Management Response

: Georgia
: 2021 - 2025 , Georgia (CO)
: Final External Evaluation of Women's Economic Empowerment in South Caucasus (WEESC II) project, phase II
:
:

Georgia

:

The final evaluation of the UN Women project “Women’s Economic Empowerment in the South Caucasus – Phase II (August 2021 to July 2024)” was conducted from March to July 2024. The project is funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and the Austrian Development Agency (ADA) and implemented by UN Women Georgia in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Armenia and Azerbaijan. The overarching goal of the project “Women’s Economic Empowerment in the South Caucasus” (WEESC) is to ensure that women, particularly those who are poor and socially excluded, in Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia are economically empowered and participate in relevant decision-making processes. The final evaluation of the WEESC-II project offers an analysis of the relevance of the project’s implementation strategy and approaches, reviews organizational efficiency in progressing toward the project’s objectives, and validates the results in terms of achievements and/or weaknesses regarding the outcomes and outputs. Additionally, it provides an assessment of the potential for sustainability of the results, documenting lessons learned, best practices, and challenges. The evaluation offers actionable recommendations for the project’s final exit phase, focusing on sustainability and informing the future work of UN Women in the area of women’s economic empowerment. UN Women welcomes the evaluation report, its findings, and its recommendations. All recommendations are accepted by UN Women Georgia, and specific management response activities are outlined for each.

: Approved
Recommendation: UN Women should ensure that the final exit phase of WEESC be considered the sustainability phase and is used to consolidate the gains made in the first two phases, reinforce the achievements of results and institutionalize the results. Actions to consider: • Develop sustainability and hand over plans as part of the development of WEESC-III
Management Response: UN Women has implemented the first and second phases of the WEESC project in line with international and national commitments at the levels of policies, legislation, institutions, and grassroots. The project has been working towards transformative results for increased gender equality and greater protection of the rights of women and girls. During the third phase, as recommended by the WEESC II phase evaluation, the project will prioritize sustainability by continuing to support and reinforce the achievements of the first two phases, aiming to increase economic security and improve access to livelihood and development opportunities for women, particularly the poorest and most excluded in the South Caucasus. The third phase will be used to consolidate the gains made in the first two phases, reinforce the achievements of results, and institutionalize these results to secure long-term impact.
More detail
Description:
Management Response Category: Accepted
Thematic Area: Women economic empowerment (SPs before 2018)
Operating Principles: Capacity development, National ownership, Knowledge management
Organizational Priorities: Organizational efficiency
UNEG Criteria: Effectiveness
Key Actions
Responsible Deadline Status Comments
1. Design WEESC-III with a focus on sustainability UN Women GEO CO 2024/07 Completed As recommended by the WEESC-II evaluation, the design for the third phase was developed with a focus on sustainability, ensuring the continued support and reinforcement of the achievements from the first two phases. This focus is reflected in the WEESC-III Prodoc, where the majority of outputs are designed to sustain and enhance efforts made during the initial phases. This includes preserving and strengthening grassroots initiatives, reinforcing partnerships established during the first and second phases, and institutionalizing these results to secure a long-term impact. Respective indicators are developed and included in the WEESC III Logframe to enable sound monitoring and evaluation of the sustainability of project results.
2. Preserve and strengthen the network of active rural women established in Phases I and II UN Women GEO CO 2026/08 Completed Under Phase III this action is actively being operationalized with a strong sustainability lens across Armenia and Georgia. Due to UNDP's exit in Azerbaijan, coupled with rejection from Government on implementation and WRC being closed, implementation is not taking place in Azerbaijan. In Armenia and Georgia, UN Women is building on earlier achievements and maintaining and reactivating networks of socially mobilized rural women through continued engagement in the same target communities and municipalities ensuring continuty rather than expansion to new areas. Socially mobilized rural wn continue to recieve targeted support to strengthen their leadership, advocacy and participation in decision-making processes, particularly on GRB. Structured dialouge platforms re being facilitated betwen women's group and local and central government representatives, enabling women to articulate their priorities and influence policy and resource allocation. In Georgia specifically, efforts are being made to institutionalize these participatory mechanisms throgh models such as village assemblies with the aim of ensuring their continuty beyond the projects duration. Parallel investments are also being made to strengthen the capacities of local government actors to respond effectively tom women's needs and integrate gender-responsive approaches into local governance processes.
3. Support the expansion and sustainability of women-owned small businesses UN Women GEO CO 2024/09 Completed WEESC-III largely focuses on the women farmers and entrepreneurs who were supported during the WEESC I and II phases. The project will continue to assist these women by providing additional support, tailored consultancy, and mentorship in the final phase, aiming to help them sustain and upscale their businesses. As recommended by the evaluation, the project has adopted a value chain approach to grant provision, offering small-scale incentives/grants with more comprehensive technical support for each initiative than was available in Phases I and II. Few of the other components of the project will be also synergized with this work to enhance women’s access to finances; namely, UN Women cooperation with Rural Development Agency, other government bodies in Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan and private sector (especially banking sector through WEPs) will be leveraged to diversify financing sources that are accessible to women farmers / entrepreneurs.
4. Strengthen strategic partnerships for sustainable women's economic empowerment UN Women GEO CO 2024/09 Completed The phase III of the project focuses on consolidating interventions with existing strategic government partners, ensuring more consistent cooperation as recommended by the WEESC phase II evaluation. A key priority has been mainstreaming gender within their policies and programs while enhancing the capacity of their staff. The project continues to build the institutional capacity of these organizations, supporting them in developing targeted programs and implementing institutional amendments to further women’s economic empowerment in a sustainable manner. During the third phase, the project will finalize the technical assistance initiatives launched in Phases I and II, leveraging Gender Impact Assessments (GIAs), Regulatory Impact Assessments (RIAs), and other forms of assistance in collaboration with governmental stakeholders in Armenia and Georgia. For instance, the project will continue its support to the RDA, focusing on enhancing and expanding specialized programs for women and ensuring gender mainstreaming within RDA’s existing programs. During Phase II, UN Women and the RDA collaborated to implement a stand-alone program that provided financing for women to establish greenhouses. Additionally, by the end of the second phase, UN Women, in collaboration with the RDA, designed a new stand-alone program aimed at supporting women entrepreneurs in the following directions – agrotourism, crafts, sewing, flowers production. UN Women plans to continue this partnership in the third phase to further support institutionalization of the achieved results. Furthermore, in Armenia and Georgia, during the third phase, the project will work to promote the institutionalization of educational courses on gender equality and Women's Economic Empowerment (WEE) among both governmental and non-governmental partners.
5. Develop a sustainability and exit strategy UN Women GEO CO 2024/09 Completed A specific sustainability and exit strategy will be developed in close collaboration with partners, using a participatory approach that involves current project beneficiaries in its creation. This strategy will aim to ensure that the project's benefits remain effective and enduring in the long term, even without continued external funding.
Recommendation: UN Women should reconsider their strategy of grants and training to the micro-subsistence group and the micro-semi-commercial women, directing it differently towards the two groups, and assisting the latter group of women to acquire alternative sources of finance. Actions to consider: • Identify differing needs of “micro-subsistence women” and “micro-semi-commercial women” with partners • For WEESC-III design different training for each group, and vary grant sizes based on business needs with subsistence women given smaller grants and semi-commercial women given larger grants • Develop linkages between women and organizations (government or non-government) offering micro financing to women
Management Response: As recommended by the WEESC-II evaluation, WEESC-III will reevaluate the grant and training strategy for micro-subsistence and micro-semi-commercial women. Initially, the project will collaborate with partners to clearly define and differentiate these two groups to provide more targeted and effective support. For the micro-subsistence group, the project will focus on expanding women-owned small businesses, where relevant, by enhancing the sustainability of both existing and new ventures, with the aim of helping them transition to the micro-semi-commercial category. For the micro-semi-commercial women, the project will offer more comprehensive support per initiative than was provided in Phases I and II. The grant provision will follow a value chain approach, focusing on supporting women in target municipalities to enhance the value-added of their business operations. In addition to sub-partnership support/financial incentives, the project will continue to develop sustainable alternative sources of finance to assist both micro-subsistence and micro-semi-commercial women in acquiring necessary resources. Furthermore, during WEESC-III, the project will address various training needs tailored to specific business requirements.
More detail
Description:
Management Response Category: Accepted
Thematic Area: Women economic empowerment (SPs before 2018)
Operating Principles: Capacity development, National ownership, Advocacy
Organizational Priorities: Partnership, Culture of results/RBM
UNEG Criteria: Effectiveness, Sustainability
Key Actions
Responsible Deadline Status Comments
1. Further define sub-categories of supported women and needs assessment UN Women GEO CO 2024/09 Completed The studies and knowledge accumulated during Phases I and II of WEESC, combined with planned discussions with partners and grassroots beneficiary women, will be used to differentiate between the micro-subsistence and micro-semi-commercial women and develop working definition for future activities. Following this, the needs of these two groups will be further assessed through consultations with partners and grassroots women. This differentiation and needs assessment will enable the provision of more targeted and effective support.
2. Provide tailored assistance for promoting the success and stability of women-owned small businesses UN Women GEO CO 2025/08 Completed As recommended by the WEESC-II evaluation, WEESC-III has reassessed the grant and training strategy for micro-subsistence and micro-semi-commercial women to provide more tailored assistance. For the micro-subsistence group, the project focused on expanding women-owned small businesses by enhancing the sustainability of both existing and new enterprises, aiming to help them transition to the micro-semi-commercial category. For micro-semi-commercial women, the project offered more comprehensive support; in particular, the grant provision followed a value chain approach, focusing on supporting women in target municipalities to enhance the value-added of their business operations. The WEESC II final evaluation highlighted that the size of grants is crucial for women's economic empowerment. Without adequate funding, women are unable to invest in their economic activities or fully leverage their newly acquired technical skills. Hence grant sizes have been reconsidered based on the category of business lead by supported women. Furthermore, during Phase III of the project, to assist both micro-subsistence and micro-semi-commercial women in acquiring necessary resources, efforts continued to support the development of sustainable alternative financing sources for women. Additionally, during WEESC-III, the project addressed various training needs for women based on their specific business requirements (based on the needs assessment mentioned above). Women beneficiaries—rural women, smallholder farmers, and entrepreneurs— received tailored courses, mentorship, consultancy, and additional support to further develop their businesses. The courses cover essential topics such as financial literacy, marketing, record-keeping, and financial planning. The project also enhanced vocational education and job placement opportunities for women by providing career mentorship, improving job-related soft skills (including CV enhancement, interview techniques, and presentation skills), and guiding them towards entrepreneurship and self-employment initiatives.
Recommendation: UN Women should take a systemic approach to providing support to companies implementing WEP activities, aligned with the financial and non-financial benefits to companies, and increase coordination between the public and private sector. Actions to consider: • UN Women to survey WEPs signatory firms to document financial and non-financial benefits and create business case for WEPs • UN Women to convene a meeting of, or event with, WEPs signatory firms and relevant government and NGO stakeholders to present the survey findings and allow firms to share action plans and best practices • UN Women to disseminate findings and business case to firms to promote WEPs and encourage linkages between private sector and women’s groups
Management Response: The project will address the recommendations from the WEESC II final evaluation by expanding and reinforcing awareness of the Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs) in businesses across Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia. Phase III will adopt a more systemic approach, focusing on specific support categories for companies as recommended by the WEESC-II evaluation, including working conditions, recruitment and retention, and supply chain management. In Georgia, private sector collaboration has been accelerated through UN Women Norway funded projects and will continue with funding from the same donor. In Armenia and Azerbaijan, while the WEPs component is still developing, Phases I and II established important partnerships and linkages. The next phase will further explore and preserve opportunities to pilot initiatives that demonstrate the benefits of WEPs. Efforts will also be intensified to build connections with local companies and employers, enhancing employment options and integrating self-employed women and smallholder farmers into value chains.
More detail
Description:
Management Response Category: Accepted
Thematic Area: Women economic empowerment (SPs before 2018)
Operating Principles: National ownership, Advocacy
Organizational Priorities: Partnership
UNEG Criteria: Sustainability
Key Actions
Responsible Deadline Status Comments
1. Implement study/survey on benefits of WEPs in Armenia and in Azerbaijan and organize experience exchange event with WEPS signatories in Georgia UN Women GEO CO 2026/03 Completed UN Women has adopted a practice‑oriented and capacity development focused approach to advancing the WEPs, prioritizing direct engagement with signatory companies, hands‑on implementation support, and systematic tracking of progress over conducting a standalone study on financial and non‑financial impacts. This approach aims to drive measurable and sustained institutional change in Armenia and Azerbaijan. Capacity development has been delivered through an integrated package of initiatives addressing key thematic areas, including women’s leadership and women on boards, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), gender pay gap considerations, and family‑friendly workplace policies. A cornerstone of this work has been regional WEPs Exchanges bringing together signatory companies from Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan, which have provided a structured platform for peer learning, experience sharing, and cross‑country exchange of practical solutions. These regional engagements have strengthened accountability for WEPs implementation and enabled companies to adapt good practices across different regulatory and market contexts. They have been complemented by targeted country‑level dialogues, technical assistance, and tailored capacity development support to address company‑specific needs.   Progress on WEPs implementation has been systematically monitored through mapping and tracking exercises with signatory companies. This has led to tangible institutional results, including the completion of second Gender Action Plan (GAP) analyses, which demonstrate substantial progress since companies initially became WEPs signatories. As a result, companies have introduced or strengthened internal policies related to care responsibilities, workplace equality, and gender pay gap reduction, alongside broader improvements in governance and accountability. Support to women’s economic empowerment has been embedded both within company operations and through Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) strategies. WEPs signatories have expanded CSR approaches to focus more strongly on community and marketplace responsibilities, including support to women entrepreneurs and initiatives to create more inclusive and enabling markets for women‑led enterprises. Concrete measures have included the introduction of family‑friendly workplace policies, pro‑bono capacity‑building trainings for women entrepreneurs on topics such as branding, marketing, and financial literacy, dedicated programmes facilitating access to finance through tailored loan products, and the expansion of procurement policies to intentionally source from women‑owned businesses. These efforts have been reinforced through ongoing engagement with civil society organizations and policymakers in Armenia and Azerbaijan, helping to bridge gaps between the private sector, women's rights organizations and policy actors. Collectively, this integrated set of actions reflects a shift from diagnostics toward implementation, peer learning, and institutionalization of WEPs commitments, delivering results aligned with national priorities and regional women’s economic empowerment objectives.
2. Conduct exchanges of good practices, knowledge and tools among the private sector companies and the WEPs signees across the region UN Women GEO CO 2026/08 Completed Regular exchanges of best practices, knowledge, and tools have been organized across the region to build regional interlinkages, facilitate learning, raise awareness on key issues, and strengthen collaboration with the private sector. These efforts aim to enhance the effective implementation of the Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs) within registered companies.
Recommendation: UN Women should ensure that there are adequate monitoring resources available, at all levels of implementation, to ensure complete and timely reporting. Actions to consider: • UN Women to convene a meeting with NGO partners to understand their concerns • Based on the meeting UN Women to send out answers and clarifications on any questions • For WEESC-III UN Women to consider whether additional resources are needed in NGO contracts to cover dedicated monitoring officers
Management Response: The complexity of project operations across three countries underscores the need for a user-friendly M&E framework that aligns with the capacities of local partners and is harmonized across all regions, as highlighted by the project evaluation. In WEESC Phase III, UN Women will convene a meeting with NGO partners to understand and address their concerns related to M&E practices. Following this meeting, UN Women will provide responses and clarifications to any questions and work to resolve existing issues by adjusting existing cross-country M&E system to the capacities and needs of project partners. This update will be performed using a participatory approach, involving M&E specialists from each partner in all three countries, who will be the primary users of the system.
More detail
Description:
Management Response Category: Accepted
Thematic Area: Women economic empowerment (SPs before 2018)
Operating Principles: Oversight/governance
Organizational Priorities: Culture of results/RBM
UNEG Criteria: Effectiveness, Gender equality
Key Actions
Responsible Deadline Status Comments
1. Review the existing M&E system UN Women GEO CO 2026/08 Completed In WEESC Phase III, UN Women convened a meeting with NGO partners to address their concerns and gather inputs regarding M&E system. Based on these consultations, UN Women has refined the M&E system to enhance its user-friendliness and ensure it is harmonized across all three countries. The system is built on lessons learned from Phases I and II.
2. Strengthen partners’ M&E capacity for effective monitoring and reporting UN Women GEO CO 2026/08 Completed Sound monitoring and reporting requires continuous capacity building of partners’ M&E skills. Hence, the project has dedicated resources on M&E capacity building, specifically tailored to project requirements. Importantly, for WEESC-III, UN Women supports additional resources in NGO contracts to include dedicated monitoring officers.
Recommendation: When funding UN Women’s projects, donors should ensure that UN Women’s reporting procedures are rationalized with the requirements of the donor; this may require negotiation with UN Women Headquarters (HQ). Actions to consider: • SDC to clarify exactly what additional information they need reported, and when they need it • SDC to discuss with UN Women how the required information could be incorporated in reports • In negotiations with UN Women for WEESC-III, SDC should include these reporting requirements in their funding agreement
Management Response: To address the recommendation, UN Women will work closely with donors to align reporting procedures with their specific requirements. Donors will be encouraged to clarify the additional information they need and engage their HQs in negotiations with UN Women HQ regarding financial reporting as the latter is centralized at HQ level in UN Women.
More detail
Description:
Management Response Category: Accepted
Thematic Area: Not applicable
Operating Principles: Oversight/governance
Organizational Priorities: Partnership
UNEG Criteria: Gender equality, Coherence
Key Actions
Responsible Deadline Status Comments
1. Align reporting procedures with donor expectations through targeted engagement and negotiation UN Women GEO CO 2026/08 Completed UN Women will engage with donors to specify the additional information required for reporting. Based on this input, UN Women will discuss with Headquarters (HQ) to negotiate and adjust reporting procedures with HQ level partners of donor agencies as needed.
Recommendation: Gender-sensitive value chain analysis in Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan might help to identify economic opportunities for women in more disadvantaged communities and could be considered for WEESC-III.
Management Response: For grassroots work with women in these countries, the WEESC project will continue to focus on the same regions targeted in the first and second phases. The needs assessments and evaluations, conducted during these earlier phases, along with the statistical analysis of the grant component of the project in Georgia and grassroots work in all three countries, have provided valuable insights into economic opportunities for women in these communities. This information, combined with assessments and consultations with partners and grassroots beneficiaries during WEESC-III, will be used to identify relevant sectors and options for entrepreneurship and employment, applying a demand-driven approach and developing gender-sensitive value chains.
More detail
Description:
Management Response Category: Accepted
Thematic Area: Women economic empowerment (SPs before 2018)
Operating Principles: Capacity development
Organizational Priorities: Culture of results/RBM, Agriculture
UNEG Criteria: Effectiveness, Gender equality
Key Actions
Responsible Deadline Status Comments
1. Adopt a value chain approach to grant provision and supporting the development of gender-sensitive value chains UN Women GEO CO 2025/08 Completed As recommended by the evaluation, the project adopted a value chain approach to grant provision, focusing on supporting women in target municipalities to enhance the value-added of their business operations. To this end, as mentioned above the project has provided small-scale incentives, but with more comprehensive technical support per initiative compared to previous project phases to support establishment of the women-owned small businesses in agriculture and the small service industry and to expand existing businesses. Furthermore, during Phase II of the project, an analysis of statistical data, including applications from the small grants program under WEESC in Georgia, identified priority sectors and value chains for women entrepreneurs. In Armenia, needs mapping for different sectors was conducted, revealing barriers and opportunities for women's economic empowerment in the Gegharkunik and Shirak regions. Based on these analyses and the needs assessments conducted in WEESC III, women beneficiaries of the project—rural women, smallholder farmers, and entrepreneurs— received tailored courses, mentorship, consultancy, and additional support to further develop their businesses and enhance their value addition.
Recommendation: Assist women in Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia to acquire alternative sources of financing for example by linking them to existing government bodies or institutions with programs and products to support women or micro and small enterprises, and helping those who do not have bank accounts to open them.
Management Response: As recommended by the WEESC-III project evaluation, the project will continue to develop sustainable alternative sources of finance to assist women in accessing these resources. To achieve this, the project will focus on leveraging cooperation between UN Women, various governmental and non-governmental organizations, and the private sector—particularly the banking sector through the Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs)—to diversify financing options available to women farmers and entrepreneurs.
More detail
Description:
Management Response Category: Accepted
Thematic Area: Women economic empowerment (SPs before 2018)
Operating Principles: Capacity development
Organizational Priorities: Culture of results/RBM
UNEG Criteria: Sustainability
Key Actions
Responsible Deadline Status Comments
1. Support the development of sustainable alternative financing for women UN Women GEO CO 2026/08 Completed Strengthening connection between women beneficiaries and the private sector remains a central pillar of Phase III, with a clear focus on translating commitments into tangible results. In Armenia and Azerbaijan, the project has expanded WEPs community to include a wider range of companies, including financial institutions. Through targeted technincal support, including application of the Gender Gap Analysis Tool and development of Gender Action Plans, companies have improved their gender responsiveness. This has led to concrete outcomes such as introduction of tailoted loan products for women entreprenurs and more inclusive procurment practices. The project continued collaboration with the Rural Development Agency (RDA). In 2026, the RDA finalized its reorganization; however, the redesign of its programming is still ongoing. In the same year, UN Women held meetings with the RDA’s new Director and management to explore potential areas of collaboration and to advocate for the integration of gender sensitivity into RDA programmes.
2. Strengthen connections between women beneficiaries and private sector to integrate women into value chains and expand financial opportunities UN Women GEO CO 2026/08 Completed UN Women has actively facilitated partnerships between WEPs signatories and women beneficiaries, creating direct pathways for skills transfer and market engagement. In both Armenia and Azerbaijan, private sector partners have provided pro bono training and advisory support to women entrepreneurs on critical topics such as branding, marketing, business development, and financial literacy. These interventions are further reinforced through sustained engagement with civil society organizations and policymakers, helping to bridge structural gaps between the private sector, women’s rights actors, and public institutions. This multi-stakeholder approach ensures that private sector commitments are aligned with broader policy frameworks and that women entrepreneurs are supported within an enabling ecosystem.
3. Enhance women's access to finance through financial literacy training, consultancy, and mentorship UN Women GEO CO 2026/08 Completed Efforts to enhance women’s access to finance are being implemented through a comprehensive package of financial literacy training, consultancy, and mentorship support. Women beneficiaries are receiving training on financial management, budgeting, and the use of banking products, alongside tailored advisory support to improve their readiness to access financial services. Mentorship and consultancy further assist women in navigating application processes and strengthening business planning capacities where relevant. These interventions are already contributing to increased engagement of women with formal financial systems, including opening bank accounts and building confidence in using financial instruments, thereby reinforcing the broader objective of sustainable financial inclusion.
Recommendation: Expand and reinforce awareness of WEPs in businesses in Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia.
Management Response: The recommendation is rejected to avoid duplicative reporting, as it is already fully addressed under key actions of Recommendation 3.
More detail
Description:
Management Response Category: Rejected
Thematic Area: Women economic empowerment (SPs before 2018)
Operating Principles: Capacity development
Organizational Priorities: Partnership
UNEG Criteria: Gender equality
Key Actions
Key Action not added.
Recommendation: The WRC are vital resources for disadvantaged women in Azerbaijan. WEESC-II should liaise with the State Committee for Family, Women and Children’s Affairs to develop a sustainability plan and need to ensure inclusivity by helping with transportation for those living in remote villages.
Management Response: Women’s Resource Centres (WRCs) are regarded as crucial sources of information, economic activities, and social capital for women in Azerbaijan. Ensuring their sustainability remains a key focus of the project implementation. The transformation of WRCs into independent NGOs was an important initial step toward achieving financial sustainability and qualifying for funding opportunities. However, the evaluation report highlights that WRCs still heavily rely on WEESC project/UNDP funding, with some support from the State Committee for Family, Women, and Children’s Affairs. In Phase III, WRCs will work on a sustainability strategy. In Phase II, they piloted a membership fee model, but this approach led to concerns and mistrust among members, prompting WRCs to abandon it. As an alternative, the WRC in Khazar has established itself as a limited liability company to engage in business activities and generate profit, which can be reinvested to support the WRC’s operations. These efforts will continue and intensify in Phase III.
More detail
Description:
Management Response Category: Accepted
Thematic Area: Women economic empowerment (SPs before 2018), Governance and planning (SPs before 2018)
Operating Principles: Oversight/governance, Capacity development
Organizational Priorities: Partnership
UNEG Criteria: Sustainability
Key Actions
Responsible Deadline Status Comments
1. Enhancing sustainability of WRCs in Azerbaijan through the development of sustainability strategies UN Women GEO CO 2026/08 No Longer Applicable This component is no longer being implemented due to significant shifts in the operational context in Azerbaijan. Specifically, the exit of UNDP in the country, as the primary partner responsible for the grassroots component has created a critical implementation gap. This has been compounded by the Government’s decision not to proceed with the grassroots activities under the project. In addition, WRCs, which previously served as the main platform for community-level engagement, are no longer operational in the target areas. These developments have effectively halted the continuation of grassroots-level interventions in Azerbaijan under Phase III.
Recommendation: Continue work with government on the enabling environment in Armenia and Georgia.
Management Response: Phase III of the project will strengthen collaboration with strategic government partners to ensure consistent cooperation, focusing on mainstreaming gender in policies and enhancing staff capacity. It will continue to build institutional capacity by supporting targeted program development and implementing amendments to promote women’s economic empowerment sustainably. The project will also continue to provide technical support for legislative and policy amendments in Armenia and Georgia, aligning with international standards, and support data generation to improve policymaking. Additionally, it will continue to facilitate policy dialogues on ratifying or aligning with key ILO Conventions and EU directives, all aimed at supporting the enabling environment for women’s economic empowerment in Armenia and Georgia.
More detail
Description:
Management Response Category: Accepted
Thematic Area: Women economic empowerment (SPs before 2018)
Operating Principles: National ownership
Organizational Priorities: Partnership
UNEG Criteria: Effectiveness, Sustainability
Key Actions
Responsible Deadline Status Comments
1. Strengthen strategic partnerships for sustainable women's economic empowerment and support the enabling environment in Armenia and Georgia through gender mainstreaming and alignment with international standards UN Women GEO CO 2026/08 Completed