If tech is the darling of Armenia’s economy, then PicsArt is the darling of the sector. Almost half of the company’s 360-person staff globally are women, including many of the team leaders. Women make up almost half (47 percent) of the company’s management positions and currently 28 percent of their engineers (not including UX/UI and other technical roles) are comprised of women.

While the number of women in IT globally has not reached its full potential, in Armenia, women are entering the sector in growing numbers.

According to a recent study by PwC, a lack of female role models is reinforcing the perception that a career in tech isn’t a viable option for many women. “Females aren’t considering technology careers as they aren’t given enough information on what working in the sector involves and also because no one is putting it forward as an option to them,” the report states. The fact that the tech sector is seen as too male dominated is also an impediment: “Half of females say that feeling like the work they do makes the world a better place is the most important factor when deciding their career.”

These findings indicate that technology organizations could position themselves as a “force for good” to attract more females to the industry.

With women making up almost half of the company’s staff, Hovhannes Avoyan says that gender parity at their company is reflective of the talent in the country. “There are numerous successful Armenian women leading in chess, medicine, robotics and the sciences,” he says. “We cannot think of a reason not to take advantage of such talent.”

Avoyan says he has always believed in the power of women. “My mother, my wife, my daughter are all examples of brilliant, strong, and able women,” he explains. “This has been my reality.” And he says he has never believed that a woman is not up for the task. “Innovation, creativity and ability do not know gender,” he says. PicsArt’s development team in Armenia consists of many women developers, tech leaders and product managers. “Gender parity at the office imitates the talent pool of the country,” Avoyan notes.

Anush Ghambaryan sees the potential that the sector has for Armenia and the talent that will propel it forward. For her, the question isn’t about entry barriers but about interest and drive. During a visit to PicsArt, a young girl from Yeghegnadzor expressed interest in Artificial Intelligence. Ghambaryan recalls how excited she was to be at PicsArt and said, “I’m interested in the universe and I’m going to be the director of the Baikonur Cosmodrome, you’ll see!”

Artashes Vardanyan, Director of Microsoft Innovation Center (MIC) Armenia echoes these sentiments. He says that in many IT companies in Armenia, almost half of the employees are women. While the majority of the women are involved in design and the men in network administration, he believes it isn’t about any barriers, “but more about taste and choice.”

Anush recalls that after graduating high school, while she was mulling over her options - applying to architecture or taking gap year - a friend of the family took her to the Polytechnic University and said, “This is the IT department, it will be the first class, you should try and apply.” She remembers not having a particular preference at the time, but decided to apply anyway. “I got the highest score and then I started going to classes without really understanding what it was,” she explains. “It was all new for me, but after several months I realized that I was in the right place.”