The Self-employment of Women in Azerbaijan

Abstract

Azerbaijan has a population of more than 10 million, of which women accounted for 50% in 2020. At the same time, 93% of Azerbaijan’s citizens describe themselves as Muslims. Since the beginning of independence, Azerbaijan has been a secular state by virtue of Article 48 of the Constitution, which guarantees the freedom of worship, choice, or nonpractice of religion and the freedom of expression of one’s own views on religion. This article aims to assess the changes in the self-employment of women in Azerbaijan through a deductive analysis of data and observation of changes in the structure of resources based on generally available macroeconomic data. This study focuses on the situation of women on the Azerbaijani labour market over the two decades of the 21st century. The numbers of economically active women, including those in employment and the unemployed, and economically inactive women are specified. Further, the government’s legal and financial policy in respect of women’s self-employment is analysed. The author determines what percentage of companies were set up by women and in which sectors and locations.