CABAR.Asia
Uzbekistan:
It's All About Stereotypes
It's All About Stereotypes
Despite the fact that de jure Uzbekistan has paid much attention to development of women's entrepreneurship for many years, de facto the country still has many difficulties that hinder development of women's entrepreneurship.
Khamida Azizova (not her real name), resident of Surkhandarya region, has dreamt of opening her own beauty shop for many years. However, she didn't have money. She applied to the bank for the loan several times, but she had to have the collateral equal to the value of the apartment registered to her husband to get the loan. She could not get his consent. In 10 years, their family broke up. Khamida was left without anything – no higher education, no shelter. Her husband had provided her all those years, and she couldn't earn by herself. She had to look for a job in labour migration in despair.
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In Uzbekistan, it is very difficult for a woman to find any job, especially if she had been married for many years. Because few married women work. Moreover, girls are given in marriage when they are very young, at the age of 18. It often happens in rural areas. They do not always have time to get a specialised secondary education, not to speak of higher education. Rural problems differ from urban problems dramatically. One has to wake up early to do some household chores, to graze the cattle. Frequent shortages of electricity and gas add difficulties. In remote regions, female entrepreneurs are very rare. Husbands do not allow them to run their own businesses because women have family obligations. Because of conservative traditional stereotypes, the woman becomes more vulnerable both socially and morally.
Because of the prevailing traditions, access to education and entrepreneurial skills, respectively, is less among women than among men. According to the Uzbek society, the key task of a woman is to take care of her husband, home and children.
According to the State Committee of Uzbekistan on Statistics, women spend just above 5 hours on the average on unpaid housework, while men spend nearly 2 hours.
Regardless of gender prejudices that restrict access to traditional sources of funding, women are in a less favourable position due to the lack of technical knowledge about business plan drafting, lobbying, etc. It is more difficult for them to get loans.
According to the research "Uzbekistan: Country Gender Assessment" held by the Asian Development Bank in 2014, female entrepreneurs face a number of specific gender-based constraints to doing business, including unequal access to financial services (due to lack of formal property ownership and lack of collateral); bureaucratic obstacles to running a business, which are multiplied for women who balance business activities with domestic responsibilities; lack of information, business knowledge, skills, and technical resources needed to run a successful business; and cultural perceptions and stereotypes."
Most of these problems, despite reforms and close attention of the government to the problem, remain unresolved.
According to the research "Uzbekistan: Country Gender Assessment" held by the Asian Development Bank in 2014, female entrepreneurs face a number of specific gender-based constraints to doing business, including unequal access to financial services (due to lack of formal property ownership and lack of collateral); bureaucratic obstacles to running a business, which are multiplied for women who balance business activities with domestic responsibilities; lack of information, business knowledge, skills, and technical resources needed to run a successful business; and cultural perceptions and stereotypes."
Most of these problems, despite reforms and close attention of the government to the problem, remain unresolved.
Nigora Zufarova of the city of Yangiyul, Tashkent region, decided to open a mirror production shop one year ago. However, she hesitated to do it without her husband's help.
"It is easier to open business with the help of men because women and business are incompatible concepts in our society. I was afraid. How to conduct a dialogue, how to purchase raw materials, find customers, do household chores?" Nigora said.
When her husband joined her business, Nigora calmed down.
"It is easier to open business with the help of men because women and business are incompatible concepts in our society. I was afraid. How to conduct a dialogue, how to purchase raw materials, find customers, do household chores?" Nigora said.
When her husband joined her business, Nigora calmed down.
Nigora Zufarova
Photo courtesy
Photo courtesy
However, she could not overcome certain stereotypes and fears. Despite the fact that the state is actively supporting women now, and it is easier to obtain loans, Zufarova said, there are still matters that are easier to decide with the men's help.
"Well, I am not sure if I could deal with it without my husband's help. There are some moments when you have to negotiate with men. And they don't always take a woman as an equal partner," Nigora Zufarova said.
"Well, I am not sure if I could deal with it without my husband's help. There are some moments when you have to negotiate with men. And they don't always take a woman as an equal partner," Nigora Zufarova said.
- Nigora's businessPhoto courtesy
- Nigora's businessPhoto courtesy
Lola Islamova, founder the editor-in-chief of Anhor.uz news agency, also thinks that stereotypes hinder development of women's entrepreneurship in the country, as well as the lack of good business education and business skills.
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It is more difficult for women to do business because they start it without having any relevant education and skills. Men are often prone to stereotypes and do not always trust women. Although women do business just as good as men.
Female entrepreneurs in Uzbekistan are mainly involved in services, trade, public catering, and work from home. The proportion of female entrepreneurs in material production is quite low.
Laws and equality
The situation began to change drastically since 2016. In May 2021, the 15th plenary session of Oliy Mazhlis Senate of Uzbekistan emphasised that the gender equality issue in the country was raised to the national policy level. 25 legislative acts were approved in this sphere. The proportion of women in higher education sphere reached 40 per cent, in entrepreneurship – 35 per cent.
Banks of the republic have opened special credit lines to female entrepreneurs. In recent years, over 327 thousand women were granted concessional loans for 7.4 trillion sum (666.5 million dollars). For comparison, in 2002 only 14,397 women could obtain loans, according to the statistical digest "Men and women of Uzbekistan".
