Creating access to opportunities and gender equality through a major road construction project

Gender Inclusive Procurement Program - Road Construction Project

The Government of Tajikistan is making an effort to reduce the gap in gender equality. The country ranks lowest in the region on the World Economic Forum (WEF) Global Gender Gap Index, at 137 of 153 countries, with particularly low economic participation and employment of women compared to men, gender pay gap, and concentration of women’s labor in low paid education, health, and agricultural sectors.

When the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) set out to create a road that enables the country to serve as an important transit route in the Central Asian region, our team was there to help. The road will create an alternate route between the towns of Obigarm and Nurobod, connecting the northeast region of Tajikistan and the Kyrgyz Republic. We were tasked with promoting equal opportunities throughout the project while preventing sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA) and gender-based violence (GBV). We conducted several assessments, including policy and institutional diagnostic assessment, and drafted two action plans on on inclusive service design and delivery.

When the project is complete, it will lay the groundwork needed to create equal opportunities for all genders in the road construction and transport sector in Tajikistan.