Changes Require the Voices of Women: Awareness-raising campaign on women’s political participation

The meaningful participation of women in politics and in decision-making processes is a significant issue in Georgia, like anywhere else in the world. Although women represent more than half of Georgia’s population - 52 per cent - and play a vital role in the country’s political, economic, and social development, they rarely occupy decision-making positions. Their unique experiences, views and needs remain overlooked. Additionally, women who wish to engage or advance in politics often face barriers simply because they are women. Georgia significantly lags behind the average of Eastern European and Central Asian countries in this regard, and ranks among the lowest out of the European states.

To raise public awareness and to mobilize public support for women’s increased participation in decision-making, UN Women Georgia Country Office implemented an awareness raising campaign “Change Requires the Voices of Women.” The content created for the campaign combines compelling facts and data with real-life stories -, sharing the experiences of women politicians and activists from different generations. The campaign also aimed to showcase the contribution that women politicians and public figures made to Georgia’s progress and development since the 19th century, highlighting that women’s quest for equality and leadership in public life is embedded in Georgia’s historic past and traditions. Additionally, as a part of the campaign, four stand-up shows on women’s empowerment were held in Tbilisi, Kvareli, Kutaisi and Batumi. It is noteworthy that stand-up shows have become one of the most popular entertainment platforms in Georgia recently, gaining popularity particularly among the youth.

Despite the population size, the turnout among women voters is lower than that among men. According to the 2020 parliamentary election data from the Central Election Commission, 1.9 million women are registered voters in Georgia. While the registered women voters outnumber the men by 7.2 per cent, men’s turnout has been higher in every elections in the past years. One of the key messages of the UN Women advocacy campaign is to make women voters more active, as the right to participate in political life begins with having an active electoral right.

Notably, the campaign generated positive feedback and high interest across both social media and the mainstream media. The campaign was covered by more than 12 leading media outlets, including top-rated TV channels and popular online media platforms. The campaign reached 1,180,380 unique users on Facebook, with women representing the majority of users at 55.23 per cent. Overall, the campaign’s engagement rate on Facebook was at 2,584,834.

“Promoting women’s rights and their empowerment is crucial for Georgia’s social and economic progress,” said Kaori Ishikawa, UN Women Country Representative in Georgia. “The awareness-raising campaign Changes Require the Voices of Women emphasized the important role that women have been playing in the country’s development. We hope the campaign has helped mobilize public opinion to support the increased participation of women in politics.”

The awareness-raising campaign was implemented by UN Women, in collaboration with the digital creative agency Leavingstone, within the framework of the projects “Women’s Increased Leadership for Democracy in Georgia” (WILD) and “Support for Georgia’s 2024 Parliamentary Elections”, with the generous support of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.