Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- On 18 November 2020, a meeting of the Committee of the Senate of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan on women and gender equality was held in the form of videoconference. First, the issues that are planned to be discussed at the ninth plenary session of the Senate were considered.

The meeting was attended by members of the Senate, officials of the relevant ministries and departments, as well as representatives of the media.

The results of a parliamentary inquiry sent to the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan on the conditions created for the development of women’s entrepreneurship were discussed.

It was noted that women who have expressed a desire to start entrepreneurship are provided with assistance and advice in preparing their business ideas. As a result, 99.1 thousand women who were not employed were provided with employment this year. 11.5 thousand women have been trained in professions that are in high demand in the labor market. 412.1 thousand unemployed women were involved in paid public works.

However, there are a number of issues in this direction that await their resolution. In particular, the presence of problems in the use by women of credit resources of commercial banks for the development of women’s entrepreneurship was revealed.

Thus, in 2020, the Trust Fund for the Support of Women and the Family allocated appropriate credit resources. However, in most cases, the funds allocated by the Foundation to Women Entrepreneurs were not disbursed in a timely manner by commercial banks.

It was noted at the meeting that some problematic issues raised in the parliamentary inquiry are not fully disclosed in the information of the Cabinet of Ministers. In addition, the emphasis is placed on such issues as ensuring effective interaction of organizations responsible for the development of women’s entrepreneurship, identifying the unemployed and socially inactive layer of women and implementing approved targeted measures to ensure their employment.

The meeting also discussed the report of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan on the progress of the implementation of the State Program for the implementation of the Action Strategy in the "Year of Science, Education and Digital Economy Development" during the nine months of 2020.

An appropriate decision of the Committee was made on the issues considered.