Georgia GRPFM 2022 /Gender Annex/

INTRODUCTION

Purpose

1. This Government of Georgia public financial management assessment addresses the topic of gender.  It focuses on gender responsive public financial management (GRPFM) and has been developed in line with the Public Expenditure and Financial Accountability (PEFA) supplementary framework for assessing gender responsive public financial management. The  purpose of this assessment is to collect information on the degree to which Georgia’s public financial management (PFM) system is gender responsive. The assessment results are expected to facilitate the measurement of progress in this area and to inform a broader strategy of the Government of Georgia on improving the PFM system and institutionalizing gender responsive budgeting (GRB) in Georgia. The development of the new PFM strategy will be launched by the Government of Georgia in 2022 and will provide an excellent opportunity for the findings of the PEFA and GRPFM PEFA assessments to be integrated into the broader public finance management reform agenda.

2. The GRPFM assessment was conducted by the Ministry of Finance (MoF) with technical and financial support from UN Women and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Norway.  It was conducted within the framework of the “Good Governance for Gender Equality in Georgia” (GG4GEG) project. The assessment was carried out from December 2021 to May 2022 and covers the period 2019-2021.

3.The assessment was carried out by Johann Seiwald and Zurab Chinchaladze. The team was supported by Tamar Vashakidze (Governance & Participation in Public Life Program Analyst, UN Women Georgia) and Ekaterine Vachnadze (Project Analyst, UN Women Georgia) who provided substantial inputs to the development of the report. Ermira Lubani (GRB Program Specialist, Europe and Central Asia Regional Office, UN Women) provided overall guidance throughout the process. Quality assurance of the process and outputs was implemented in accordance with the PEFA Secretariat guidelines. The assessment started in December 2021. An induction workshop about the GRFPM PEFA methodology was organized by the Ministry of Finance for the assessment team and UN Women in which representatives of the Gender Equality Council of the Parliament, the Inter-Agency Commission on Gender Equality, and World Bank participated. Data collection, including the interviews with stakeholders was carried out between January and March 2022 followed by the analysis and assessment (scoring) process (time of fieldwork). The initial draft was reviewed by the Ministry of Finance and EC representative and afterwards submitted to the World Bank for peer review by the team preparing the National PEFA assessment. The validation team for both the central government and Gender PEFAs visited Tbilisi from July 15 to August 3, 2022 (and subsequently from September 3 to 12, 2022). On July 22, the meeting was held between the World Bank Mission and UN Women representatives to review the GRPFM report and agree on the next steps of cooperation. As a result of the meeting discussion, the GRPFM was revised and re-submitted to the WB and subsequently to the PEFA Secretariat.

Background

1. Gender equality and the empowerment of women are acknowledged as critical components of democratic and stable societies. Over the past decades, Georgia has prioritized gender equality and women’s empowerment goals and has demonstrated this commitment through the implementation of relevant key actions. In 1994, Georgia ratified the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and thus became accountable to the CEDAW Committee. In 1995, Georgia participated in the UN Fourth World Conference in Beijing, where the Beijing Declaration and Platform of Action (BPfA) were adopted. Within the framework of the BPfA, Georgia took on the obligation of ensuring progress in all 12 areas of concern. In 2015, Georgia, along with all other UN member states, committed to implement all 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs) and targets, including SDG 5 (Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment).  Georgia has taken active measures to adjust the SDG targets and indicators according to local conditions, challenges and opportunities in the country. In 2017, Georgia declared all 17 SDGs as national priorities. In late 2019, the process of implementing SGDs in Georgia was finalized.

2. Georgia has ratified many international conventions with respect to citizen’s rights.  The International Labor Organization (ILO) Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100), and the ILO Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111) were ratified in 1993. Furthermore, under the Association Agreement between the European Union and Georgia, signed on June 27, 2014, Georgia is required to harmonize the country’s labor regulations with the relevant EC directives. These directives include the regulation of labor standards in accordance with the ILO conventions, the protection of employees’ rights through labor laws, the prohibition of discrimination, gender equality, and labor safety. In 2021 Georgia became a member of the Equal Pay International Coalition (EPIC). During the same year Georgia undertook commitments, under the Generation Equality Forum, in two thematic areas: combating gender-based violence and supporting the increased participation of women in technology and innovation.