“Conversations with Women” Series.
Mane Tandilyan: Former Minister of Labour and Social Affairs of Armenia on why she is thinking to open a school for aspiring female politicians.
We were talking about the Velvet revolution in Armenia and the women behind the scenes that made it happen, and a friend of a friend asked, “Do you know Mane? Now there’s a woman with character."
Talking with Mane now about the role of women in Armenian politics, her life as an MP and as a Minister of Labour and Social Affairs, I start to understand what that guy meant. There’s a lot of energy when she speaks. Confidently but thoughtfully. Picking her words, laying them out with a deep tone. Her life began like so many others in Soviet Armenia. When I ask her about her childhood, she remembers the lack of electricity, heating, the need to survive. A familiar story for me having grown up in a neighboring country. After graduating with a gold medal, she went on to study history, following her passion. Later, switching to Business Administration at the American University of Armenia. Something more pragmatic, leading to a career in Finance.
Before going into politics, you had a successful career in the private sector, working as a Financial Controller and Chief Accountant in one of the largest IT…
