

Right of Breastfeeding and Laws

Every child has the right to be breastfed as an optimal, no-alternative means of receiving safe and adequate nutrition.
A nursing woman has the right to have appropriate conditions for breastfeeding in workplaces, penitentiaries, healthcare organizations and other public places.
The state is taking measures to promote breastfeeding, to protect the rights of nursing women and children.

Law on Promoting Breastfeeding and Regulation of Marketing of Baby Food

Breastfeeding Room

According to Article 251 of the Labor Code, the nursing room is also mentioned among the sanitary-hygienic rooms of an organization.

Extra Breaks

Women who have a child up to the age of 18 months are entitled to an additional break of at least one hour. According to Article 258 of the Labor Code, every three hours an additional break of no less than half an hour is provided for nursing the baby.

Flexible Hours

Article 141 of the Labor Code stipulates that, at the request of an employee who is pregnant or caring for a child up to the age of one, a partial working day or a partial working week may be established. In this case, the employee is paid in accordance with the actual time spent working or the actual work done.

Although we have legal regulations about a breastfeeding room and extra breaks, they have many gaps and because of that, the right to breastfeed is not exercised and respected by employers.

First, this is not an imperative rule that breastfeeding rooms should exist in workplaces and there are no regulations in which cases and by what standards these rooms should be furnished.

Second, 30 minutes break is not enough to go home from work, feed the baby, and return, also taking into account the problem of our transportation system.

And finally, actually, women do not have the right to flexible working conditions.

Gevorg Sloyan

Lawyer
"Point 33" NGO

Solution Beyond the Law

Research carried out in Austria demonstrates clear indicators as to why employers should be more family-friendly:

Motivation to work increases by 11%
Staff turnover decreases by 10%
Maternity and childcare leave is short (9%) as employees are more likely to return to work early
Absences due to illness are less frequent (on average by 23%)
The employee’s loyalty to the company is higher
Work efficiency increases by 12%

Of course, the conscientious approach and initiative of employers to create a family-friendly environment and encourage breastfeeding is very important. However, legislative regulations are also needed to have systemic solutions for everyone. Our organization proposes legislative changes to exercise the right to breastfeeding in the workplace, at the same time taking into account that it would not an additional burden for the employer. For example, if the employer does not have enough resources to have a breastfeeding room, then the woman should be able to work in flexible conditions (remotely, flexible working hours, etc.).

Gevorg Sloyan

Lawyer
"Point 33" NGO

Ruben Sargsyan

Deputy Minister of Labor and Social Affairs

The issues of women’s participation in the job market and the realization of their right to breastfeed are important to us, taking into account the fact that it may have a positive impact on birth rate growth and demographics.

The draft amendments to the Labor Code included more flexible approaches at that time in terms of using breaks for breastfeeding. Unlike the existing regulation, this may bring about a positive change. However, other steps should also be taken so as to exercise the right to breastfeed in the workplace.

We are ready to discuss the recommendations of legislative changes presented by the “Point 33” NGO and their rationale in greater detail, to later consider their inclusion in the draft amendments to the Labor Code that had been put into circulation by then or, alternatively, their submission in the form of a separate new draft.