Adopted: 26 March 2010In force: 1 April 2010ILO: C100Matsne →
~32%
Unadjusted gender pay gap (2023)
14.3%
Women in senior management
2010
Year law adopted
C100
Core ILO convention
Overview
Guaranteeing Equal Rights for Men and Women
The Law on Gender Equality (2010) guarantees equal rights and opportunities for men and women in Georgia across all spheres of public life — labour, education, healthcare, and political participation. It establishes the Gender Equality Council of Parliament as the primary monitoring body and requires all state institutions to apply gender mainstreaming principles in policy-making and budgeting.
The law is closely linked to ILO Convention No. 100 on equal remuneration and Georgia's EU Association Agreement commitments on gender equality. Despite the legal framework, implementation challenges persist: Georgia's unadjusted gender pay gap stands at approximately 32% — among the highest in the EU neighbourhood — driven by occupational segregation, the undervaluation of female-dominated sectors, and inadequate paternity leave provisions that trap women as primary caregivers.
A significant 2020 amendment extended the law's scope to include gender mainstreaming requirements in state budgeting (Gender Responsive Budgeting) and established mandatory gender impact assessment for major legislation.
Historical development
From Declaration to Implementation: 2000–2024
2000–2006
Pre-law period. Gender equality addressed only through Labour Code non-discrimination provisions. No dedicated body. Women's participation in Parliament: 7.4% (lowest in Europe). ILO C100 ratified 1993 but minimal domestic implementation.
2006–2010
Law drafting under EU pressure. ENP Action Plan 2006 required gender equality legislation. UNDP-supported drafting process. Significant debate on scope of positive action measures.
2010
Gender Equality Law adopted — 26 March 2010. Gender Equality Council of Parliament established. Gender mainstreaming required in state institutions. Maternity leave provisions reinforced. Pay discrimination between men and women explicitly prohibited.
2016
Electoral quota introduced. Electoral Code amendment required 25% women candidates on party lists. Women in Parliament rose to 16% by 2020. Not directly part of Gender Equality Law but linked legislative development.
2020
Gender Responsive Budgeting amendment. All state budget proposals must include gender impact analysis from 2022. Mandatory gender impact assessment for major legislation. Paternity leave extended to 5 days (still far below ILO C156 recommendation of equal parental leave).
2024
Current situation. Gender pay gap persists at ~32% (unadjusted). Women hold 14.3% of senior management positions in medium/large enterprises. Occupational segregation remains severe: women represent 78% of healthcare workers, 68% of education workers — both substantially underpaid relative to male-dominated equivalent-skill sectors.
Georgia Gender Pay Gap by Sector — 2023
Unadjusted gender pay gap (%) by economic sector. Positive = men earn more; negative = women earn more. Source: Geostat LFS 2023.
Source: Geostat Labour Force Survey Q4 2023. Unadjusted gap = difference in median gross wages. Negative value in public administration indicates women slightly outearning men (primarily due to senior officer pay grade structure).
The law applies to all natural and legal persons in Georgia. Core principles: (1) equal rights — men and women have equal rights in all spheres of public life; (2) equal opportunities — the state must take measures to ensure equal access to rights; (3) gender mainstreaming — all state institutions must incorporate gender perspective into their work; (4) positive action — temporary special measures to accelerate actual equality are permitted and not considered discrimination. Article 3: Definitions — 'gender' (social roles and expectations assigned by society), 'gender equality' (equal status, rights, opportunities, and responsibilities), 'gender mainstreaming' (integrating gender perspective into all policy stages).
Article 6 — Employment Rights
Article 6
Labour Market Gender Equality
Employers must ensure equal pay for equal work (C100 implementation). Discrimination in recruitment, working conditions, pay, promotion, training, and termination on grounds of gender is prohibited. Article 6(3): Employers must create a work environment free from sexual harassment. Article 6(4): Maternity leave shall not disadvantage a woman's employment status, position, or pay. Article 6(5): Employers with 50+ employees must appoint a gender equality responsible person.
GILS note: The pay equality requirement in Article 6 lacks an enforcement mechanism — no reporting obligation, no LIS audit power for pay discrimination. The 32% unadjusted gap persists because there is no systematic mechanism to identify or investigate pay discrimination. Mandatory pay reporting (Recommendation 01 below) is the essential next step.
