Is it possible to achieve gender equality in Kazakhstan: Focus on employment and social protection

Introduction

Female discrimination remains the most common form of inequality. Women continue to be discriminated against in almost all aspects of employment. The data of official documents (Kazakhstan, 2016) show that gender-differentiated differences in wages, occupational and vertical segregation, difficulties associated with a combination of production and family responsibilities, the disproportionate predominance of women in part time, informal temporary employment, and discrimination due to maternity or marital status continue to exist despite legislative and programmatic initiatives.

Gender discrimination inhibits economic growth. Because of its influence on the unequal distribution of power between men and women in the family, in the economic sphere, and in public life, discriminatory social institutions limit women’s economic opportunities (OECD, 2014). The absence in Kazakhstan of paid parental leave for children under 3 years old, of a sufficient number of childcare institutions, as well as of family-friendly policies, together with gender gaps in wages and domestic work, create obstacles for women to fully participate in economic of life. The national economy cannot work at full strength since restrictive and discriminatory factors restrain half of the population of Kazakhstan.

Gender-sensitive social protection policies provide an opportunity to accelerate the path to gender equality: applying a gender approach to social protection will better meet the specific needs of women from childhood to old age. For example, evidence suggests that choosing women as the main beneficiaries of social protection programs can increase their decision-making power in the family, with benefits for children’s nutrition, health, and education (Newton, 2016). Similarly, a gender-responsive transformative pension scheme will reduce poverty among older women, given their higher life expectancy, gender inequality in labor participation (wage gap and access to paid pension schemes), specifics women regarding saving behavior and their care responsibilities (OECD, 2019a).

Waiting for gender balance to equalize on its own is unacceptable. Kazakhstan is losing not only the opportunities for economic development but also the most important value – human capital.

The gender inequality in Kazakhstan in the field of employment is paradoxically combined with high rates of the female university and postgraduate education. Women make up the majority (55.9%) of those enrolled in universities. Women more often continue their studies in graduate school, 61.2% of graduate students and 60.9% of doctoral students are women. Women mainly study at pedagogical universities, study culture and humanities, medicine, health care, and social disciplines. Despite the high representation of women among applicants for a master’s degree or a candidate of science, women are in the minority among professors of higher educational institutions. Women make up only 34% of university professors and 57% are among senior university professors (Kazakhstan, 2017b).

That is, despite the predominance of women in the composition of students at universities, graduate and doctoral programs, their further scientific career does not work out. This fact raises doubts about the appropriateness of spending significant public funds on preparing women for a scientific career, which they refuse. Led by cover stories in the New York Times Magazine and Time Magazine (Belkin, 2003; Wallis, 2004), the popular press has highlighted the propensity of highly educated women to refuse the labor force at motherhood. Given the limited supply of places at top educational institutions, many of these reports include an implicit and at times explicit contention that these women are squandering society’s investment in their education. Others have countered that these women are being “pushed out” of workplaces that remain structured for men with stay-at-home wives (Michaels, 2009).

Such arguments are relevant for Kazakhstan, given the allocation of significant state grants for training girls, including in the best universities in the world. In addition, the lack of employment of women in highly qualified jobs with the appropriate education indicates the waste of high human capital, the inefficiency of returns from female education.

Assessment of economic inequality includes a number of criteria, while an important parameter is the assessment of legislation and the practice of its application. This article offers an original methodology for a comprehensive analysis of legislation on the subject of establishing discriminatory laws restricting the right to decent work and access to financial resources; regulation of the equality of women and men in the workplace, including issues related to the protection of employment during pregnancy, maternity/parental leave, equal remuneration for work of equal value and equal access to professions; gender equality in access to social protection systems.

Methods

The article is based on an analysis of the results of special scientific studies and projects on gender equality in Kazakhstan, summarizing the provisions of laws, regulations, and official statistics as well as special country reviews prepared by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). In addition, the authors used the data of judicial statistics, information about bringing to criminal, administrative responsibility. The results of special project research works were studied, covering areas such as the rulemaking process, the assessment of gender representation, and the situation of the modern Kazakhstani family.

