This USAID/CAR gender assessment covers the five Central Asian Republics of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. It reviews national policies on gender and conditions of gender inequality, USAID processes related to gender integration, and sectoral gender issues affecting USAID projects and programs. It also offers recommendations relevant to current and future USAID programming in the five countries and the CAR region overall.

This report follows up on the participation of a consultant provided by the WIDTECH project in the January 1998 research planning workshop held in Tashkent. It outlines the scope of the economic reforms that have taken place in Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, offers an initial analysis of their impact on women and men, and suggests how the BASIS research program can be organized to more readily identify and analyze policy relevant issues stemming from the differing effects of farm restructuring and macro-economic policies on groups that differ by age, gender, and socioeconomic situation.