Georgia's gender pay gap is one of the highest in the Eastern Partnership region. Full analysis by sector, occupation, and trend — with regional and EU comparisons. Data from Geostat and ILOSTAT.
Georgia has no specific equal pay legislation — the Anti-Discrimination Law (2014) provides general protection but has no wage transparency mechanism. The Gender Equality Law (2010) requires equal pay but has no enforcement mechanism. See Anti-Discrimination Law and Gender Equality Law.
| Sector (NACE) | Male Avg (GEL) | Female Avg (GEL) | Unadjusted Gap | Female share of sector |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic Work (formal) | GEL 1,240 | GEL 640 | ~52% | ~92% female |
| Agriculture (formal) | GEL 1,100 | GEL 610 | 45% | ~48% female |
| Construction (F) | GEL 2,280 | GEL 1,370 | 40% | ~8% female |
| Accommodation and Food Service (I) | GEL 1,680 | GEL 1,040 | 38% | ~58% female |
| Manufacturing (C) | GEL 2,060 | GEL 1,320 | 36% | ~38% female |
| Wholesale and Retail Trade (G) | GEL 2,180 | GEL 1,440 | 34% | ~52% female |
| National Average | GEL 2,750 | GEL 1,840 | ~33% | ~47% female |
| Health and Social Work (Q) | GEL 2,240 | GEL 1,560 | 30% | ~75% female |
| Education (P) | GEL 1,900 | GEL 1,430 | 25% | ~76% female |
| Financial and Insurance (K) | GEL 5,860 | GEL 4,220 | 28% | ~54% female |
| Public Administration (O) | GEL 3,240 | GEL 2,590 | 20% | ~42% female |
| Information and Communication (J) | GEL 5,060 | GEL 3,940 | 22% | ~31% female |
| Mining and Quarrying (B) | GEL 4,020 | GEL 3,290 | 18% | ~14% female |
Note: Sectors with the smallest gender pay gaps (ICT, Mining) are also those with the lowest female participation. Higher female concentration in a sector often correlates with lower average wages for both genders — horizontal occupational segregation depresses wages across the sector.
| Year | Male Avg (GEL) | Female Avg (GEL) | Unadjusted Gap | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 735 | 462 | 37% | Geostat LFS |
| 2012 | 882 | 574 | 35% | Geostat LFS |
| 2014 | 1,038 | 680 | 34% | Geostat LFS |
| 2016 | 1,122 | 745 | 34% | Geostat LFS |
| 2018 | 1,268 | 854 | 33% | Geostat LFS |
| 2020 | 1,408 | 950 | 33% | Geostat LFS |
| 2022 | 1,860 | 1,248 | 33% | Geostat LFS |
| 2024 | 2,750 | 1,840 | ~33% | Geostat Enterprise Survey |
The gender pay gap has remained essentially unchanged at approximately 33% for over a decade. The nominal wages of both men and women have risen significantly, but the ratio between them has not improved. This suggests structural causes (occupational segregation, vertical segregation, care burden) rather than nominal discrimination alone.
Women in Georgia are concentrated in education (76% female), health (75%), domestic work (92%), and hospitality (58%) — all low-wage sectors. Men dominate mining (86%), construction (92%), transport (78%), and ICT (69%) — all high-wage sectors. Directing women toward higher-wage sectors requires education policy, vocational retraining, and removal of cultural barriers to non-traditional roles.
Even within sectors where women are concentrated, they hold fewer senior and managerial positions. In banking and finance (54% female overall), women represent only ~28% of senior management. In public administration (42% female), women hold approximately 30% of deputy minister-level and above positions. The "glass ceiling" effect contributes significantly to the adjusted pay gap (~20%).
Women in Georgia perform approximately 4.5x more unpaid care work (childcare, elder care, household) than men (Geostat Time Use Survey, 2021). This forces many women into part-time work, career breaks, or lower-demand jobs compatible with care responsibilities — depressing lifetime earnings significantly. No state childcare provision for under-3s exists; kindergarten coverage for 3-6 is ~50%.
Even after controlling for sector, occupation, hours, and experience, a gap of approximately 20% remains — the adjusted pay gap. This residual gap is difficult to attribute to anything other than informal wage discrimination: employers paying women less for equivalent work. Without wage transparency legislation, this is impossible to challenge systematically. See Anti-Discrimination Law.
| Country / Region | Unadjusted GPG | Trend | Equal pay law |
|---|---|---|---|
| Georgia | ~33% | Flat since 2010 | Gender Equality Law 2010 — no enforcement mechanism |
| Armenia | ~35% | Slight decline | Labour Code equal pay provision |
| Azerbaijan | ~47% | Flat | Constitutional provision; unenforced |
| EU Average | 12.7% | Slow decline | EU Equal Pay Directive (2023) — binding |
| Romania | 3.0% | Declining | Law 202/2002; active enforcement |
| Estonia | 20.5% | Declining | Gender Equality Act; pay transparency |
| Germany | 17.9% | Slow decline | Entgelttransparenzgesetz 2017 (pay transparency) |
| Iceland | 4.2% | Sharp decline | Equal Pay Standard mandatory from 2018 |
Georgia has one of the highest unadjusted gender pay gaps in the European neighbourhood. In comparison to the EU average of 12.7%, Georgia's ~33% gap reflects both structural labour market segregation and the absence of effective equal pay enforcement.
