Diagnostic Study of Barriers for Strengthening Livelihoods of Low-Income Rural Women in Uzbekistan

Romanova, Ekaterina ; Kolybashkina, Nina ; Hiller, Bradley Todd ; Kochkin, Evgeny

World Bank, Washington, DC

关键词: RURAL INCOME;    LIVELIHOODS;    LIVING STANDARDS;    LABOR MARKET;    WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS;   

RP-ID  :  119243

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: World Bank Open Knowledge Repository

【 摘 要 】

Due to the strong economic growthmaintained in the last 15 years, Uzbekistan made progress inreducing gender inequality. At the same time, severaldemographic and structural challenges remain; andeffectively engaging women in the economy is one of them.While modernizing various sectors of the economy will fosterprogress and development, it may also result in setbacks forwomen, as they lack the skills and education needed tosuccessfully adjust to a changing reality. While womenconstitute around 50 percent of the national population,their participation in the formal labor market is limited.Active women’s participation offers a reserved potential forfurther national economic growth and improved livelihoodsfor women in Uzbekistan. The link between women’s productiveparticipation in the country’s economy and improved economicindicators is well documented across the world. Hence, tomaintain strong economic growth, it is in Uzbekistan’snational interest to improve women’s participation in theformal economy. Not only can significant economic benefitsbe realized by mobilizing such latent productive potential,but it can be achieved in parallel with improving women’scapacity to make decisions about their own lives and act onthem. The objective of this study is to examine how genderinfluences opportunities and risks in accessing livelihoodsin Uzbekistan. It seeks to identify the constraints to, andopportunities for, increased socioeconomic resilience amongrural women in Uzbekistan, and it has the potential toinform livelihoods programming. The study focuses on womenin rural areas, as they represent a large portion ofproductive members of Uzbek society who are insufficientlyintegrated into the formal labor market. The study adopts acapability approach6 to understand the distinct aspirations,opportunities, and barriers for rural women inincome-generating activities. It focuses on supply-sidechallenges faced by women and enablers of women’s work(e.g., low labor demand and lack of formal employmentopportunities). The study is centered on the premise that agender-inclusive approach should be an integral goal oflivelihood support in Uzbekistan.