High-level meeting on gender equality and women’s empowerment at the local level

Promoting gender equality and the empowerment of women at the local level is an important area of UN Women’s work in Georgia. In cooperation with the National Association of Local Authorities of Georgia (NALAG), UN Women supports strengthening gender equality policies across each of the country’s 64 municipalities. This includes the provision of technical support in drafting local level gender equality action plans and developing the capacity of municipal representatives on gender equality, amongst other key issues.

Numerous core challenges and priorities were discussed during the high-level “Gender Equality Policy at the Local Level: Main Challenges and Actions” meeting, held on 10 May in Tbilisi. The event aimed to support gender equality and the empowerment of women at the local level by promoting and extending coordination between the heads of Georgian municipalities.

The meeting was attended by the Mayor of Tbilisi and the President of NALAG, Mr. Kakha Kaladze, the Chairperson of the Gender Equality Council of the Parliament of Georgia, Ms. Nino Tsilosani, the heads of the 64 municipalities, representatives of the legislative and executive governments, alongside international and local civil society organizations.

As Mr. Kaladze stated in his welcoming remarks, Georgia has taken a number of important steps to promote gender equality and eliminate violence against women. “However, pertinent challenges remain that require thorough work,” he further noted, “this includes creating opportunities for women’s equal participation in economic, social, cultural and political life.”

During the meeting, the participants discussed municipal gender equality action plans, as well as the key challenges and priorities for local governments on gender equality. The heads of the municipalities moreover signed a joint statement to support gender equality and the empowerment of women. In addition, memoranda were signed between NALAG and the Administration of the Government of Georgia, and between NALAG and the Academy of the Ministry of Finance. Both of which aim to strengthen cooperation and partnership in the support of gender equality at the local level.

The initiative is being implemented within the framework of the “Good Governance for Gender Equality in Georgia” project, instigated by UN Women with support from the Government of Norway.