Vertical Gender Segregation among Civil Servants: Evidence from Kazakhstan

Numerous studies have addressed the underrepresentation of women in public administration decision-making processes. In recent years, scholars have increasingly focused on invisible and informal barriers known as second-generation forms of bias (e.g. Ibarra, Ely, & Kolb, 2013). However, in the context of post-Soviet developing countries, this topic remains understudied. In this study, I use a feminist institutionalist approach and the theoretical framework proposed by Evetts (2000) to show how both organizational structure and culture shape and reproduce such barriers, using the example of the Kazakh civil service. Drawing upon original interview data from 72 interviews with men and women civil servants at senior, middle and entry levels of leadership, I show how second-generation bias in Kazakhstan manifests itself through women’s limited access to informal networks. These limitations are further realised through the persistence of the Soviet legacy of the “working mother contract.” This contract continues to operate through the institutionalization of traditional norms coupled with the spread of neoliberal values. Findings contribute to our understanding of the extent to which second-generation bias is universal in many ways yet also functions in unique ways across different political and cultural contexts.