The EU Equal Pay Directive (2023) requires employers to disclose pay data by gender. This alone typically reduces the gap by 2-5 percentage points by allowing workers to identify and challenge discrepancies. Georgia has no equivalent mechanism.
Universal childcare for under-3s and expanded kindergarten (currently ~50% coverage for 3-6) would reduce the care burden on women and enable equal labour force participation. The UN Women Georgia programme has advocated for this since 2019.
Georgia's Labour Inspection Department has no mandate to investigate equal pay complaints. Strengthening the inspection mandate and providing an accessible complaint mechanism for wage discrimination would allow existing Gender Equality Law provisions to function. See Labour Inspection Law.
Georgia's gender pay gap (GPG) of 31.5% (Geostat 2023) is one of the largest in the EU neighbourhood — exceeding the EU average of 12.7% by a factor of 2.5. The gap reflects both horizontal segregation (women concentrated in lower-paid feminised sectors: healthcare, education, social work) and vertical segregation (women underrepresented in senior management and high-skill technical roles).
Decomposition analysis (Geostat/ILO 2022) attributes the GPG as follows: occupational segregation (44% of gap); working hours — higher female part-time rate (18% of explained gap); seniority/experience — career breaks for childcare (22%); unexplained residual — direct discrimination (16%). The unexplained component, while smaller than the structural factors, is prosecutable under the Anti-Discrimination Law and requires active enforcement.
A 31.5% gender pay gap in 2026 is not a market outcome — it is the product of decades of policy failure. Georgia has ratified ILO C100 (Equal Remuneration) for 30 years but enforced it barely at all. Three interventions with proven impact: mandatory pay transparency (reduces gap by 7-10 percentage points within 5 years, per OECD evidence); childcare infrastructure (enables full-time female participation); and public sector pay reform (sets norms for the whole economy). GILS endorses the EU pay transparency model as the single most impactful tool available to Georgia.
Formal EPIC membership commits Georgia to: national GPG action plan with 5-year targets; biennial progress reporting to ILO; employer engagement programme; public awareness campaign. No fiscal cost. High international credibility signal. MLHSA can apply via ILO Geneva within 30 days.
Iceland (EPIC member, GPG 5.6%) · France (EPIC + Index Egapro mandatory reporting) · Canada (EPIC founding member)Adopt the substance of EU Pay Transparency Directive 2023 ahead of formal EU accession requirement: (a) job applicants have right to salary range information before interview; (b) workers have right to compare pay across gender; (c) employers with 100+ employees publish annual GPG report; (d) burden of proof reverses in pay discrimination cases. Estimated GPG reduction: 5-8 percentage points within 5 years.
EU Directive 2023/970 · Iceland (equal pay certification) · Austria (income report obligation)Female part-time rate (18% of employed women vs 7% men) reflects childcare unavailability. State-funded childcare for children 18 months to 6 years, available within 30-minute commute for 80% of urban working mothers by 2027. Investment: GEL 180M annually. Returns: GEL 320M additional female earnings (Geostat simulation). Net positive by year 4.
Germany (Kita Ausbau — childcare expansion 2013) · Georgia (EU-funded early education pilot 2022) · Lithuania (universal pre-school 2019)Healthcare and education — 70% female — are systematically paid below comparable private sector roles requiring equal skill. Reform: align base pay in health (nurses, paramedics) and education (primary teachers) to 85% of public sector average by 2026. Estimated cost: GEL 250M/year. GPG reduction in public sector: 8-12 percentage points.
France (revalorisation Ségur de la Santé 2020) · UK (NHS pay reform) · Lithuania (teacher pay reform 2018)Female representation on supervisory boards of state-owned enterprises: current 22%, target 40% by 2027. Published annually. Private sector: 'comply or explain' reporting for listed companies. Senior civil service: gender parity target for Director-General and Deputy Minister levels by 2026. Leadership parity is structural, not cosmetic — it shifts wage norms across the whole organisation.
EU Directive 2022/2381 (board gender balance) · France (Copé-Zimmermann law) · Norway (first mandatory board quota 2003)| ILO Convention | Subject | Ratified | Compliance | Key Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| C100 | Equal Remuneration | 1993 | Poor | 31.5% GPG with no enforcement mechanism; no pay transparency |
| C111 | Discrimination (Employment) | 1993 | Partial | Anti-Discrimination Law in place but gender pay discrimination rarely prosecuted |
| C156 | Workers with Family Responsibilities | Not ratified | n/a | No legal obligation for childcare support; parental leave heavily female-skewed |
| C183 | Maternity Protection | Not ratified | Partial | Georgia law provides 18 months parental leave but maternity discrimination is common |