In the local elections held on December 5 last year, Diana Gasparyan, who has been the mayor of Etchmiadzin (Vagharshapat) since 2018, was re-elected to that position. With the expansion of communities in Armenia, the number of women in mayoral positions has decreased; today Diana Gasparyan is one of the three women who lead a community. In a conversation with WomenNet.am, she told why she decided to run again, what are her plans for the next five years, and why, in her opinion, the people of Etchmiadzin trusted her to run the community again.
– I think that the residents of our Etchmiadzin trusted me again, because they saw the work done by my team in this short period of time. Evaluating what has already been done, they voted for the continuation of those programs. In fact, my decision to run had the same basis. Of course, we managed to do a lot, but I had a lot of unfinished projects – enough potential to complete those projects, dreams that I wanted to realize. As a result of all this, I decided to take on that responsibility for five years….
…. How do you personally contribute to women having greater opportunities to realize their potential for the benefit of the state and the community?
– I can say from personal experience that I give women the opportunity to express themselves in the institutions and staff under me. And I can say that, for example, in leadership positions we try to keep women and men equally involved. I try to be as busy as possible, to participate in various activities that promote women’s progress, to act as a speaker, to motivate young women and girls to believe in their own strengths and to pursue their dreams.
Full text in Armenian
