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Uzbekistan Country
Gender Assessment Update
In an effort to promote wage parity between men and women, the government ratified
International Labour Organization (ILO) Convention No. 100 (equal Remuneration for Men
and Women Workers for Work of equal Value).
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Recent legislation regarding job creation
and employment indirectly relates to women, particularly young people, and includes female
graduates of professional colleges.
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Strategy of actions on Further development of Uzbekistan in 2017–2021 directly addresses
employment for women and female graduates of vocational colleges. as a result, in 2017, micro-
loans totaling SUM11 billion were allocated for the financing of the business plans of female
college graduates.
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In an effort to attract female graduates to business
and entrepreneurship
and in cooperation with the Central Bank, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the BWa,
and the Center for Secondary Specialized Vocational education, the WCU conducts annual
competitions for the best business project of a female entrepreneur.
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the BWa also has a special business training program for female college graduates, along
with further employment opportunities. In 2016–2017, about 3,500 female vocational college
graduates were hired and more than 550 rural women started a business in response to BWa
interventions. Up to 120 women from all 13 provinces received training in four directions of
entrepreneurship and were guided toward a new profession.
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the government supports home-based businesses. In 2017, socially vulnerable groups (disabled
persons, mothers with many children, women survivors) in all regions received sewing machines
and raw materials to help them start a home business. In January–august 2017,
targeted
programs created 62,600 jobs for women—24,000 (38.3%) in industry, 14,500 (23.2%) in
services, 14,400 (23%) in agriculture, and 13,300 (21.2%) in construction and infrastructure. In
addition, subsidiary plots,
dehkan
farms, and family businesses provided 79,300 employment
opportunities, and individual entrepreneurs created 25,700 jobs. In 2016, about 300,000 jobs
were created through diverse funding sources on the basis of business plans presented by
women. In 2017, the government allocated SUM1 trillion for programs set up to involve more
women and youth in entrepreneurship, family businesses, and home-based labor, and SUM60
billion for loans to more than 10,000 graduates of secondary special educational institutions.
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Home-based businesses help women gain access to paid work and at the same time contribute
to overall development in the rural areas. However, women employed in home businesses carry
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Ratified by Uzbekistan on 30 august 1997.
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the latest versions of
the Law on Labor protection
and the decree of the president on Measures to Further Improve
State policy in the Field of employment and Radically Improve the efficiency of Labor agencies increases the personal
responsibility for employment growth among heads of executive authorities and territorial industrial complexes for
growth of employment, and enhances the effectiveness of measures for the employment of unemployed working-age
population, especially young people.
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Under para. 70 of protocol No. 1 of the Cabinet of Ministers (14 January 2017), Study of the Legitimacy of Jobs
Created for Women and Graduates of professional Colleges, and provision of Concrete Measures to Increase Women’s
employment, and Creation of decent Conditions for Work and development of Female entrepreneurship,
the WCU,
the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Central Bank, and the association of Banks of Uzbekistan developed and
endorsed a joint plan of action to ensure interagency cooperation.
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In 2016–2017, various educational training programs were organized to help college graduates
acquire entrepreneurial
skills and support in obtaining concessional loans. Students from 800 colleges participated in the competition and
182,235 girls attended 2,457 training courses; of these, 177 have expressed a desire to start a business.
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data provided by the BWa to adB in November 2017 for theis CGa update.
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data provided by the WCU to adB in November 2017 for this CGa update.
Crosscutting Gender Equality Issues
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a double burden because they must also perform unpaid reproductive work daily.
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therefore,
home-based initiatives should include measures to ease women’s traditional reproductive
labor and decrease their time poverty and drudgery (e.g., through better access to basic
infrastructure, sustainable energy, and water supply, allowing them to use time- and labor-
saving home appliances), as well as improvements in social infrastructure (e.g., daily child care
facilities, longer day classes for primary school students), accompanied by awareness-raising
interventions promoting gender equality.
D. Gender roles
and Norms
Uzbekistan’s civil, criminal, labor, and family laws are based on gender equality, and the
legal framework for protecting women’s rights complies with international standards. the
traditional gender contract is not part of formal law or policy.
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However, it does prescribe the
roles of women and men that govern gender relations and assigns them different jobs, values,
responsibilities, and obligations.
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In Uzbek society, traditional notions associated with to motherhood, children, and family are
prevalent. If a woman decides to have a career in business, politics,
or any other field, she is
expected to balance her work with her reproductive functions. the traditional distribution of
family responsibilities usually remains the same, adding to women’s time poverty and limiting
opportunities for self-development, competitiveness in the labor market, SMe participation,
and business size
.
It also impedes women’s career choices and aspirations.
Marriage and family are considered the pillars of society.
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Given a choice, the parents of a
young girl would opt to marry her off when she completes the mandatory secondary vocational
education (college or academic lyceum), rather than strive for higher education. this
decision
might also have economic root causes since families, especially those with limited financial
resources, give preference to sons when it comes to higher education because the daughters
are expected to marry and leave the family home. Young men also have more leeway to marry at
a later age, continue their education, or find jobs. these factors increase gender asymmetry in
higher education.
Several government and nongovernment agencies are mandated to support the family as an
institution. For instance, a commission under the
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