UN Women Georgia launches awareness-raising campaign to promote women's political engagement

The UN Women Georgia Country Office on Monday announced the launch of a campaign titled Changes Require the Voices of Women to “raise public awareness and mobilise public support” for women’s increased participation in decision-making. 

Content created for the awareness-raising campaign combines “compelling facts and data with real-life stories” about experiences of women politicians and activists from different generations, the organisation said.

It added the campaign aimed to showcase contributions women politicians and public figures had made to Georgia’s “progress and development” since the 19th century, highlighting that “women’s quest for equality and leadership in public life is embedded in Georgia’s historic past and traditions”.

Running through mid-October, the awareness-raising campaign is a collaboration between UN Women and the Georgian creative agency Leavingstone, which also includes a series of social media initiatives and four stand-up shows in the cities of Tbilisi, Telavi, Kutaisi, and Batumi, the UN Women Georgia said, adding the objective was to “engage a broad audience and challenge prevailing stereotypes”.

Speaking about data, UN Women Georgia said women remained underrepresented in key political roles despite comprising 52 percent of Georgia's population. 

Currently, only 27 out of 129 members of the Georgian Parliament are women, with just two females in the Cabinet of Ministers. Additionally, only three out of 64 municipalities have female mayors, and in top managerial positions - women hold  only nine percent of the Heads of public entities”, the organisation said. 

Citing data from the Central Election Commission, the organisation noted that while there were 1.9 million registered female voters - 7.2 percent more than their male counterparts - men had “consistently demonstrated” higher turnout rates in recent elections.

One key objective of the awareness-raising campaign is to mobilise women voters, emphasising that active electoral participation is foundational to engaging in political life”, it pointed out. 

The organisation added barriers to women's political engagement were not solely structural, claiming societal attitudes often perpetuated the belief that politics is a domain more suited for men. 

It also claimed women involved in politics “frequently encounter various forms of violence”, and stressed a 2022 UN Women study had indicated that 54 percent of female politicians reported experiencing violence during their political careers or election campaigns.

The campaign is part of the UN Women project Women's Increased Leadership for Democracy in Georgia, supported by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation.