Equal Pay Day 2020

Video address by UNDP Resident Representative in Georgia Louisa Vinton

September 18, 2020

Today, at UNDP, we are pleased to be marking International Equal Pay Day. Why do we need a day of this sort? We need it to draw attention to the huge gap in wages between men and women.

Globally on average, women earn only 70 percent of what men do. For the work of equal value, they are getting paid at different rates. The same is true for Georgia. Women earn 68 percent of what men do on average.

Happily, this is changing over time and the proportions are getting closer. But it still means that an average woman has to work until the end of March next year to earn as much as an average man earns by the end of the year.

Part of what the change is going to come from is Georgia's commitment to an International Coalition for Equal Pay. We salute this commitment and look forward to the passage of rules in Parliament under the new Labour Code and the new Law on Labour Inspectorate.

That will enforce anti-discrimination provisions, ensuring that those who do the same kind of work receive the same amount of pay. This is a simple principle of equality supported by the UN and the Government of Georgia.

We look forward to a future where we can enjoy equal pay for equal work and where men and women can end the year having earned the same salary for doing the same kind of job.