Is it possible to achieve gender equality in Kazakhstan: Focus on employment and social protection

Abstract

International ratings confirm that Kazakhstan is a leader in Central Asia in addressing the causes of gender inequality; however, there are still significant gender differences in key areas. In particular, gender discrimination in the labor market is complex: when hiring or dismissing, while restricting access to certain professions and positions, in matters of promotion and career growth, when remuneration is paid for performing the same work, not related to differences in labor efficiency. Discrimination is especially sensitive in relation to pregnant women and women with young children. Discrimination continues with access to social measures for avoiding poverty and in the pension system. Further progress requires more strategically significant and focused actions to identify and bridge the remaining factors of systemic discrimination and gender gaps. In the article, we show the insufficient attention of the legal science of Kazakhstan to the problems of regulation of equality. We present the author’s methodology for analyzing labor and social legislation from the perspective of regulating gender equality, consisting of several assessments: Kazakhstan’s fulfillment of international obligations; implementation of the principle of nondiscrimination in labor and social legislation; administrative and judicial mechanisms to protect against discrimination based on sex; and opportunities for implementing best foreign and international practices for the regulation of equality.