Meeting in Tbilisi Wednesday at their sixth annual conference, more than 150 members of the Women Councillors’ Forum of Georgia sought a greater say in economic and political issues at the local level. Participants called for municipal public services to pay greater heed to the needs of women, for example in expanding childcare options, and advocated better vocational training opportunities to help women succeed in the labor market.

Salome Zurabishvili has won Georgia's presidential election, becoming the first woman to hold the office.

With nearly all votes counted, the French-born ex-diplomat had 59% of the vote with rival Grigol Vashadze on 40%.

Ms Zurabishvili was backed by the ruling Georgian Dream party while Mr Vashadze was a united opposition candidate.

For 14 years the National Democratic Institute (NDI) has worked in Georgia to increase the political participation of national women leaders from across the political spectrum through the Future Women Leaders (FWL) program. In 2015, NDI expanded its support to build the skills and capacity of women at the local level.