In 2021, 2 trillion sum (180.15 million dollars) of loans and subsidies were granted under female entrepreneurship programmes for implementation of over 200 thousand projects.
In 2022, the government is intending to carry out reforms in the banking sector to support female entrepreneurship. A "knowledge platform" will be created based on the experience of the People's Bank to involve women into entrepreneurship.
Banking services will be provided to women on a case by case basis. Business courses will be arranged along with banking services for beginner female entrepreneurs.
Concessional loans will be granted to beginner female entrepreneurs who work 6 to 12 months up to 300 million sum (27.02 thousand dollars); up to two years – up to 1 billion sum (90.07 thousand dollars); over 2 years – up to 3 billion sum (270.22 thousand dollars).
And yet, despite privileges and statutory equality, women face difficulties in doing business and even getting a job. In addition to their job, they have more duties regarding child care and family care. This is indicated in the last research of the World Bank "Gender discrimination in hiring: Evidence from an audit experiment in Uzbekistan".
Banks of the republic have opened special credit lines to female entrepreneurs. In recent years, over 327 thousand women were granted concessional loans for 7.4 trillion sum (666.5 million dollars). For comparison, in 2002 only 14,397 women could obtain loans, according to the statistical digest "Men and women of Uzbekistan".
In 2021, 2 trillion sum (180.15 million dollars) of loans and subsidies were granted under female entrepreneurship programmes for implementation of over 200 thousand projects.
In 2022, the government is intending to carry out reforms in the banking sector to support female entrepreneurship. A "knowledge platform" will be created based on the experience of the People's Bank to involve women into entrepreneurship.
Banking services will be provided to women on a case by case basis. Business courses will be arranged along with banking services for beginner female entrepreneurs.
Concessional loans will be granted to beginner female entrepreneurs who work 6 to 12 months up to 300 million sum (27.02 thousand dollars); up to two years – up to 1 billion sum (90.07 thousand dollars); over 2 years – up to 3 billion sum (270.22 thousand dollars).
And yet, despite privileges and statutory equality, women face difficulties in doing business and even getting a job. In addition to their job, they have more duties regarding child care and family care. This is indicated in the last research of the World Bank "Gender discrimination in hiring: Evidence from an audit experiment in Uzbekistan".
"Employers often have gender preferences for certain types of jobs, which can negatively impact employment prospects for both men and women. Gender segregation often pushes women into lower-paying occupations and depresses female wages."
According to the State Committee on Statistics, in 2020 wages of women in Uzbekistan was 37.5 per cent lower on average than of men. It means that women earn 62.5 cents for every dollar earned by men.
The World Bank analysts noted some success compared to the period until 2016, yet they suggest that gender stereotypes in the country are still high and do not tend to decrease.
Authors noted positive changes in the gender laws of Uzbekistan, adoption of the national strategy for gender equality for 2020-2030, president's decree on strengthening of labour rights of women and other documents.
Although equal rights and opportunities for men and women are now guaranteed by the national constitution and laws, women are underrepresented or have secondary roles in many fields including science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), authors suggest.
According to economic analyst Yuly Yusupov, the country does not have any legal or administrative restrictions to female entrepreneurship, it's all about stereotypes. It has been a tradition for families to spend less on education or career of girls and counting on a successful marriage.
"Less investments in the human capital of girls and young women, the patriarchal distribution of duties are also the result of stereotypes, as well as a low standard of living," he said to CABAR.asia.
According to the research of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) "Uzbekistan Country Gender Assessment: Update" for 2018, the proportion of girls earning a degree among university students in Uzbekistan was 38.2 per cent, and men – 61.8 per cent.
The World Bank analysts noted some success compared to the period until 2016, yet they suggest that gender stereotypes in the country are still high and do not tend to decrease.
Authors noted positive changes in the gender laws of Uzbekistan, adoption of the national strategy for gender equality for 2020-2030, president's decree on strengthening of labour rights of women and other documents.
Although equal rights and opportunities for men and women are now guaranteed by the national constitution and laws, women are underrepresented or have secondary roles in many fields including science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), authors suggest.
According to economic analyst Yuly Yusupov, the country does not have any legal or administrative restrictions to female entrepreneurship, it's all about stereotypes. It has been a tradition for families to spend less on education or career of girls and counting on a successful marriage.
"Less investments in the human capital of girls and young women, the patriarchal distribution of duties are also the result of stereotypes, as well as a low standard of living," he said to CABAR.asia.
According to the research of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) "Uzbekistan Country Gender Assessment: Update" for 2018, the proportion of girls earning a degree among university students in Uzbekistan was 38.2 per cent, and men – 61.8 per cent.
"In rural areas, families, especially those with limited financial resources, give preference to sons when it comes to higher education because education in most cases is paid. It also can be because they are unwilling to send "their daughters far from home to study, given that two-thirds of higher-education institutions are in three large cities. Women's participation in higher education in comparison might become a major barrier to increasing their competitiveness in the labour market," the research suggests.
Author:
CABAR.asia
Editors:
Natalia Lee
Lola Olimova
Lola Olimova
Layout:
Akylai Tatenova
Slider photo:
