Under the leadership of a Research Center Director at the Caucasus School of Business, Prof. Erekle Pirveli, a proposed research project has obtained Shota Rustaveli National Science Foundation's 2024 Fundamental (Basic State) Research Grant.

528 project applications have been registered in the competition, which were evaluated by the European Science Foundation (ESF-SC).

Project title: “Gender Equality and Environmental Sustainability in Georgian Corporate Sector’s High Echelons

This project proposal will investigate the influence of gender diversity within Georgia’s corporate top-tier on environmental sustainability performance, against the backdrop of the country's integration with the European Union through mechanisms such as the EU-Georgia Association Agreement and its recent candidacy status for EU membership. With an emphasis on the EU's standards for gender and climate-neutral practices, the study scrutinizes the existing gap between these aspirations and the current practices of Georgian corporations, which, despite the potential economic and regulatory incentives, show minimal reflection of gender and sustainability concerns, particularly outside strictly regulated sectors. Highlighting the economic repercussions, prior literature notes that gender disparities cost Georgia an estimated 11% of its GDP, signaling a significant loss.

Drawing upon the ethics of care and gender social role theories, prior literature posits that women’s inclination towards environmental concerns and a care perspective positively impacts corporate sustainability agendas. This project seeks to explore the interconnections between gender representation, sustainability performance, corporate profitability, and governance in Georgia's emerging market. Employing advanced analytical and data collection techniques, including structural equation modeling via tools like Python, Stata, and ScrapeStorm, this project will analyze data from all publicly listed Georgian entities from 2017 to 2026.

The project aims to deliver multidimensional impacts:

• sparking national dialogue between academia, government officials, industry representatives, civil society, and environmental organizations;
• enhancing capacity building through targeted training and knowledge transfer;
• and enriching academic discourse in fields such as corporate finance, sustainability, CSR, and gender management.

By assembling a diverse team of international and local experts, the project endeavors to provide a comprehensive analysis that bridges theoretical frameworks with empirical investigation, thereby contributing significantly to the understanding of gender diversity’s role in fostering a sustainable corporate environment in emerging Georgia's context.

Budget: 180 000 GEL;

Duration: 3 years;

Project evaluation score: 45 points (out of 50).

Project team:

• Shumaila Yousafzai, Gender Expert, Nazarbayev University, Kazakhstan
• Erekle Pirveli, Finance and Sustainability Expert, Caucasus University, Georgia
• Paul Thompson, Sustainability Reporting Expert, World Bank
• Young Scientists: Assist. Prof. Tamar Karbaia; Assist. Prof. Ana Elizarova, Caucasus University, Georgia