Care-friendly workplaces discussed at Women’s Economic Empowerment Forum

At the Women’s Economic Empowerment Forum, initiated by the European Business Association, UN Women hosted the panel discussion ‘Business Solutions for Inclusive Growth: Care-friendly Workplaces’. The session was attended by the CEOs of European Business Association member companies: ProCredit Bank, BDO Georgia, Microbank Crystal, Tegeta Holding and Caraps Medline. They discussed the strategies and importance of creating an inclusive workplace and highlighted the positive outcomes that creating a care-friendly workplace brings to businesses.

According to the Time Use Survey conducted by UN Women and the National Statistics Office of Georgia (Geostat), women in Georgia spend five times more time on unpaid care work than men. This amounts to approximately 2.5 billion hours and 10 billion Georgian lari per year. The existing unfair distribution often deprives women of opportunities for employment, career development and promotion to leading positions. At the same time, the work that makes the greatest contribution to the life and functioning of society remains largely unpaid and unappreciated. It was these important data that were highlighted in the introductory part of the panel discussion. It was also noted that in 2021, the share of unpaid care work was 20.5 per cent of Georgia’s GDP, and 82.4 per cent of this work was performed by women. Accordingly, modern business, the labour market and economic growth are based on a system grounded in unequal distribution.

In parallel, the session participants discussed the role that gender equality plays in leadership, business and economic development. At the same time, they emphasized that companies—through care-oriented policies, support for inclusion and the full participation of women—not only contribute to the growth of organizations but also set good examples.

During the panel discussion, Tegeta Holding CEO Ekaterine Kavtaradze spoke about the company’s own practices: “Since 2019, we have been signatories to the United Nations Women’s Empowerment Principles. For years, we have been working closely with international organizations to make our involvement in the women’s empowerment process even more active and effective, especially given that 75 per cent of the company’s employees are men. Creating an inclusive and equal environment among our employees is of paramount importance to us. Accordingly, we plan and implement various initiatives in the direction of gender equality, creating an environment that, on the one hand, allows our team members to realize [their full potential] and, on the other hand, attracts professional women to the automotive industry. This is already reflected in the improved numbers and environment.

It is noteworthy that the forum, with the support of the European Union, also hosted a second panel discussion, ‘The Role of Academia and Business in Empowering Women and Creating Gender Balance in the Technology Sector’. Participants also highlighted the importance of the projects that UN Women, together with Business and Technology University, has been implementing for years to support the involvement of women and girls in information technologies.

This year, the Women’s Economic Empowerment Forum brought together business leaders, international partners and leading industry professionals around the theme of inclusive business environments. The forum was dedicated to promoting women’s economic empowerment and sharing successful experiences. One of the parts of the event was the EBA4Women Awards, which recognized winners from the private sector in three categories: Female Leader of the Year, Women’s Empowerment Project of the Year and Male Champion. The forum was attended by John Braeckeveldt, President of the European Business Association; Zane Rungule, Deputy Head of the European Union Delegation to Georgia; Anne Toft Sørensen, Ambassador of Denmark to Georgia; Edīte Medne, Ambassador of Latvia to Georgia; Meline Arakelian, Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to Georgia; Bergljot Hovland, Ambassador of Norway to Georgia; and Stella Renita, Regional Representative of the European Investment Bank (EIB) for the South Caucasus.

The panel discussions and forum support on care-responsive workplaces were part of the UN Women programme “Women’s Increased Leadership for Resilient and Peaceful Societies”, which is funded by the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and implemented by UN Women offices in Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine, with the support of the UN Women Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia.