The GIZ–SIGMA Eastern Partnership Female Leaders’ Forum brought together members of the GIZ Female Leaders’ Network and public sector representatives from Eastern Partnership countries for a week‑long exchange in Paris, hosted by SIGMA at the OECD and the Institut national du service public (INSP). Organised within the framework of the GIZ Eastern Partnership Public Administration Reform project and in co-operation with the SIGMA Programme, the event focused on advancing gender equality in public administration and strengthening women’s leadership in the region. Participants discussed current policies and practices to promote equal opportunities for women and men, examined persistent implementation challenges, and shared country experiences from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine, drawing on OECD and SIGMA frameworks, including the Principles of Public Administration and gender equality tools.
The forum combined input from experts, country presentations and interactive working sessions to move from dialogue to action. Discussions explored gender‑responsive policy design, gender equality in digital public services, leadership development, and the measurement of gender gaps in public administration. A strong emphasis was placed on transforming the Female Leaders’ Network into a more active and structured community, capable of developing and implementing concrete, collaborative projects at country level. The event concluded with the identification and presentation of practical project ideas and agreement on next steps, governance arrangements and follow‑up actions to ensure sustained cooperation and tangible results across the network.
