Artist Musya Keburia creates murals on the walls of the Social Inclusion Center. Photo: UNDP Georgia/Nino Zedginidze

Our focus

Gender Equality

Overview

Georgia makes social, economic and policy strides toward achieving meaningful gender equality. However, persistent inequalities and deep-rooted stereotypes still hamper the country’s progress toward an equal and inclusive society.

Even though Georgia is among the countries that introduced electoral quotas to empower women to play a more active role in politics, women’s political participation remains low – around 19 percent in parliament (2020) and 24 percent in local administrations (2021).

Almost 60 percent of women are not engaged in the formal labour market, which may cost Georgia over 11 percent of its current GDP per capita. The gender gap affects entrepreneurial activities and the private sector. In 2019, women represented only 30 percent of newly registered business owners. Furthermore, Georgia faces around a 35 percent gender pay gap and alarming statistics of gender-based violence.

Despite these worrying figures, UNDP and UNFPA research shows that public opinion in Georgia is shifting in favour of women pursuing political and other careers. Three out of four men are comfortable with having a woman manager and 60 percent of all Georgians think that the involvement of women in politics would benefit their country.

19%

women in parliament

2022

24%

women in local administrations

2022

60%

women not engaged in the formal labour market

2021

Our goals

UNDP incorporates gender equality principles in every area of our work.

  • We work with Georgia’s government, parliament, civil society, private companies and local communities to advance women’s participation in politics, governance and the economy.
  • We build a network of local and international stakeholders to advocate for women’s rights, combat discriminatory practices, challenge gender roles, shatter stereotypes, and put an end to violence against women and girls.
  • We seek to promote social inclusion and the care economy and eliminate discrimination toward women and vulnerable social groups, including the LGBTQI+ communities and ethnic and religious minorities.
  • We champion inclusive economic development that benefits women and men equally.
  • We build the skills and knowledge of women and men to increase resilience to climate change impacts.