Advancing gender equality takes more than good intentions, it requires robust and up-to-date evidence. Without data that clearly highlights the scale and nature of gender inequality, discriminatory practices often remain hidden, denied, or normalized.

In April 2025, UN Women hosted an event to discuss the findings of the 2024 Gender Equality Attitudes Study, a survey examining public attitudes towards gender equality in Georgia. The event was part of the “Women’s Increased Leadership for Resilient and Peaceful Societies” programme, led by UN Women with support from the Government of Denmark.

The gathering brought together approximately 50 business professionals, including experts on human resources, public relations, and corporate social responsibility, to explore this data and its implications.

The study revealed persistent gender stereotypes in Georgian society:

42 per cent of respondents believed that a man’s primary role is to earn income for the family, while a woman’s main responsibility is caregiving.
71 per cent agreed that women should work less than men and spend more time with their families.
50 per cent of the respondents believed women are more suited to secretarial, service, and similar roles
75 per cent thought women are incapable of performing certain jobs.

In light of these findings, presenters from UN Women underscored the important role that the Georgian private sector can play in challenging these beliefs, and implementing work-life balance policies, such as parental leave and flexible work schedules, , and recruiting women in male-dominated sectors.

Participants reflected on their personal experiences with gender stereotypes. Nanuka Alavidze, Public Relations Manager at Algani , a security and protection company, highlighted the persistent impact of gender bias in her industry. She emphasized that “gender equality directly impacts employment growth and women’s participation in the sector,” and stressed the value of having concrete data and trends to guide progress. Alavidze added that conversations like these “enable us to more thoughtfully plan new strategies to advance gender equality in the security and defense sector and to explore how we can make our company policies and workplaces more inclusive.”

The impact that data on gender inequality can have was also demonstrated last year at TBC Bank, a Georgian bank and WEPs signatory since 2021. After reviewing a report showing that Georgian women spend half as much time as men on paid work and twice as much time on unpaid work, with the gap even wider among working parents, the bank took action.

Maka Bochorishvili, Environmental, Social and Governance Coordinator at TBC Bank explained: “We are big users of these reports. It’s important to understand the granularity of the data – and the analysis. That gives you the real insight!” She explained that in 2021 and 2022, not a single male employee took paternity leave at TBC Bank. However, after the study’s findings were shared with staff through trainings, meetings, and internal communications, and the company began encouraging men to take advantage of this programme, four men took paternity leave in 2023.

This small example demonstrates how gender data can be used to spark change. When businesses engage with the evidence, they can help challenge outdated norms and open the door to more inclusive workplace practices.

Originally published on UN Women Europe and Central Asia (In English)

The Power of Evidence: A Conversation of the Georgian Private Sector

Advancing gender equality takes more than good intentions, it requires robust and up-to-date evidence. Without data that clearly highlights the scale and nature of gender inequality, discriminatory practices often remain hidden, denied, or normalized.