Tashkent on September 11, 2022, hosted the 2nd annual Regional Women’s Summit that reflected on the ways to achieve gender equality in the Central Asian economy. Chaired by USAID in cooperation with international institutions, the event brought together 100 female-owned and female-managed businesses, NGOs, and government agencies.
Speaking at the summit, USAID TCA Country Director in Uzbekistan Alfiya Musina stressed that the vast majority of Central Asian women are only engaged in small and medium-sized businesses, while only a minority lead large enterprises. She particularly stressed that females serve the production chains, but are not the direct suppliers.
The Chairperson of Uzbekistan’s Senate Committee on Women and Gender Equality Malika Kadirkhanova highlighted that the Uzbek government conducts intensive work to support socially vulnerable women by helping them join the workforce as part of the ongoing measures taken in all neighborhoods across the republic. Malika Kadirkhanova added that the Dialogue of Women Leaders of Central Asian Countries platform established in 2021 highly contributes to achieving an aim of supporting women in the region as well as enhancing their political, economic, and social roles by empowering them to be the decision-makers in sustainable development processes.
USAID Uzbekistan Mission Director Mikaela Meredith stressed that by mirroring the gender gap, the world community can increase the global wealth by $160tln - the volume resonating with World Bank estimates:
The United States is committed to promoting women's empowerment and gender equality. USAID in particular makes this a priority through all our programs. We believe it's not only part of development but the core of our development. And we know that women's empowerment and integration of women in the economy have broad-reaching results. By mirroring the gender wage gap, we can increase global wealth by $160 tln. And of course, there are so many other benefits as well. Here in Uzbekistan, USAID has been supporting women's empowerment since 1993. I'm very pleased to say that today's summit has brought hundreds of women and men together as experts to look at how we can integrate women into the economy much better throughout Central Asia. This is very, very important. This summit is just one hosted by the USAID initiative that we've done to promote women the in the economy.
Mikaela Meredith told Daryo.uz that in summer 2022 USAID added $2.4mn to a program to assist women in Uzbekistan’s rural areas impacted by climate change. The agency also trained 200 women to close the gender gap in the IT sector. USAID Mission director added that over 30 of those women already have financing to start their businesses.
"In addition, USAID helped the laws here in Uzbekistan have a particular lens to look at gender for all to make sure that all laws have special gender considerations. We couldn't do this without our partnership with the Government of Uzbekistan and our implementing partners. We're very proud of that partnership and what we've achieved together."
The summit also focused on priorities aimed at establishing a Women in Logistics and Transport Uzbekistan office, and current geopolitical changes regarding supply chains, air transportation, and global trade issues.
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