Taking Steps towards Closing the Gender Pay Gap in Georgia
Equal pay is one of the targets of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which recognizes its key to inclusive growth and poverty reduction. Sustainable Development Goal 8 calls for the promotion of sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth; full and productive employment; and decent work for all. Equal pay is also addressed in the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (BPfA) as one of the indicators for women’s empowerment. Georgia has committed to fulfilling the obligations indicated by these international instruments.
The Labour Code of Georgia – as the primary regulatory framework for employment relationships – does not cover the equal pay principle, nor does it specify the notion of direct and indirect discrimination. According to the International Labour Organization (ILO) Committee of Experts, the Georgian national courts have reported no cases regarding equal pay between men and women. The Committee assumes that when no cases or complaints are being lodged it is likely to indicate a lack of an appropriate legal framework, a lack of awareness of rights, a lack of confidence in, or absence of, practical access to procedures, or a fear of reprisals. The Labour Code is currently under-going a reform process and the proposed draft includes a definition of discrimination based on pay.
The celebratory event is organized in the framework of the project “Women’s Economic Empowerment in the South Caucasus” (WEESC) funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and Austrian Development Cooperation through the Austrian Development Agency (ADA) and implemented by UN Women. The objective of the event is to provide a platform to discuss Georgia’s commitments to the EPIC and addressing the Gender Pay Gap (GPG). The event will also discuss the role of social partners in addressing the gender pay gap aiming to increase the motivation of private companies, employers’ organisations and trade unions to join EPIC.
The event will gather representatives from the Parliament of Georgia, government agencies that are involved in policy level decisions, data production and analysis on the gender pay gap from Armenia and Georgia; Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development (MoESD) of Georgia; Department of Labour under the Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Labor, Health and Social Affairs (MoIDPOTLHSA) of Georgia; the National Statistics Office of Georgia; and representatives of the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs of Armenia; and the National Statistics Office of Armenia. In addition, the event will include representatives from the Trade Unions and Employers’ Associations of Armenia and Georgia and key civil society organizations.
Due to the epidemiological situation the event will be held fully online on 18 September. Register here