This review is based on the experience of Kazakhstan, as well as the OECD countries, in all cases where this is possible when analyzing and drawing conclusions. The results of the reports of the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, ODIHR, UNICEF, OECD, and the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women were applied.

The following sources of information were analyzed: national statistical data on demography, social-economic development and human development across the country in general, and in promotion of gender parity; international and regional comparative statistics and indicators in the field of gender equality and the empowerment of women; legislation, policies, strategies, and programs related to the issues of gender equality; research, reviews, best practices, case materials, and experience on gender equality issues; and reports on the work of Kazakhstani courts of first instance in consideration of criminal, administrative, and civil cases.

Initially, the authors analyzed the results of projects and research implemented in Kazakhstan based on information from the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan. It has been proved that social science research should give priority to gender aspects and factors. Research should go beyond describing gender inequalities and also evaluate the effectiveness of measures to ensure gender transformation, including the effectiveness of legal regulation.

The following sequence of analyses was carried out: key gender issues were identified in the labor market and in the social protection system; it was established how these problems were taken into account in measures to introduce a gender approach in the formation of labor and social legislation in Kazakhstan; what gender issues were not noticed by the legislator at the stage of preparation of bills and what problems were identified by law enforcement practice; successes and difficulties in implementing antidiscrimination norms ensuring gender equality were identified; trends, opportunities, and obstacles in ensuring gender equality in the labor market and in the social protection system in each of the sectors; and recommendations were presented on improving the implementation of a gender approach and accounting of gender interests in legislation.

The state of Kazakhstan’s scientific development of problems of guarantees of gender equality

Most often, the object of gender studies in Kazakhstan is the national–cultural aspects of the role of women in the development of the society or their role in the economic development of the country, as well as the problems of women’s low involvement in political decision-making, their negligible representation in the highest echelons of power.

A review of dissertations defended for academic degrees in Kazakhstan for the period from 1992 to 2020 (Kazakhstan, 2020b; Kodar et al., 2014) allow us to draw the following conclusions. In total, in all branches of science, 25,506 theses were defended, of which 50 theses were defended over the problems of the sphere of gender norms, stereotypes, barriers, employment, representation, and linguistic gender consciousness. In turn, of them:

Four candidate and two doctoral dissertations in philosophical sciences;

One study for the degree of Doctor of Psychological Sciences, one for the candidate dissertation in cultural studies, three for the degree of Candidate of Science in history and pedagogy; and

One PhD dissertation in each field – art history, gender psychology, and sociology.

We would like to emphasize that in Kazakhstan, for the entire period of existence of an independent state, no special dissertation has been prepared in the field of law, devoted to the study of legislation regulating gender equality, the elimination of factors in laws that prevent the liquidation of gender discrimination.

The abovementioned review shows that today in the field of social sciences, legal research, the topic of gender equality is unpopular. By analyzing the sources and implemented projects available on this topic (Kodar et al., 2014), we can conclude that studies on gender equality and the protection of women’s rights were more popular from the late 1990s to the beginning of the 2000s. The number of studies and projects on this issue has significantly decreased since the mid-2000s. On the one hand, we believe that this fact is due to systemic changes in legislation in this area. On the other hand, it is the implementation of state policy documents aimed at achieving gender balance. The third is the relative success of Kazakhstan in the international gender equality rankings achieved in the early 2000s. However, over the past 15 years, Kazakhstan’s rating has changed dramatically, not for the better, and the country has set itself the ambitious goal of joining the OECD. The OECD countries have accumulated a significant base of good practice on gender equality, which Kazakhstan can rely on.

The fact that there is no interest in legal science in the field of legislative regulation of gender equality is paradoxical in the presence of a significant Kazakhstan’s current scientific sociological base (Sarsembaeva, 2005; Shedenova, 2008), political science (Dunenkulova, 2010; Shakirova, 2015), economic research (Seitkhozhina, 2008; Togaybaeva, 2006), and publicly available results of gender-specific analyzes of gender conditions in Kazakhstan (McLaughlin, 2018; OECD, 2017a, 2017b, 2017c, 2018).

The main source of funding of research in Kazakhstan is the state budget, and the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan acts as the process administrator. Review of recommended for funding and implemented grant projects in 3-year periods: 2015–2017 and 2018–2020, allows formulating the following conclusions.

In the period 2015–2017, from the 500 funded projects in the field of social and human sciences, one in the field of political science was devoted to the issue under study: “The regional context for achieving gender equality in public and political life (on the results of the implementation of the Gender Equality Strategy in the Republic of Kazakhstan for 2006-2016)” (Kazakhstan, 2017a).

In 2018–2020, two projects were implemented, respectively, with a historical and economic focus: “Front/rear: gender aspects of the Second World War/Great Patriotic War in the history of Kazakhstan and Russia” and “Issues of gender equality and women’s empowerment within the framework of the idea of ‘Mangilik El’ as a project of the social state of Kazakhstan.” In total, about 230 grant projects were funded in the field of social and humanitarian sciences (Kazakhstan, 2020a).

However, none of the projects touched upon the key problem of ensuring equality on the basis of gender – assessing the state of legislation. State-funded grant projects did not aim at conducting an examination to give an objective assessment of the implementation of the constitutional principle of gender equality in current legislation.

The gender studies carried out by NGOs and universities in the early and mid-2000s were conducted mainly by order of international organizations and not by order of government agencies or on their own initiative of universities. We believe that it is especially difficult to conduct such studies and conduct courses at law schools where gender issues are not considered as a serious problem, despite the fact that in the legal sphere in Kazakhstan there is stagnation in the gender development of legislation, there is a gender inequality in the employment of women in law enforcement agencies, the justice system, and prosecutor’s offices. Taking into account the significant influence of legal science on the effectiveness of gender policies and practices, special government support for project work aimed at improving legislation is in demand.

Assessment of labor and social legislation of Kazakhstan from the position of guarantees of gender equality

The constitutional idea of equality is only at first glance implemented in legislation. Laws from this position do not contain gender discriminatory norms, but at the same time, the legislation also lacks norms guaranteeing equality of rights and opportunities. In addition, the legislator, in the absence of special gender expertise, laid down norms in the existing laws that have a clearly expressed discriminatory connotation. For example, these are privileges in family, labor, and social legislation related to the fact of parenthood, which belong only to women, while unreasonably depriving men of such rights. Judicial practice in cases of discrimination has not developed, which indicates the inaction of guarantees of equal gender rights.

The relevance of Kazakhstani research in the field of equality, the prohibition of gender discrimination, is given by the fact that there is no progress in the promotion of gender values in the country, the practice of ensuring equality is not satisfactory.

In 2019, Kazakhstan dropped 12 positions in the gender equality rating compared to 2018. The country took 72nd place among 153 states, and in 2006, Kazakhstan was 32nd. In 2014, the Republic took 43rd place (World Economic Forum, 2014), in 2015 – 47th (World Economic Forum, 2015), and in 2017 – 52nd place in the ranking (World Economic Forum, 2017). Thus, over the past decades, the country’s assessment by recognized international experts has been steadily and systematically reduced.

The fall in the rating of Kazakhstan is taking place against the background of outwardly positive changes. In 2009, the Parliament passed two important laws: the Law “On State Guarantees of Equal Rights and Opportunities for Men and Women” and the Law “On Prevention of Domestic Violence,” the state “Strategy for Gender Equality of the Republic of Kazakhstan for 2006-2016” was implemented. In 2016, the “Concept of Family and Gender Policy in the Republic of Kazakhstan until 2030” was adopted.

What are the causes of regression? What are the reasons for the mismatch between the existing progressive legal framework and reality? These issues were not the focus of special research. In our opinion, in Kazakhstan, despite the 15-year implementation of state gender policy strategies, many of the planned elements were only partially implemented, which was often due to biased implementation of indicators and a lack of government capacity to assess the current results of gender equality. Causal relationships between the obtained indicators and the implemented measures of the strategy were not established; as a result, it is impossible to assess the effectiveness of the measures taken.

