Academic Scientific JournalsGreat Expectations: Gender and Political Representation in Georgia
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.26881/jpgs.2021.4.04Keywords:
women’s political participation in Georgia, women’s participation in politics, women in Georgian Parliament, women MPs, gender quotaAbstract
Gender equality is one of the main priorities of any democratic society. The developed world has long agreed that the participation of women in politics is a key condition for democratic development of the country. No country can ensure fair and equal-opportunity policy without the participation of women. It will take decades for women to naturally secure equal political participation. Therefore, in order to speed progress and to address inequalities, in 2020, after much resistance and disagreements, the statutory gender quota was adopted by the Georgian Parliament.
The purpose of this study is to examine the current situation regarding women’s participation in Georgian political life, to identify factors that have led to the implementation of the statutory gender quota, to access the efficiency of the state policies to increase women’s representation in political institutions and also to assess how incentive mechanisms devised in previous years have increased women’s representation in Georgian political life. The aim of the paper is to identify the main reasons that hinder women’s political involvement in Georgia. In the long term, it is necessary to maintain and increase the current gender quota to ensure equal representation.
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