First-ever gender responsive public financial management assessment conducted in Georgia
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Governments, including the Government of Georgia, have committed to the principle of adequate financing for gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls through numerous international agreements and partnerships. In 2019, the World Bank designed the Public Expenditure and Financial Accountability (PEFA) supplementary framework for assessing gender responsive public financial management (GRPFM). The PEFA’s GRPFM is a set of nine indicators that collect information on gender responsive public financial management practices.
The GRPFM self-assessment of Georgia was carried out by the Ministry of Finance with technical support from UN Women. This is the first time a gender responsive PFM assessment has been undertaken in Georgia; it sets the benchmark for future assessments. The assessment was carried out from December 2021 to May 2022.
On 20 December 2022, the Ministry of Finance in partnership with the World Bank, the European Union and UN Women launched the PEFA and GRPFM assessment reports. The two reports identify the strengths and weaknesses of the country’s public finance systems using the PEFA methodology and will feed into Georgia’s PFM Strategy for 2023–2026.
“The PEFA assessment was conducted for the fourth time already and it clearly demonstrates the results of the PFM reforms. It is noteworthy, that together with the PEFA assessment public financial management was analyzed from gender perspective for the first time. Based on the assessments stated above, the reform of public finance management system will continue”, said Giorgi Kakauridze, Deputy Minister of Finance of Georgia.
This report lays important groundwork for integrating gender responsive budgeting in Georgia’s PFM system. Gender-responsive budgeting has been gaining increased traction in public financial management, with more than 80 countries having institutionalized the tool in one form or another.
The GRPFM assessment was technically and financially supported by UN Women in the framework of the “Good Governance for Gender Equality in Georgia” project, generously funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Norway.