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- Convenors:
-
Xeniya Prilutskaya
(Bern University)
Tatyana Rezvushkina (Buketov University (Karaganda, Kazakhstan))
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- Chair:
-
Xeniya Prilutskaya
(Bern University)
- Discussant:
-
Anastassiya Lipovka
(Almaty Management University)
- Format:
- Panel
- Theme:
- Gender Studies
- Location:
- 401 (Floor 4)
- Sessions:
- Sunday 9 June, -
Time zone: Asia/Almaty
Abstract:
Many states in the world are aimed at respecting the rights and freedoms of women. Central Asia is no exception. However, in the Central Asian states, discussions are mainly conducted around two problems: domestic violence and the poor representation of women in management, but issues such as unpaid domestic work, caring for children and elderly relatives are not problematized. This is reflected in the state’s social policy (the content of programs, road maps, concepts, strategies to support socially vulnerable segments of the population).
Since the early 2000s, Central Asian governments have been implementing large-scale reforms in the field of social policy aimed at reducing poverty, unemployment, and supporting motherhood and childhood. Global demographic trends, including an ageing population and an increase in the retirement age, are also characteristic of the Central Asian states, where, in turn, there is also an increase in the birth rate. This has already influenced the increase in demand for care services and at the same time increased the burden on women of working age and created the need to create a care economy. Developing a care economy is a major challenge for Central Asian countries, directly impacting economic indicators such as poverty, income, employment, economic growth and access to education.
We invite all interested researchers to discuss the social policies of Central Asian states regarding women, mothers and their children. We will talk about how, for example, in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, households have an increasing demand for care services and the burden on such an underdeveloped economic sector as care is growing (paper will be presented in English). We will discuss how mothers in Kazakhstan face difficulties in hiring nannies (paper will be presented in English) and therefore are reviving traditional childcare practices (paper will be presented in Russian), how the education system does not consider regional gender disparities (paper will be presented in Russian), and whether a fair distribution of unpaid domestic labour is possible.
Accepted papers:
Session 1 Sunday 9 June, 2024, -Abstract:
Care economy development is a significant economic challenge for all Central Asian countries, including Uzbekistan, directly impacting economic indicators such as poverty, incomes, employment, and economic growth.
Since 2017, the Government of Uzbekistan has been implementing large-scale reforms in the areas of social protection, poverty reduction, population employment, and childcare. Current trends in population aging, rising birth rates, and the possible increase in the retirement age in Uzbekistan could increase the demand for care services and rise the burden on the undeveloped care sector.
In the scope of this research, we are studying the care economy in Uzbekistan, encompassing all forms of paid and unpaid caregiving activities both in-home and institutional settings, provided by the public and private sectors as well as family members. We conduct an analysis of available data on the care system in Uzbekistan, primary data gathered through in-depth interviews with experts and the population in various regions to identify gaps in the country's care economy hindering the equitable distribution of unpaid household labor and ensuring decent employment for caregivers. It has been identified that care for children under 3 years old and elderly individuals represents the least developed area of the care system in the country; unpaid care at home is the most common form of care predominantly provided by women, while paid care is largely informal. Based on the analysis conducted, we develop recommendations for improving the care economy that could be integrated into broader policies on employment, formalizing labor, and expanding economic opportunities for women.
Abstract:
This paper focuses on the babysitting practices and attitudes of young females toward these in Kazakhstan. Since the gender revolution which started here in early Soviet time and intensified in the last decades, women actively participate in the labor force (make up 49.7% of this (the Global Economy, 2022)). The traditional expectations of a woman as wife and mother continue to put high pressure on females. Working women spend 3 hours and 36 minutes on household duties and childcare per day (Kabatova, 2022, p. 36), working men spend 3 times less time on these activities.
Consequently, there is need for help in childcare in form of kindergartens, asking relatives to babysit, or hiring babysitters. Because of the constant streaming of “successful success” and self-realization&development, women of new generations have more and more desire to build a career. Double burden they face of both domestic and paid labor accounts for sacrifice in health and self-care. Kazakhstan can be considered to belong to liberal welfare cluster that provides some compensation for maternal expenses for all women (Esping-Andersen 1990), this help shows to be insufficient. Mothers can afford to be absent from work for only one year if they still want to keep paid position. They can rely on state-funded and private kindergartens that claim to focus on rearing children in sociable, holistic, and carefree atmosphere (Ulybina 2023). Many participants stressed their dissatisfaction with kindergartens.
To explore mothers’ and baby-sitters’ perspectives on babysitting, the study was conducted qualitatively. 27 in-depth interviews were conducted, the duration of each was around 60 minutes. Preliminary results demonstrate that there are challenges when hiring babysitters. No specialized organizations provide babysitting services. Mothers search for babysitters on sites like OLX, which cannot guarantee the professionalism of workers. In addition, there are barriers concerning letting hired workers to babysit children, though family resources of help are not available to everyone, they are strongly preferred. Still many young mothers and future mothers prefer market arrangements because these allow them better power distribution in decisions about delegated childcare. Assistance mothers receive from marketed childcare positively affects their personal and professional lives. External judgment of “failing perfect mother” might be imposed by others on women hiring babysitters. Geographical and structural factors affect the kin’s role in provisioning traditional family dynamics.