In the Hotel “Rooms Tbilisi” there was held a presentation of the research “Women in the Parties: Deconstructing Myths”.

The research was conducted by “Sapari” with the support of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the Government of Sweden in the framework of the UN Joint “Program for Gender Equality”.

The presentation was opened by Niels Scott, UNDP permanent representative in Georgia. She talked about the challenges related to women’s involvement in Georgian politics. Dimitri Tskitishvili (Georgian Dream), Elene Khoshtaria (“European Georgia”), Nika Melia (“National Movement”) and Ada Marshania (“Alliance of Georgian Patriots”) also held debates on the presentation issues.

The research was presented by Giorgi Urchukhishvili, the researcher of gender issues. According to the survey, the privileged position of men in political parties in Georgia is the main reason for women’s relatively low participation. Social myths about women’s insufficient education, fear of conflicts and low competence restrict the possibility of their promotion in the internal party hierarchy.

The prerequisite for the removal of barriers to women’s political participation is the shattering of such myths. The study of the interviews held makes it clear that women’s participation in party life is largely confined to propaganda and party activism. According to the study, motivated, educated and critically thinking women claim that their contribution to politics is undervalued.