Background

Labour market inequalities and exclusion are the main inequality challenges for many countries, including for Kazakhstan, while the data gaps in measuring inequalities and their links to social exclusion are significant, particularly gender equality indicators. In terms of existing measurements of women’s economic empowerment in the Central Asian region, according to the Global Gender Gap Report 2018, among 149 economies, Kazakhstan ranked 60, on how well they use “their female talent pool, based on economic, educational, health-based and political indicators”. Kazakhstan scored 54.5 in the 2012 Women’s Economic Opportunity Index, where a score of 100 represented the most favourable environment for women’s economic empowerment. The results of these studies suggest that women's economic opportunities in Kazakhstan continue to be limited. There are several significantly under-researched obstacles that prevent women from entering and remaining in formal paid employment, and statistics on women’s labour force participation are often difficult to interpret, given that the majority of women in many countries work in the informal economy. In some cases, women are limited by discriminatory gender norms that deem specific professions as inappropriate for women[1]. Expectations from families/partners can also function as impediments to women’s formal economic activities in the region. For instance, a 2016 ILO report[2] reveals that when young women drop out of the labor market, they often remain economically inactive. According to the study restrictions imposed by family, burden of unpaid domestic care work, discriminatory gender stereotypes are the most commonly identified barriers by women, hindering their employment and/or advancement in the private sector.

The most revealing statistics on the discrepancies between not only men and women, but between economic groups of women regarding access to education and employment include data analyzed from the poorest households in Kazakhstan in the UN Women report on Progress of the World’s Women in 2015-2016[3]. According to the overall rates of education in the country, high percentages of women and men from the poorest households receive secondary or higher level of education: 99 percent of both women and men. However, despite the equal rates of education, 57.6 percent of women compared to 43.3 percent of men remain unemployed in Kazakhstan. This data clearly shows the need to focus not only on the economic empowerment of all women in the country but reveals a particularly strong need to focus on bridging the gap between education and employment among the most vulnerable female populations.

There is a significant gender wage gap in the country as well. The unadjusted gender pay gap in 2017 was 32.2 percent according to national statistical data. The share of women working in the industrial sector (where productivity and incomes are often higher than national averages) is half the share of men working in this sector – 347.8 thousand of women, and 742.6 thousand of men, while the share of female hired workers engaged in service industry (where productivity and incomes are much lower than national averages) is significantly higher than the share of men – 132.8 thousand of women, and 59.1 thousand of men. This form of occupational segregation is one contributing factor to the high gender wage gaps.

Women form the majority of informal, low-paid and unprotected workers in the region. For women in developing countries, the informal labour economy, or grey economy, is often the main source of income. Informal work can include those who are self-employed — such as street vendors, petty goods traders, subsistence farmers, as well as waged workers in domestic or seasonal agricultural work. This type of work is considered informal, as it lacks the protection of labour laws and regulations, which results in workers being vulnerable to low pay, unsafe working conditions, and excluded from social benefits, such as pensions, sick leave and health insurance. Women involved in informal work may also face intersectional forms of discrimination and violence in the workplace.[4]

The overall rates of vulnerable employment[5] in Kazakhstan is high compared to the OECD countries[6]. According to the World Bank, the percentage of women’s employment considered to be vulnerable in Kazakhstan is 24.7 percent. Vulnerable  employment  is often characterized by inadequate earnings, low productivity and difficult conditions of work that undermine workers’ fundamental rights. As economies slow, job losses and vulnerable employment increase. Sustainable Development Goal 8.8 puts emphasis on protecting labour rights and promoting safe and secure working environments of all workers. Informal, unprotected work is one of the reasons behind women’s low economic activity rates, which may have a long-term negative impact on women’s economic security and empowerment.