The approach to the implementation of strategic documents does not provide specific steps, measures that can achieve an effect in a short time, there is no statement of the problem of the need to amend existing legislation, its analysis to identify and eliminate gender imbalances. Moreover, when implementing state programs and concepts in this field, the prevailing opinion is that gender-based discrimination is prohibited. However, the patriarchal society to which Kazakhstan belongs still has to overcome gender stereotypes and entrenched social norms. It is believed that it is necessary to implement cultural and social changes to instill the equality of women and men in the political, economic, and social spheres. Accordingly, it is concluded that the development and implementation of new laws are not enough to ensure gender equality. To achieve this goal, a general update of society’s self-awareness regarding the recognition of the value of gender balance is necessary.

In analytical reviews, the abovementioned thought is summarized:

The scientific component of gender research is increasingly reflecting on its own foundations, being in a situation between: on the one hand, under the influence of Western feminist methodology, and on the other, under the influence of strategies to search for their own/national gender and others that differ from Western, methodological foundations of the history of the emergence and development of gender studies in Kazakhstan. It is the process of searching for the methodological foundations of ‘own’/national gender in Kazakhstan, which is influenced by the gender relations of traditional Kazakh society; experience and values of the Soviet type of emancipation of women; export of Western experience and ideas on gender issues (Kodar et al., 2014).

We propose to complete the reflection on our own Kazakhstani standard of gender equality and act on the basis of best internationally recognized practices, parameters, and models.

It should be recognized that the situation with equal rights of women and men in Kazakhstan is in deep contradiction that has developed between the formal policy of nondiscrimination, gender inequality in state and public life, and the implementation of the constitutional principle of “equal rights and opportunities” of the sexes on the one hand and actual discrimination of women in employment, infringement of their social rights in economic life on the other.

We propose taking the first step toward achieving formal equality, in which legislation neutralizes the rights/obligations of men and women. In addition, genuine equality is associated with the influence of laws, actual enforcement, which in reality ensures gender equality, equal opportunities, and neutralization of barriers.

The most discussed topic of gender discrimination is the problem of unequal pay between men and women for the same work and with a comparable level of qualification, low employment of women in leadership positions, a huge gap in the implementation of unpaid homework between the sexes. In the Women’s Economic Participation and Opportunity sub-index, Kazakhstan dropped in the Global Gender Gap Index from the 16th place in 2006 to the 37th position in 2019. Economic Participation and Opportunity Subindex shows the gap in jobs between the sexes. The fact that women are persistently less present in the labor market than men contributes to the Economic Participation and Opportunity gap. On average, about 78% of adult men (15–64) are in the labor force, while only 55% of women of the same cohort are actively engaged in the labor market. This means that over 30% of the global labor force participation gender gap has yet to be closed. In Kazakhstan, the gap is about 36%. According to the Economic Participation and Opportunity Subindex, Kazakhstan occupies weak positions in such parameters as “Estimated earned income,” “Legislators, senior officials and managers,” and “Labor force participation rate.”

Gender discrimination in wage labor and social protection refers not only to the violation of women’s rights but also to the restriction of men’s rights. If the problem of ensuring the socioeconomic rights of women is in the focus of the constant attention of the government and civil society, then discrimination against men is in principle ignored and not discussed. At the same time, gender expertise of the Labor Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan, social security legislation shows that the Labor Code contains a number of standards on guarantees to limit the possibilities for termination of an employment contract on the initiative of the employer, employment in case of deviations from normal conditions, and provision of social leave in connection with the birth of a child that restrict the rights of male workers.

Gender examination of the Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan “On Pension Provision” allows us to conclude that there are rules restricting the rights of men to obtain pension rights earlier as well as when taking into account periods of time included in the pension period.

