Women’s Leadership in Kazakhstan as a Driver of Social Maturation

Abstract

Studies of women’s leadership in Kazakhstan suggest that there are informal leaders who are firmly associated with real activities aimed at solving specific problems of society, especially in the social sphere. The purpose of this article is to identify the factors, characteristics and specific forms of informal female leadership that have influenced the maturation of civil society in Kazakhstan in recent decades, defining the strategies that they use to establish cooperation with decision-­making government agencies and individuals. Our hypothesis is that the participation of women activists expands the opportunities and scope of the civil sector in providing assistance to the most vulnerable members of the community, if they use strategies and tools that change the attitudes and approaches of state structures to these social problems. During our case study, as research methods we used observation and analysis of the activities of several women leaders, initiators of social and charitable movements. The primary and secondary sources used were interviews, media materials, and reports on performance results, ongoing projects, as well as official information on a number of issues affecting our theme. We tested the theories of transformational and adaptive leadership, as well as the concept of social capital, put forward by foreign scientists to practice female leadership in Kazakhstan, and concluded that they can be applied with certain adjustments for local conditions. We believe that in certain areas, the activities of non-governmental organizations led by women leaders are becoming more effective than the work of official bodies, which indicates an increase in the potential of civil society.