Reliable national statistics on women domestic workers, however, are scarce. According to the report of the UN Secretary-General’s High-level Panel on Women’s Economic Empowerment, one in 25 women in paid employment globally is a domestic worker, and only 10 percent of this population enjoys labour protections equal to those enjoyed by other workers.[7] According to the ILO, women carry out at least two and a half times more unpaid household and care work than men, on average, in countries where the relevant data are available. There is a lack of up-to-date and reliable time use data for Kazakhstan; however the results of sample survey conducted by the National Statistics Committee in 2012 shows that women spend more than twice as much time as men on unpaid work related to housekeeping (01.53 h/day for employed men, and 04.04 h/day for employed women, and 02.05 h/day for unemployed men compared to 04.40 h/day for unemployed women).[8]

In addition to limiting women’s opportunities to pursue more formal and secure livelihood opportunities, these obstacles, along with a male-dominated political culture, also limit women’s opportunities to actively participate in public life and in local-level decision-making processes. UN Women with the support of the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection of Population of Kazakhstan would like to commission a study on Women’s Economic Inactivity and Engagement in the Informal Economy in Kazakhstan. The study aims to address existing data gaps and more importantly to come forward with findings and recommendations that will allow for policy and programmatic interventions for enhancement of women’s decent employment and economic opportunities in the country.

For this consultancy UN Women, intends to procure services of an international consultant that will provide methodological and expert support to the local research organization in conducting study on women economic inactivity and engagement in unofficial employment in Kazakhstan.

[1] Kazakhstan amended to the list of jobs for which it is prohibited to use women's labor: this list is reduced by 100 occupations. The draft document was submitted for public discussion on February 5, 2018 until February 19, 2018. https://legalacts.egov.kz/npa/view?id=1859313

As a result, on 13 August 2018 amendments were adopted to the Order of the Minister of Health and Social Development of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated December 8, 2015 No. 944 "On approval of the list of works that prohibit the use of labor of workers under the age of eighteen years, the limit of carrying and movement of loads by workers under eighteen years of age and a list of works for which the use of women’s labor is prohibited” http://adilet.zan.kz/rus/docs/V1800017375#z25

The list of "non-female" professions includes 287 types of jobs. Thus, after adopting a new version of the order, this list is reduced by about a third.

https://informburo.kz/novosti/v-kazahstane-100-professiy-perestanut-schitatsya-chisto-muzhskimi.html

[2] ILO, Women at Work, Trends (2016) https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---dgreports/---dcomm/---publ/documents/publication/wcms_457317.pdf

[3] http://www.unwomen.org/-/media/headquarters/attachments/sections/library/publications/2015/poww-2015-2016-en.pdf?la=en&vs=0

[4] Progress of the World's Women 2015-2016, UN Women; Women’s economic empowerment in the changing world of work, Report of the Secretary-General, E/CN.6/2017/3, December 2016

[5] Defined by ILO as the sum of contributing (non-paid) family workers and own-account (self-employed) workers.

[6] https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SL.EMP.VULN.FE.ZS

[7] UN Secretary-General’s High-level Panel on Women’s Economic Empowerment, Leave No One Behind: A Call to Action for Gender Equality and Women’s Economic Empowerment (2016), p. 62.

[8] Statistics “Women and Men of Kazakhstan”, 2013-2017, National Statistics Committee of the Republic of Kazakhstan   

Duties and Responsibilities

Competencies

Core Values:

·         Respect for Diversity

·         Integrity

·         Professionalism

Core Competencies:

·         Awareness and Sensitivity Regarding Gender Issues

·         Accountability

·         Effective Communication

·         Inclusive Collaboration

To learn more about UN Women values and competencies, please follow the link http://www.unwomen.org/-/media/headquarters/attachments/sections/about%20us/employment/un-women-employment-values-and-competencies-definitions-en.pdf?la=en&vs=2838

Required Skills and Experience

Required qualifications:

The selection process of consultant will be by following criteria:

Education:

- Advanced degree in Economics or social sciences

Experience:

- Minimum 7 years of experience in developing methodologies and conducting studies of labour market, and writing reports (supporting materials or link to the site where the document is available to learn about the candidate’s experience);

- Minimum of 5 years of experience in gender equality/women empowerment and gender mainstreaming into policies, legal regulations and programs (supporting materials or link to the site where the document is available to learn about the candidate’s experience);

- Experience and knowledge on budget planning and gender analysis, conducting research in the field of gender costing/budgeting and gender perspective social policy issues (please provide a link to the resource to access the study);

- Experience with UN agencies and other international organizations, as well as with government agencies for promoting gender equality and women economic empowerment.

Languages:

- Excellent writing and speaking skills in English. Working knowledge of Russian is an asset.