“Who says so?”: Gender and National Identity Considerations in Expertise Adoption in Armenia

Does the source of expert advice really matter? Current literature generally considers the content, medium, and style of presentation of expertise to the wider audience. This exploratory study investigates whether an expert’s gender and national identity influence how potential policy-makers view and consider adopting the expert’s advice. The inquiry is wholly focused on the Armenian context. Primary survey/quasi-experimental research was undertaken using a sample of current social science graduate students in Yerevan to investigate whether expert advice is considered differently depending on the gender and national identity of the expert giving the advice. Quantitative data analysis was undertaken to determine the relationship between the independent variables of advisor gender (male/female), and national identity (local Armenians/diaspora Armenians/ foreigners), and the dependent variable of participants’ perceived value of advice from each expert source. Preliminary research findings indicate that expert source characteristics matter very little in determining whether expertise is valued. Instead, personal convictions seem to matter most when assessing the value of expertise as indicated by the high levels of policy consistency. These results have wider implications for furthering our understanding of potential underlying biases when considering advice in the Armenian policymaking process.