Tbilisi, Georgia, October 23, 2009—IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is training women at senior positions in Georgia to improve knowledge of corporate governance issues and enable women to contribute to further development of efficient decision-making, transparency, and accountability in companies.

The initiative, designed to create new opportunities for businesswomen in Georgia, is a part of IFC’s global strategy to support women’s participation in business as an important component of its mission to stimulate sustainable economic growth.  IFC hosted a workshop for women executives and board members to improve awareness on the role of women in corporate performance.  It brought together representatives of private sector, the government, and academia to discuss the latest gender-related trends in the country and identify areas for improvement.

Maia Tevzadze, Project Manager for IFC’s Georgia Corporate Governance Project, said, “We believe that improved knowledge of corporate governance issues will help eliminate often-hidden gender-based barriers for businesswomen, contribute to increasing number of women at senior positions, and result in better governance and transparency in companies, thus stimulating development.”

Workshop participants discussed the role of gender as a corporate performance driver, IFC’s gender activities, and trends in Europe and Central Asia.  Rusudan Kervalishvili, the Deputy Chairman of the Georgian Parliament, who chairs the Consultative Council on Gender Equality Issues under the Chairman of the Parliament, introduced the government’s latest gender initiatives.

Gender equality is part of the agenda of the two IFC advisory projects in Georgia.  These are the IFC Georgia Corporate Governance Project, which works to improve the corporate governance practices of Georgian companies and banks, and the IFC Georgia Investment Climate Project, which aims to improve the investment climate in Georgia by reducing administrative barriers to running and operating businesses.

IFC’s donor partners for these projects are BP and its co-venturers  in oil and gas projects, and the Canadian International Development Agency.

About IFC
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, creates opportunity for people to escape poverty and improve their lives. We foster sustainable economic growth in developing countries by supporting private sector development, mobilizing private capital, and providing advisory and risk mitigation services to businesses and governments. Our new investments totaled $14.5 billion in fiscal 2009, helping channel capital into developing countries during the financial crisis. For more information, visit www.ifc.org.

For more information about BP, visit www.bp.com.
For more information about CIDA, visit www.cida-acdi.gc.ca.