Impact of Gender Equality on Socio-Economic Development of Kazakhstan

Achieving gender equality in the 21st Century is one of the global priorities of every state. The Republic of Kazakhstan on its way of development also focuses on this problem, because gender equality is the basis for the economic and social development of the state. International organisations prepare reports reflecting indices (gender gap index, gender inequality index, gender development index and others) which characterise the state of equality between men and women in different countries. It was established that Kazakhstan had practically reached gender equality at the stage of education. Even the first steps towards market reforms showed the unequal impact of the socio-economic transformation on the position of men and women in society. The transition to the market was followed, on the one hand, by the curtailment of social programmes and the social sphere, and on the other hand, by an increase of labour force requirements. Under these conditions, women, who traditionally bear family care, were more disadvantaged than men, both in the family and in the workplace. Democratic reforms in the post-Soviet societies created the conditions for more active participation of women in the political and economic life of the country, securing them more rights and freedoms, yet there has been a sharp deterioration in the status of women, an increase of female unemployment, the feminisation of poverty, the displacement of women in the informal economy and increase of domestic labour. Determined that the Gender Gap Index affects the gross domestic product per capita which is one of the indicators characterising the economic condition of the state. The greater the gender gap index is, the smaller is the inequality between the sexes and the higher GDP per capita is. The article presents a correlation-regression analysis which characterises the interrelation of gender equality indicators with economic indicators