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Madam(e) Chairman/Chairwoman/Chair,
In our country/republic/there are 8.5 million women/women (who) number/account for 8.5 million people/or/that is, 51.38 per cent of the total population. In all/all told as of January I, 1996, 49% of the women were employed (in the economy). It should be noted/ recalled/remembered/that the employment rate for/the number of women employed/holding jobs/in the Republic of Kazakhstan is relatively high/at a relatively high level in comparison with other countries of the Asian region.
A distinguishing feature/characteristic of women's/female/ employment/What characterizes women's employment in the republic/is the fact that most/the bulk/of working women are concentrated/clustered/found/in education, health care, commerce/ trade and social services. In government employment centers women accounted for 50.5% of the applicants. Unemployed women/The cohort of unemployed women for the most part/primarily have work experience, have previously held jobs, have a high-school/secondary education, and are in their prime working years/of prime working age.
Among/of/those women officially designated/categorized as unemployed, 45% live in rural areas/villages. On the average/ The average length of their unemployment is five months. The Ministry of Labor and the state employment service are taking steps/ measures/action to help/assist/render assistance to/unemployed women in finding jobs. The government's job assistance program/The employment program of the government of the republic, which is approved/revalidated annually, includes a special section/division, "Employment of Women," which provides for/calling for active measures to implement it/carry it out/proactive measures. One effective way to help disadvantaged groups/groups poorly equipped/ groups at a competitive disadvantage to find jobs is still the use of/the assigning of/job quotas. In this way every year/annually/one-fifth of the unemployed are placed/find jobs. Special/particular attention is given/paid to professional/vocational training, retraining and enhancement/advancement/upgrading of the skills/qualifications of unemployed women, and this is/which is the most effective form of social assistance/protection/social safety net/provided by the state/ republic employment service, financed by the State fund for assistance to employment.
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In today's/present/current/conditions/circumstances/the development of women's small and medium-size/scale business/enterprises is acquiring/taking on/special significance/playing a significant role.
Women's participation/involvement in business/enterprise is a necessity/is a need/caused by/due to/resulting from/market conditions,
and is a kind/type/of alternative to unemployment, unpaid domestic or poorly paid work in the state sector.
Women's opportunities/potential/possibilities for participation in business/enterprises is/are also determined by/stem from/are linked to/is a function of/their rather high educational level, the need for the development of the service sphere of the cottage industry/ handicrafts/and traditional national handicrafts, areas in which women have experience and skills.
The development of women's enterprises/women's role in business is a positive factor in many respects, since entrepreneurial activity, inter alia, is one of the best forms for self-expression/self-realization and realizing one's potential/self-fulfillment. It also builds/ develops/a sense of dignity and self-confidence/self-assurance.
For/If/the participation of Kazakhstan women in medium-scale enterprise is/is to be successful (and fruitful), work is needed/action must be taken/on at least two levels. The state, for its part, must organize focused/targeted/concentrated/legal, economic and financial assistance to women's enterprises. This must be done/This is necessary not to do them any special favors/consideration/coddle them or provide unwarranted benefits/advantages for reasons of gender, but to equalize/place on an equal footing the starting/ initial/start-up conditions for business or commercial initiatives by/of men and women. At the same time/In parallel/In tandem/ Simultaneously there is a need to strengthen/buttress/reinforce the entire range of economic and legal measures through painstaking and carefully/deftly handled/sensitive work on the individual level/with individuals.
At the same time, it is difficult for women's entrepreneurial activities to achieve/attain/win/gain any kind of social status as long as there is no single program for the development of female entrepreneurship, nor any directive/edict or legislative act/instrument to deal with/address it.
A special status, justified on social, economic and moral-psychological grounds, is something women entrepreneurs acquire/ enjoy, in our view, only within the framework/context of a social/ popular movement, which today is gaining/winning recognition/is particularly/increasingly acknowledged in our country. For/Thus/The fact is/by becoming involved in business/enterprises by necessity or by choice/voluntarily or not, women are above all/primarily/first and foremost protecting their own interests as full-fledged citizens of their society. Thus, the prospects for expanding/developing women's role in business/enterprises are, first of all, to be found/hinge on/depend on/are
placed in the context of the/women's movement, and second, in state and legal support/backing for women entrepreneurs/women in business.
