The job market in Georgia
The Soviet economy is not so far in Georgia's past. And yet, with growth set to reach 10% by 2022, the country has come a long way and is not doing so badly. But life is hard and inequalities remain glaring. An exploration of the country reflects this. The futuristic buildings of downtown Tbilisi or Batumi on the Black Sea contrast with the rural landscape. Roads crowded with horses, pigs, cows and sheep sometimes run alongside imposing, rusting factories, relics of Soviet times. These images reflect a country at two speeds, a Georgia turned towards the world and the future at breakneck speed, while many of its inhabitants are forgotten along the way.
Since the break-up of the Soviet bloc, Georgian society has suffered a violent shock, to say the least: those who depended on the Soviet-style planned society have lost their jobs and their incomes. On the job market, the economy is divided into two sectors: the public sector and the private sector. The job market in Georgia is currently out of control. Every young graduate dreams of landing a job in a public company, reputed to offer good salaries, sometimes higher than in the private sector, and job security. This sector still has a very high number of superfluous jobs, better paid than in a private company. Having a good network is of paramount importance: to have the best chances of finding a job, you need to have connections in high places - a poor person will have a much harder time of it.
Survive
So you have to live, or survive, at every level. A working day in a company generally starts around 10 or 11 am and ends late in the evening. Georgian employees don't count their office hours, working late into the evening. They return to work at weekends if necessary, or even if they're ill. The average working week is forty hours. It's even considered suspicious to leave the office too early! In Georgia, nothing is due. Every member of the same family seeks work - a Georgian child can start work with parental consent from the age of 14 on the streets of Tbilisi, late at night, summer and winter, every day. Elderly ladies sell peanut or sunflower seeds, or anything else they can find, knit outside... They have to sell what they produce. In this way, they contribute to the family income.
Some figures
In 2024, the average salary in Tbilisi was just under €600. The unemployment rate is around 13%, and young people are more affected by unemployment. Men retire at 65 and women at 60. Since November 2018, the French Development Agency based in Tbilisi has been helping the government to implement a system of reforms in the health and social protection system. Universal coverage was introduced in 2014 and pension reform recently implemented, a necessity when the monthly amount of a pension is very low. In the early 2000s, social coverage was virtually non-existent. The healthcare system is still deficient or unaffordable.
Another option: undertake!
When it comes to choosing between a relatively low salary for a young graduate and setting up their own business, many young Georgians take the plunge. 45% of young Georgians are self-entrepreneurs. In the booming tourism sector, there's plenty to do! That's why Tbilisi is full of guest houses. Legislation is not too stringent when it comes to opening a guest house or setting up your own business. Driving tourists around in a private vehicle and earning in a few days what a company executive earns in a month, the dilemma doesn't last long... However, you have to take into account the vagaries of supply and demand on the tourist market. Western companies established in Georgia are very attractive to young Georgian graduates. They offer better working conditions and higher salaries. Within society, working for a Western company is considered prestigious.
Community life and social appearance
Despite the harshness of their living conditions, Georgians are very proud people. They are proud of Tbilisi, of their country, of their culture, of their gastronomy, of the richness of their heritage, of belonging to a country with such an eventful history and so many invasions, of being nationals of a country that, against all historical odds, still exists.
The basis of society: the clan
The clan is the backbone of Georgian society, along with the network, in particular the relationships we maintain with people considered "important". In this way, the mutual aid system is primordial. You rely on your family network for everything, from finding a job to finding accommodation. Privileges are exchanged to obtain favors. That said, since 2003, what could be described as nothing less than corruption is no longer in vogue, even if for many such considerations are a way of life. The family in the broadest sense is the unconditional foundation and inescapable structure of Georgian society. Georgia is still subject to great poverty, and the upper and middle classes are tiny. We rely on system D. Whether in business or in social life in general, communication is the watchword. The social structures that underpin everything explain this passion for lunch, dinner and drinks. Traditional Georgian festivals are particularly popular. The most important is the supra, the famous Georgian banquet. Any occasion is a good one to organize one. In Georgia, people like to eat and drink, and get together with colleagues in a restaurant to establish good relations.
Showing off
In Georgia, status is important. Even if, at times, it may be far from representing reality, it's all about showing off and showing off, showing off in a nice luxury car, showing off a top-of-the-range cell phone, wearing designer clothes. As the vast majority of Georgians are far from rolling in money, we like to show off our wealth to give the illusion that we belong to this tiny privileged class.
Women and Marital Life in Georgia
It's a man's world. They dominate a patriarchal society. During the Soviet Union, Communist ideology advocated equality between men and women. After independence, a very traditional society prevailed. In Georgia, gender equality is a real issue. We're still a long way from it. In the old mentality, the woman is the keeper of the home, the mother, she marries and looks after the children. The statue of the Motherland in Tbilisi, dominating the city, embodies all this. Paradoxically, the current president, Salomé Zourabichvili, is a woman, and women are increasingly to be found in decision-making positions in the government or in charge of Georgian television. Nevertheless, men still dominate, and women are often confined to secretarial and administrative tasks.
The die is cast at birth
No two are alike. A woman's status in Georgian society depends on a number of criteria, depending on whether she lives in an urban or rural area, is part of a minority or not, is educated and advantaged or not. A woman living in a rural environment, subject to the diktat of traditional society, has few career opportunities. Urban women, as much as men, have access to higher education. Social background is a determining factor in terms of opportunities: a woman from an educated middle-class background can become economically independent. Within the family, the little girl often has to help her mother with household chores, while the little boy is often raised as a child king. Nothing is done to help the mother to work; few crèche places facilitate her access to the job market. Around 55% of women work, compared with 73% of men. The difference in salary is glaring: a man's salary can be 88% higher than a woman's, in both the public and private sectors. In the political arena, access for women is even more complicated. Women are poorly represented among the 150 members of parliament: there are only around twenty before the 2024 election. But the most dramatic phenomenon is still domestic violence, which is still widespread, especially in rural areas, but also in urban areas and refugee camps. Worryingly, it is widely accepted in the minds of Georgian men. The weight of religion makes society very sexist; rape is a minor offence. In short, women are still confined to domestic tasks, to the detriment of a public social position.
Married or not: the family, the real social core
Before marriage, cohabitation is still rare, and few couples remain unmarried. In rural areas, particularly among minorities, a woman can be married and become a mother far too early, sometimes as a teenager. Nothing changes the weight of tradition, however scandalous it may be. Men go off to work abroad, and women become the head of the household and the sole source of income. So there's a lot of progress to be made: cases vary greatly according to origin, and mentalities are evolving only very slowly. While the institution of marriage remains central, "a social pillar" reflecting a highly hierarchical patriarchal system, divorce is becoming a fairly common phenomenon. It's hard to compare a woman who is a top executive in Georgian society with a young Azeri girl living in the countryside and married off by force at a very young age.
Housing and family life
At independence, with the liberalization of the economy, the country experienced a considerable rise in the cost of living. It was a social tragedy for many. State subsidies disappeared, and infrastructures such as crèches and public institutions like hospitals fell into disrepair. Rents are so expensive that married couples move in with their spouse's parents. To counterbalance the high cost and difficulty of living, family support is particularly important. Georgian men often live with their parents. In the other direction, parents are looked after by the eldest sibling. A man may stay at home with his wife or be divorced. It is not uncommon for a man to stay with his parents, and tradition dictates that he should help them financially when they are no longer able to look after themselves.
Silk Road, Drug Road
Once again, an ideal location: Georgia's geographical position makes it the ideal transit point for drugs between Russia, Turkey and the Schengen area, in both directions: opiates from Central Asia, synthetic opiates such as heroin, among others, produced in Azerbaijan, Turkish and Iranian channels or "Krokodil", an amphetamine produced for personal consumption, "subutex" imported from Europe. Cannabis is the most widely used drug in Georgia. In the face of the government's tough crackdown on trafficking, "home-made" drugs are on the rise. Since 1991, drug trafficking and consumption have exploded: 53,000 drug addicts out of a population of 3.7 million. The government is adept at zero tolerance: two months' basic salary as a fine, or eight to twenty years' imprisonment if a Georgian is caught in possession of a gram of heroin. Faced with the abuse of power by a police force far exceeding its prerogatives to catch, convict or falsely convict any citizen, a debate has been raging for some years: if the "zero tolerance" policy isn't working, isn't it time to approach the problem from another angle? In Georgia, it's a real scourge, and the answer to the debate is still pending...
