Dzhankeldy Wind Power Project

6.4.1.3
Gender Roles 
According to UNECE (2019), the labour market in Uzbekistan is characterised by a visible 
gender segregation by industry where women are well represented in the public sector such 
as education, healthcare and in culture and arts with lower salaries, while men dominate 
technical fields such as construction, finance, manufacturing etc which tend to pay more. 
Women in rural and urban areas are likely to be employed in the informal sector which is 
associated with lower wages and most are also involved with unpaid household work while 
men participate in productive paid labour work. In addition, women are under-represented in 
the decision-making process at all levels in the public and private sector.
According to a gender assessment report by the Asian Development Bank (2018), traditional 
gender contracts (are not formal laws or policies), prescribe the role of women and men in 
the family and society and assign different jobs, values, responsibilities and obligations to both 
men and women. The report notes that gender norms in rural areas are more conservative 
especially regarding the role or women and their marriageable age.
Women are bound by traditional notions of motherhood, children and taking care of the 
family and even those with professional careers are expected to balance work and family life. 
As a result, the gender stereotypes relating to female behaviour and social roles have an 
influence on the choices men and women make in exploiting education opportunities and 
towards their future career ambitions and development (ADB, 2018). 
The Commission on Ensuring Gender Equality of the Republic of Uzbekistan has developed a 
draft Strategy for achieving gender equality of the Republic of Uzbekistan 2020-2030. 
Nevertheless, the share of women in formal employment (45.7%) is still lower than that of men 
(54.3%). This is due to the fact that the concepts of motherhood and family are very important 
in Uzbek society.