Articles 7–9 — Gender Equality Council and Monitoring
Articles 7–9
Institutional Architecture
Art. 7: Gender Equality Council of Parliament — permanent standing committee with 9 members, including opposition representation. Functions: monitoring implementation, reviewing draft legislation for gender impact, annual state reporting. Art. 8: All state institutions must appoint a gender equality focal point. Art. 9: The Public Defender (Ombudsman) monitors gender equality in the private sector and receives complaints. The 2020 amendment added: Gender Responsive Budgeting requirements — all budget proposals submitted to Parliament must include gender impact analysis from 2022.
Strengths: Comprehensive legal framework including gender mainstreaming, pay equality, maternity protection, and sexual harassment prohibition. The 2020 Gender Responsive Budgeting requirement is innovative — one of the first in the South Caucasus region. Women's parliamentary representation has grown from 7% (2006) to 19% (2024).
Persistent gaps: ~32% unadjusted gender pay gap — highest in EU neighbourhood. 14.3% women in senior management in private sector. Paternity leave only 5 days (ILO C156 recommends equal parental leave). No mandatory employer pay reporting. Gender-based violence at work (particularly sexual harassment) significantly underreported — estimated 3% of incidents result in formal complaint (Ombudsman data 2023).
GILS Policy Recommendations
Five Priority Reforms
Recommendation 01
Mandatory gender pay reporting — new Article 6a
Employers with 50+ employees must report gender pay gap data annually to MLHSA. MLHSA publishes sector-level results publicly. Individual employees have right to request salary information from employer. Required by EU Pay Transparency Directive 2023/970 — a key EU accession commitment. Estimated compliance cost: 0.02% of payroll for affected employers.
EU Directive 2023/970 · Iceland (Equal Pay Standard IS 85:2012) · UK Gender Pay Gap Reporting
Recommendation 02
Extend paternity leave to 30 days — amend Labour Code Article 17
Georgia's 5-day paternity leave (introduced 2020) is far below the ILO C156 recommendation of equal parental leave entitlements. Extend to 30 days (2 weeks mandatory, 2 weeks optional) paid at 80% of salary (70% state contribution, 10% employer). Longer paternity leave is the most evidence-based intervention to reduce occupational segregation and rebalance caregiving responsibilities. EU Work-Life Balance Directive 2019/1158 requires minimum 10 days paternity leave.
EU Directive 2019/1158 · Germany (Bundeselterngeldgesetz) · Sweden (480 days equal parental leave)
Recommendation 03
Establish gender equality certification scheme
Create a voluntary 'Gender Equal Employer' certification administered by MLHSA, based on: (1) gender pay gap below 5% for equivalent roles; (2) 30%+ women in senior management; (3) paid paternity leave policy; (4) sexual harassment policy and reporting mechanism. Certified employers receive: priority in public procurement scoring, recognition in MLHSA annual report, reduced mandatory gender reporting obligations. This market-based incentive has proven highly effective in Iceland, Norway and Ireland.
Iceland (Government Equal Pay Certification) · Norway (Equality and Anti-Discrimination Act) · Ireland (Gender Pay Gap Act 2021)
Sexual harassment at work is prohibited under Article 6(3) but enforcement is minimal. Strengthen by: requiring all employers with 20+ employees to have a written anti-harassment policy and confidential reporting channel; mandatory OSH risk assessment to include psychosocial risks including harassment; LIS authority to inspect for policy compliance; Ombudsman power to award compensation for substantiated harassment complaints without court proceedings.
EU Directive 2006/54/EC Art.26 · France (Code du Travail L1153) · UK Equality Act 2010 s.40
Recommendation 05
Gender-responsive public procurement
Amend the Law on Public Procurement (2016) to include gender equality criteria in public tender scoring. Contracts above GEL 500,000 should award 5% additional score to bidders who: demonstrate gender-balanced workforce (35-65% of either gender); have published gender pay gap data; operate a certified anti-harassment policy. Estimated to drive gender equality practice in ~2,000 enterprises annually (based on procurement volume data, 2023).
EU Gender Equality Strategy 2020-2025 · Finland (Act on Equality) · Canada (Gender-Based Analysis Plus)
The 32% gender pay gap in Georgia is not a market outcome — it is a policy failure. The legal architecture for gender equality exists. What is missing is the enforcement mechanism (mandatory pay reporting), the caregiving rebalancing (real paternity leave), and the market incentive (certification and procurement criteria) to turn the law's promise into workplace reality.
— GILS Research Position Paper on Gender Pay Gap Reform, September 2026
ILO Convention
Subject
Ratified
Compliance
Key Gap
C100
Equal Remuneration
o
a
No pay reporting; 32% gap persists; no LIS pay audit power
C111
Discrimination in Employment
o
a
Gender discrimination enforcement weak in private sector