Thus, a general review of social and labor legislation allows us to conclude that these branches of the legislation contain discriminatory norms for both sexes, both women and men. This problem requires operational intervention from the expert community, interested state bodies for the prompt neutralization.

Methodology for the analysis of legislation aimed at identifying and eliminating gender-discriminatory norms

The identification in the legislation of norms that are gender asymmetric in nature cannot be reduced to a mechanical search and neutralization of norms containing gender references in determining guarantees of rights, obligations, or lawful behavior. This activity is much deeper and more complex and involves a critical analysis of each rule of law from the perspective of modeling the relevant legal relations and identifying problems in their implementation by a man or woman. It is not enough in the law to exclude all references to sex. Mentioning gender is an important but not the only sign of a discriminatory gender norm. An analysis of additional, indirect signs of a gender asymmetric norm is necessary, for example, when using the independent categories of “motherhood” and “fatherhood” in the law. In addition, an analysis is required not only of norms containing a reduction in rights on the basis of sex but also of standings providing an expanded list of rights or exemption from duties on a gender basis.

We believe that methodologically the study of labor and social security legislation of Kazakhstan for the quality of gender equality can be built in the following sequence:

– study of the structure and guarantees of the implementation of the principle of gender equality in the Constitution of Kazakhstan;

– generalization of international standards of equality of men and women from the perspective of implementation in national legislation;

– a study of labor legislation from the perspective of determining gender differences in employment conditions, including:

• analysis of the implementation of equality in access to employment, upon conclusion of an employment contract, as well as in the use of working time and rest time;

• study of guarantees of the right to fair remuneration and equal guarantees of protection against unjustified dismissals;

– study of the problems of gender inequality of social security rights in Kazakhstan;

– identification of discriminatory norms in the appointment of pensions, benefits, targeted social assistance, in the provision of social services; and

– generalization and formulation of recommendations, proposals aimed at eliminating from the law discriminatory standards of employment and social protection.

The next step in a qualitative change in legislation is to monitor the enforcement of labor and social law from the perspective of identifying gender issues. This method should include three areas. The first is the analysis and synthesis of statistics and practice of civil courts, the assessment of gender representation in disputes on the restoration of social and labor rights. It should be noted that in Kazakhstan there is actually no judicial practice for considering claims for recognition of discrimination in labor relations. According to the International Commission of Jurists, not a single case has been registered in the country when a woman claimed her rights and filed lawsuits against public or private entities for cases of discrimination. The absence of such cases is not an indication that there is no inequality; rather, this situation indicates shortcomings in the judicial system in which women cannot fully assert their rights and demand redress in court (Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, 2014).

The study of open official judicial statistics (Kazakhstan, 2020c) in the period of 2015–2019 shows that the situation does not change: there is no judicial practice in cases of restoring equality in the workplace, bringing to justice for discriminatory actions. A reliable system of justice must uphold the rule of law, good governance, and efforts to address problems of inequality and development. However, this mechanism is not actually used in Kazakhstan. Unmet needs for justice in cases of workplace inequality and employment discrimination can lead to social, physical, and mental problems; reduced productivity; and diminished access to economic opportunities, education, and employment. Unresolved legal problems do not allow people, businesses, and society as a whole to reach their full potential.

In general, court cases of discrimination are very difficult or even impossible due to inadequate complaint procedures. Particularly, detrimental to successful discrimination lawsuits is the continued existence of unrealistic claims for reliable evidence. We believe that in such claims the burden of proof should be shifted to the employer.

Victims of discrimination can be convinced of the need to exercise their rights out of fear of persecution, due to undeveloped legislation, disbelief in court proceedings, or complexity of procedures. However, nothing can replace the role of the courts in the enforcement process. Initiating lawsuits in courts on grounds of discrimination seems futile in Kazakhstan when procedures are costly, time-consuming, and remedies are vague. Provisions with a traditional approach, shifting the burden of proof to the plaintiff when considering cases of discrimination, limit the effectiveness of the defense during the trial as well as the ability to seek remedies for the damage caused.

