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UN Joint Programme for Gender Equality in Georgia - Phase 3
summary
Three UN agencies – UNDP, UN Women and UNFPA – with funds from the Government of Sweden, pool their resources, experience, expertise and assets to address the challenges of gender equality in Georgia. The Joint UN Programme for Gender Equality focuses on the three main areas: (1) Women’s political and economic empowerment, (2) Eliminating violence against women, and (3) Realization of sexual and reproductive rights of population. The third phase of the programme was launched in 2022 and will continue through 2026.
During the current phase, UNDP focused on two regions in its interventions (Kakheti, Samegrelo) and further developed partnerships with the UN Joint Programme’s main partners:
- Association of Women Farmers (AWF)
- Center for Strategic Research and Development of Georgia (CSRDG)
- Municipal Service Providers Association (MSPA)
- Vocational Education and Training (VET) institutions (Shota Mestia State Teaching University of Zugdidi, LEPL Community College Phazisi, LEPL Community College AISI)
what we do
UNDP's work within the UN Joint Programme for Gender Equality is focused on enhancing political and economic empowerment of women through:
- Policy advice: we advocate for streamlining gender equality to the national legislation and policies; assist in developing and updating strategic documents, including national action plans; support evidence-based policy dialogue across the Georgian society.
- Strengthening national systems: we promote coordination and implementation of innovative policies and plans related to gender equality, including for political and economic empowerment, SRH&RR, prevention and response to violence against women and girls, as well as supporting development and institutionalization of monitoring mechanisms of implementation.
- Strengthening public advocacy: we work with civil society and local communities in Georgia to enhance the capacities of rights-holders and mobilize participatory advocacy platforms.
- Bridging the digital gender gap: with additional resources through the UNDP Rapid Financing Facility, in response to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, we promote the digital inclusion of women and vulnerable groups through promoting outreach of digital public services and the development of online job coaching platforms.
results so far
- The proportion of women in the Parliament of Georgia increased from 6 percent in 2008 to 20.6 percent in 2020.
- In July 2020 Parliament of Georgia adopted the Electoral Code Amendment. Part of this amendment – the women's quota mechanism includes 25 percent gender quotas in the proportional party lists for the Parliament and a 50 percent quota for local administrations (sakrebulo).
- The proportion of women in local councils increased from 11.8 percent to 13.4 percent after the municipal elections in 2017. The Women Councillors’ Forum was established in 2013 to increase women’s role in local governance.
- In September 2020, the Georgian Parliament adopted the Labour Code reform package, which introduced independent labour inspection and a wide range of gender-sensitive principles.
- The Gender Equality National Action Plan for 2018-2020 was adopted setting the milestones for the country in achieving gender equality in different areas of political, social, and economic life.
- UNDP, in cooperation with UNFPA, conducted an innovative gender perceptions study "Men, Women and Gender Relations in Georgia: Public Perceptions and Attitudes". The study shows progress in gender perceptions with regards to women’s role in the workplace and decision-making.
- More than 3000 rural women received vocational training in different fields to promote their participation in economic activities and increase local household income. Through vocational education, UNDP strives to break the stereotypes of traditionally “men’s” and “women’s” professions.
- 26 Women Initiative Groups in 11 municipalities in Samegrelo and Kakheti have been supported to implement 56 microgrants projects. These grassroots women’s organisations also successfully lobbied to include locally-identified issues in municipal budgets. In 2016-2020, 220 problems have been considered in municipal budgets, totalling GEL 22,615,472.
covid-19 response
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The UN Joint Programme for Gender Equality so far responded to COVID-19 with the following activities:
Provided support to partner VET colleges in adapting to distance learning mode. More than 900 participants (majority women), took place in distance vocational training.
- Provided knowledge building for rural women in partnerships with the Association of Women Farmers. More than 400 beneficiaries gained skills in small-scale farming and agritourism and learned about opportunities to access state funding.
- Provided rapid response to meet the urgent needs of the LGBTQI+ community.
- Supported 31 vulnerable women through business micro-grants to develop services found to be lacking during the pandemic in local communities.
- In cooperation with the Government of Georgia, conducted a study assessing the gender dimension of the impacts of COVID-19.
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In addition, within a sub-project "Improving access to digital services for gender-equal recovery", UNDP mobilized funds through the Rapid Financing Facility to respond to socio-economic impacts related to the COVID-19 pandemic. UNDP's effort focuses on the comprehensive promotion of digital technologies and online public services to ensure a gender-inclusive recovery from the crisis.
Contact information
Address
3 L. Kavsadze Street
Tbilisi, Georgia
Contact persons
Ia Dadunashvili
Project Manager
Ia.dadunashvili@undp.org
Gigi Bregadze
UNDP Democratic Governance Team Leader
gigi.bregadze@undp.org
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