Social and Economic Empowerment of Women

Photo: UN Women/Justyna Melnikiewicz

Georgia

Increasing evidence confirms that the achievement of the global 2030 Agenda with its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) will not be possible without the acceleration of women’s economic empowerment. UN Women Georgia works with a wide array of actors to foster sustainable change and create an enabling environment for the economic empowerment of women, including by working with government institutions, private sector companies, UN agencies, development partners, trade unions, civil society and grass-roots organizations.

Under the 2016-2020 United Nations Partnership for Sustainable Development (UNPSD), UN Women supports the Government of Georgia to achieve nationalized SDGs, especially Goals 5, 8, 10 and 12; to prioritize women’s economic empowerment in gender-responsive policymaking; and to integrate gender in national and sectoral strategies and action plans. Special emphasis is placed on strengthening the capacity of government institutions to apply international standards and develop and implement more gender-inclusive laws, policies and programmes that actively target women and impact their lives.

UN Women supports government and public institutions to develop and deliver gender-responsive programmes and public services for women’s economic empowerment that align with international labour standards, primarily focusing on the prospective ratification of the ILO Conventions on Maternity Protection (No. 183), Workers with Family Responsibilities (No. 156) and Domestic Workers (No. 189). UN Women’s key partners are the Parliament of Georgia; the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development and its subsidiaries Enterprise Georgia, Georgia’s Innovation and Technology Agency and the Maritime Transport Agency; the Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Labour, Health and Social Affairs; and the Agricultural and Rural Development Agency, a Legal Entity of Public Law (LEPL) under the Ministry of Agriculture. UN Women further works with the National Statistics Office of Georgia (GEOSTAT) to promote the availability of sex-disaggregated data and gendered analyses of available data to inform decision-making at the policy level.

To accelerate the pace of progress towards gender equality, UN Women mobilizes private sector companies to take concrete actions for women’s empowerment – both within and outside the workplace. Through the UN Women/UN Global Compact Women's Empowerment Principles (WEPs) and the WEPs Gender Gap Analysis Tool, UN Women provides information on why gender equality is critical to business performance and helps companies identify what actions can be taken. The work is accomplished in partnership with business associations and the Public Defender’s Office. Equal pay policies, gender-sensitive recruitment practices, targeted job placement programmes and the adoption of marketing practices that challenge gender stereotypes are just a few examples from the menu of actions available for companies.

At the community level, UN Women works to increase the sustainable livelihoods of women, especially those from poor and socially excluded groups. With partners such as the Georgian Farmers’ Association and the civil society organizations Kakheti Regional Development Foundation and the Taso Foundation, UN Women supports women to improve their job skills and to access legal, financial and employment services. Women entrepreneurs who would like to start their own businesses are supported with skills and seed capital, while those who are already engaged in business and interested in scaling up their enterprises are linked to larger cooperatives and corporate value chains.

Armenia

In Armenia, UN Women Georgia works through UNDP Armenia and in partnership with the Ministry of Territorial Administration, Development and Infrastructure (MTADI) and the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (MLSA) to support the government to develop gender-responsive policies and programmes. In cooperation with the National Statistical Service of Armenia (ARMSTAT), UN Women works towards improving sex-disaggregated data and analysis to inform gender-responsive policymaking.

At the community level, with UN Women support, UNDP Armenia works in the regions of Gegharkunik and Shirak to increase the sustainable livelihoods of women, especially those who are poor and socially excluded. The UN partners provide technical and financial support to women to start new or strengthen existing businesses, or to gain employment.

Azerbaijan

UN Women Georgia works through UNDP Azerbaijan and in partnership with the State Committee for Family, Women and Children Affairs to support women’s economic empowerment in three regions: Baku-Khazar, Gusar and Sabirabad. The primary mechanism to reach women in these regions are the Women’s Resource Centres (WRCs), first established by UNDP in 2013. UN Women has supported the establishment of the WRCs in Baku-Khazar and Gusar and has strengthened the operations of the oldest WRC in Azerbaijan in Sabirabad. Women in these three regions are supported to increase their skills to either start or strengthen their businesses or to find employment.

UN Women’s work towards women’s economic empowerment is implemented in partnership with and funded by the Governments of Norway (Ministry of Foreign Affairs), Switzerland (the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation) and Austria (the Austrian Development Cooperation).