The second is a summary of the statistics of criminal prosecution for gender discrimination as well as a violation of the equality of rights of man and citizen. These crimes are provided for in Part 2 of Article 152 and Article 142 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated July 3, 2014, No. 226-V. In accordance with the Report on the work of the courts of the first instance for the examination of criminal cases for 12 months of 2019 (Kazakhstan, 2019), for the specified period in Kazakhstan, there was not a single case of judicial proceedings under these articles. In general, the judicial practice of criminal prosecution of discrimination is insignificant, which does not correspond to the actual situation, including in the field of employment, in the employment of women and persons with family responsibilities.

The classification of discrimination as a criminal offense requiring proof of intent does not comply with international standards, according to which (i) discrimination does not imply intent and may be committed unintentionally; (ii) the burden of proof does not rest entirely with the plaintiff; and (iii) the judgment is aimed at taking measures to eliminate the violation in favor of the plaintiff rather than punishment. In the absence of a clear mechanism to address discrimination and effective corrective measures, it is difficult for women to counter discrimination or violation of their guaranteed rights (McLaughlin, 2018).

The third approach is to generalize the practice in cases of administrative violations for violation of equality. Article 90 of the Administrative Offences Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan No. 235-V of July 5, 2014 establishes responsibility for the employer’s admission of discrimination in the field of work, expressed in violation of the employee’s right to equal pay for equal work. This is the only offense in the field of discrimination for which administrative liability is possible (Buribayev and Khamzina, 2019).

The court and state labor inspectors may be held liable for discrimination in remuneration. The inspectors represent the administrative mechanism for ensuring gender equality. Proving the fact of discrimination in labor relations is an undeveloped procedure, there is no direct method of establishing inequality. Determining that two works that differ in the content are equivalent requires the use of a matching method. Job appraisal methods are instrumental in determining the relative value of a job and thus determine whether the payment is fair. The process of developing methods for evaluating work and methods for their application is as important as the technical content of these methods. Inadvertent gender discrimination may occur at any stage of their development and use. In 2008, the ILO published a step-by-step guide for conducting gender-neutral work appraisals, describing the stages of an objective and fair appraisal of work that is not discriminated against by gender, including the following sequence of operations: development of a measuring grid that is not discriminated against by gender; assignment of elements in the work based on the levels of sub-factors and the definition of work of equal value counting the total number of elements assigned in each work; and grouping jobs into element intervals (ILO, 2011). However, Kazakhstan lacks awareness and enforcement of such methods, the introduction of this methodology is an important prerequisite for the effective work of state labor inspectors.

The next step in improving the quality of social and labor legislation is to prepare recommendations and proposals for the implementation of international standards of gender equality and nondiscrimination in national law. Kazakhstan signed the Beijing Platform for Action (1995), ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) (1998), and signed the CEDAW Optional Protocol (2001). In 2016, the Government of Kazakhstan joined the Beijing Platform for Action at the UN World Leaders Meeting on Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women and the CEDAW. In our opinion, the obvious problem for Kazakhstani legislation is the neglect of two important issues: legislation on issues of equality and nondiscrimination does not cover a significant group of signs of discrimination; legal mechanisms do not provide full protection in the field of labor and occupation. These two trends imply widespread national recognition of the importance of implementing international standards through legislative measures.

The last item. The results of numerous studies indicate that improving the conditions for combining family responsibilities and employment, the flexibility of labor relations of men with family responsibilities, directly leads to the fact that the indicators of participation in the labor force of women will approach parity with men (Boushey, 2005; Hartmann, 2004; Hoffman et al., 2009; Hosoi and Canetto, 2009; Sealy and Vinnicombe, 2012). The fact that women all over the world do a lot of work that is not paid, recognized, or supported is part of the global problem of gender equality. Women in Kazakhstan spend a lot of time and energy on caring for children and the elderly or on housework – unpaid work that is vital to the economy. The solution to these issues in Kazakhstan should be based on the implementation of best practices recommendations developed by the international community.

