Targeted Social Assistance in Georgia: Social Impact of the Programme and Potential of Poverty Alleviation

This report, “Georgia’s Targeted Social Assistance (TSA) Programme: Assessment of Methodology and Effectiveness,” prepared by the Social Justice Center, offers a critical examination of Georgia’s TSA program—highlighting its broad coverage but questioning its ability to lift people out of poverty due to methodological flaws. While the report does not explicitly focus on gender, its findings have notable gender implications. Given that women—especially single mothers, elderly women, and women in rural or marginalized communities—are disproportionately represented among the poor and socially vulnerable, flaws in the TSA’s household assessment methodology and benefit distribution directly affect women’s access to essential support. The report’s analysis of the increasing dependency on social aid underscores a systemic challenge that reinforces gendered economic inequality, as women often bear the brunt of caregiving roles and informal work, which are undervalued and unrecognized in formal welfare criteria. The study’s conclusion advocating for more inclusive and diversified social assistance mechanisms presents an opportunity for integrating gender-responsive approaches, such as recognizing unpaid care work and ensuring individual-based, rather than solely household-based, assessments. A gender lens is essential in future reforms to ensure that women not only benefit equitably from TSA but are also empowered to exit cycles of poverty sustainably.