Women’s Access to Quality Employment in Kazakhstan: Institutional, Structural and Spatial Dimensions

Abstract

The article presents a three-stage assessment of women's access to quality employment in Kazakhstan based on macro and microdata for 2013-2023. The methodological basis of the study includes a three-stage analytical approach combining dynamic and index analysis of key indicators of participation and remuneration. The empirical database is based on official data from the Bureau of National Statistics for 2013-2023. The results of the study indicate that the gender gap in the labor market remains stable. The gender pay gap remained in the range of 25-34% for a decade, despite the growth of nominal incomes. Structural analysis revealed a high concentration of women in low- and medium-paid service sectors (education, healthcare, trade) and their critically low representation in capital-intensive and high-income industries (mining, construction, transport). Vertical segregation is manifested in the fact that the proportion of women in managerial positions does not exceed 41%, and in technical and engineering professions – 21%. In 2023, women in the Atyrau region received 399,015 tenge (54% of men's salaries – 738,421 tenge), in Mangystau, 49.6% of men's earnings. At the same time, in low-paid regions (Zhetysu, Zhambyl, North Kazakhstan region), a “low equalisation effect” is observed: the gap is minimal, but with low absolute incomes (women 250-280 thousand tenge). The results confirm that gender inequality is reproduced through institutional gaps, persistent horizontal and vertical segregation and regional polarization. Policy directions are proposed: a gender audit; reducing the "child penalty"; increasing women's participation in STEM and industrial professions; space-oriented measures to develop high-quality female employment.