Formalizing Domestic and Care Work in Uzbekistan: Pathways for Gender Equality and Decent Jobs

Domestic and care work (cooking, cleaning, childcare and elder care in private homes) is one of the largest sources of paid work for women in Uzbekistan, yet it remains among the least protected. Most of it is informal, with no written contracts, unstable pay and little access to pensions, sick leave or maternity support. Recent reforms have made the sector more visible: the 2022 Labor Code recognized domestic work for the first time and a simplified self-employment scheme had registered more than 260,000 people offering domestic services by 2024, around nine in ten of them women.

This report, developed by the UN Women Europe and Central Asia Regional Office, examines what these reforms have changed for workers. It combines a review of national laws and social protection policies with first-hand interviews with domestic workers and government officials. The study finds that formalization in Uzbekistan is underway but incomplete: registration gives workers legal status, but not security against illness, job loss or old age. It sets out practical steps to move from legal recognition to real protection: graduated social protection, shared responsibility between workers, employers and the state, and better data. These steps align with the Global Accelerator on Decent Jobs and Social Protection for Just Transitions.