Central Asian Women in Leadership

This volume examines the unique cultural and socioeconomic aspects of Central Asia and the effects of these elements on women leaders in the region, focusing on five countries. Unfortunately, gender inequality and underutilization of women’s talents are deeply embedded in historical, socio-economic, and cultural developments of this region. Nevertheless, despite the difficulties Central Asian women leaders face, there are emerging patterns of changes and improvement in the current state of women. This book discusses the impact of these changes.

The book opens with an overview chapter that covers the historical and socio-cultural background for the region, followed by five chapters devoted to each Central Asian country. Next, there are chapters discussing leadership opportunities for women, in business as well as education and government. The closing chapter identifies commonalities and differences among countries in the region and offers a future avenues  of research.

This edited book has critical implications for the development of women leaders in Central Asia, providing insights that explain the background, current tendencies, and future opportunities for developing the potential of highly qualified women leaders in the Central Asian countries.

Dr. Aliya Tankibayeva (PhD, MPA) is a senior lecturer and researcher at the al-Farabi Kazakh National University, Department of Recreational Geography and Tourism, Kazakhstan. Her research interests are sustainable resource policy, gender policy, and women's leadership.  She has co-authored journal articles and policy papers on women's leadership in sustainable natural resources management, including those from a comparative perspective. She was a Kazakhstan country co-investigator for GLOBE-2020 (Global Leadership and Organizational Behavior Effectiveness), a world study on leadership practices and ideals. 

Dinara Seitova is Assistant Professor at KIMEP University, Kazakhstan, a western-style university and one of the leading universities in Central Asia.

Gary N. McLean has 50 years of experience as an HRD/OD consultant, working extensively globally, including being a PI on a USAID project on educational reform in Kyrgyzstan. He is currently a full-time professor in the PhD program in the School of Human Resource and Organization Development at the National Institute of Development Administration (NIDA), Bangkok, Thailand.