At the moment, Kazakhstan is using the experience of the countries of the OECD to enter the list of the 30 most developed countries in the world. But to achieve this goal, it is necessary to carry out a series of changes to achieve the strategic goals of the country’s development.

The OECD prepared for Kazakhstan Report “Implementing Gender Policy in Kazakhstan” (OECD, 2017b) recommends that the government implement international conventions in its national legal framework and repeal discriminatory laws. In fact, this refers to discriminatory legal provisions regarding the rights of women in the workplace and reproductive autonomy. This also includes addressing legal loopholes that allow for continued negative practices, such as early marriage or unequal sharing of household responsibilities.

The elimination of discriminatory laws, social norms, and practices should be a common concern and obligation. Each citizen and all institutions have a role to play, including governments, stakeholders in development cooperation, local civil society, community and religious leaders, teachers, health workers, justice and police, media, foundations, private sector, and others. Legal reforms can promote social transformation, but it also requires local changes. Decisions developed at the local level, combined with adequate legislation, are necessary for social change (OECD, 2019b).

On average in OECD countries, the gap between men and women (aged 15–64 years) in the amount of daily time spent in unpaid work including (routine housework, shopping, care for household members, child care, adult care, care for non-household members, volunteering, travel related to household activities, and other unpaid activities) is 2 h (OECD, 2020). In Kazakhstan, this gap in unpaid labor between the sexes is much larger, and it is widening. If in 2012 men spent 7.7% of their time on unpaid homework, then in 2018 – 5.9%. Women in 2012 were engaged in unpaid domestic work 17.1% of the time and in 2018 – 17.7%. The average gender pay gap in OECD countries is 13.5%, in Kazakhstan, this indicator is almost three times higher (UNDP, 2019).

The most important source of the formation of the national labor law of Kazakhstan in modern conditions and in the future is the recommendations prepared by the OECD bodies. From this perspective, it is recommended: to develop labor legislation in accordance with the OECD recommendations based on a synthesis of the best practices of member states; to use the indicators proposed by the OECD to assess the level of guarantees of social and labor human rights, labor protection, provide social protection against unemployment, promote employment; and to introduce OECD recommendations into practice and legislation regarding the creation of an inclusive labor market that ensures gender equality.

Conclusion

The law must be directed to the future. But the norms of labor and social law in terms of creating conditions for the formation of gender parity are an exception in this case, because in their current form they clearly look into the past and do not develop in accordance with the current national economic, social needs of the state.

For many years, the problem of improving the quality of Kazakhstani legislation from the position of ensuring gender parity has not been resolved. State bodies ignore the idea of conducting a gender examination of draft laws. To assist in the development of effective legislation, it is necessary to introduce as one of the parameters for the examination of draft normative legal acts submitted to the Parliament – the study of the project for the presence of discriminatory norms and gender inequality. Such expert opinions, technical comments on the proposed draft labor legislation should not only contribute to the main goal – to achieve genuine equality in the field of employment – but also promote the dissemination of best practices of the ILO and OECD countries.

The authors in the article showed that the study of specific social and labor norms of the law with a view to respecting gender equality and nondiscrimination should be carried out in the following logical sequence. At the first stage, it is necessary to assess the current situation and the needs of women and men in the areas of employment and social protection; to determine their practical and strategic needs and priorities; and also to establish whether there is, to one degree or another, inequality between men and women, the elimination of which must be provided for in social and labor legislation. Further, it is necessary to collect data, qualitative and quantitative information, allowing to assess the aspects of gender inequality and assess the impact of legislation.

At the third stage, conduct an assessment of the impact of specific labor and social legislation on gender groups; identify benefits and limitations under the influence of the law; and identify explicit or implicit gender discrimination. At the last stage, make a forecast of the social, economic, and legal consequences of the implementation of the proposed legislative changes.

The authors developed their own methodology for a comprehensive analysis of labor and social legislation from the perspective of regulating gender equality, consisting of several lines. This methodology, with individual adjustments, can be applied to anyone in the field of special legislation from the perspective of assessing gender equality of rights, obligations, guarantees, and opportunities.