THE CURRENT STATE AND DYNAMICS OF WOMEN’S PARTICIPATION IN THE STATE CIVIL SERVICE

Abstract

This article analyses the current state of women’s participation in the state civil service in Uzbekistan, recent trends in their representation, the regulatory and legal framework, institutional mechanisms, and organisational factors influencing managerial career development. The study employs content analysis, comparative analysis, institutional analysis, and dynamic analysis based on official regulatory and legal documents, publicly available information from government bodies, reports of international organisations, and relevant scholarly literature. The findings indicate that gender equality policy in Uzbekistan is developing in parallel with the modernisation of the state civil service. In particular, Uzbekistan rose by 92 positions to 36th place in the Inter-Parliamentary Union’s “Women in Parliament” ranking, advanced from 103rd to 52nd place in the “Gender Equality and Governance” index, and improved by 43 positions to rank 48th in the World Bank’s Women, Business and the Law report. The share of women in leadership positions was 27% in 2017 and reached 33% by 2023. According to information from the Senate of the Oliy Majlis, women’s participation in public administration reached 35% in 2024, while their share in entrepreneurship was 37% and in political parties 49%. Women currently account for 38% of the deputies of the Legislative Chamber of the Oliy Majlis, corresponding to 57 members; 27% of the members of the Senate, corresponding to 16 members; and 25% of deputies in local Councils12. Women also constitute 25% of the deputies of the Jokargi Kenes of the Republic of Karakalpakstan and of the regional and Tashkent City Councils of People’s Deputies. Whereas women accounted for 2.9% of ministerial and minister-equivalent positions in 2018, this proportion has increased to 5.7%, reflecting a notable expansion in women’s representation at senior levels of public administration3.