Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment

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USAID’s approach to gender equality and female empowerment is based on a premise that an equal inclusion of men and women is key to achieving effective and sustainable development outcomes. Therefore, the increased participation and inclusion of women in our activities is directly correlated with an increasingly stable, integrated, and healthy society. USAID works with a range of institutions to enhance the role of women in decision-making at the national, regional, and local levels.

Initiatives aimed at enhancing gender equality and female empowerment in Georgia include:

• Increasing the demand for female candidates by political parties and voters through addressing negative stereotypes associated with women in politics. USAID has supported women candidates for parliament to develop their campaign, improve message development and communication skills, and conduct effective voter outreach in the 2012 pre-election period and during the election season.

• USAID’s Increased Trust in the Electoral Process project has been supporting activities for women in national minority regions to increase their awareness of election-related issues.

• USAID’s Advancing National Integration project has been advancing gender equality and female empowerment through public awareness activities and training events in “club houses” established in each of 12 NGO-based youth clubs across Georgia.

• USAID-supported Centers for Civil Engagement provide space for issue-based discussions on gender, women’s health, and gender-based violence.

• USAID’s Economic Prosperity Initiative project facilitates women’s involvement in economic activities and promotes economic opportunities for women entrepreneurs. The project is strengthening the capacity of selected organizations of women through targeted training activities in networking and entrepreneurship in the Adjara, Guria, Imereti, and Kakheti regions.

• With USAID support, Women’s Fund in Georgia has worked with rural women to build their business skills and self-confidence. It has supported women entrepreneurs to start their own businesses by providing small grants to female Internally Displaced Persons in the Shida Kartli, Kakheti, Imereti, and Racha regions.

• The Association of Persons with Disabilities in Tsalenjikha has assisted women in the Tsalenjikha, Chkhorotsku, Senaki, and Khobi regions to track employment opportunities in traditional and non-traditional sectors of the economy by providing small grants, facilitating linkages with microfinance institutions, and organizing vocational training events.