Diagnostic Study of Barriers for Strengthening Livelihoods of Low-Income Rural Women in Uzbekistan
Due to the strong economic growth maintained in the last 15 years, Uzbekistan made progress in reducing gender inequality. At the same time, several demographic and structural challenges remain; and effectively engaging women in the economy is one...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Language: | English en_US |
| Published: |
World Bank, Washington, DC
2017
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| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/542521504159371275/Diagnostic-study-of-barriers-for-strengthening-livelihoods-of-low-income-rural-women-in-Uzbekistan http://hdl.handle.net/10986/28484 |
| Summary: | Due to the strong economic growth
maintained in the last 15 years, Uzbekistan made progress in
reducing gender inequality. At the same time, several
demographic and structural challenges remain; and
effectively engaging women in the economy is one of them.
While modernizing various sectors of the economy will foster
progress and development, it may also result in setbacks for
women, as they lack the skills and education needed to
successfully adjust to a changing reality. While women
constitute around 50 percent of the national population,
their participation in the formal labor market is limited.
Active women’s participation offers a reserved potential for
further national economic growth and improved livelihoods
for women in Uzbekistan. The link between women’s productive
participation in the country’s economy and improved economic
indicators is well documented across the world. Hence, to
maintain strong economic growth, it is in Uzbekistan’s
national interest to improve women’s participation in the
formal economy. Not only can significant economic benefits
be realized by mobilizing such latent productive potential,
but it can be achieved in parallel with improving women’s
capacity to make decisions about their own lives and act on
them. The objective of this study is to examine how gender
influences opportunities and risks in accessing livelihoods
in Uzbekistan. It seeks to identify the constraints to, and
opportunities for, increased socioeconomic resilience among
rural women in Uzbekistan, and it has the potential to
inform livelihoods programming. The study focuses on women
in rural areas, as they represent a large portion of
productive members of Uzbek society who are insufficiently
integrated into the formal labor market. The study adopts a
capability approach6 to understand the distinct aspirations,
opportunities, and barriers for rural women in
income-generating activities. It focuses on supply-side
challenges faced by women and enablers of women’s work
(e.g., low labor demand and lack of formal employment
opportunities). The study is centered on the premise that a
gender-inclusive approach should be an integral goal of
livelihood support in Uzbekistan. |
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