The present economic situation/The economic situation nowadays

is conducive to/calls for/invites a number of swift/immediate decisions, backed by the required/requisite resources. This will make it possible over/in/the next few years to bring about/ensure/provide for the rapid development/growth/formation of small and medium-scale businesses/enterprises, which is especially important right now/at the present time/at present.

A particularly important part/of our Convention is/in our Convention is played by/the section on ensuring/advancing equal rights and equal treatment in the labor market. The section on the overall/ basic concept provides for the elaboration of republic and regional programs of development of small and family businesses, economic incentives in the form of temporary tax exemptions, favorable credit conditions, a strengthening of the system of vocational training, ongoing gender-based analysis of legal norms, state support for research projects in the area of gender studies, the implementation of ongoing monitoring of the situation of women in the labor market, the establishment of criteria for assessment of the impact of environmental/ecological factors and working conditions on women's health, and the establishment of conditions to provide employment for women. Such targeted/focused/ concentrated work will help to/create/bring about/make a reality of international instruments to improve the situation of women.

This text contains many useful terms in the area of social services and employment, as well as some very long sentences which need to be restructured or split into two separate units. The specific terminology used here should be mastered before attempting to interpret the text.

Комментарии:

1) составляет — the sentence could start in two ways: either, "In our
country there are 8.5 million women," or "Women account for/number 8.5
million people." Starting the sentence by translating численность will
produce "The number of women in the republic is 8.5 million" which,
while awkward, will do if the speaker is delivering the text rapidly.

2) в целом — this does not need a literal translation such as "on the
whole" or "in general," which here would not be appropriate. The ideas
is "in all" or "all in all." If it comes to mind, the Latin expression " in
toto " would also work.

3) отличительной чертой — this needs to be translated as the nominative
subject of the sentence, as the interpreter cannot wait to see what will
follow. "A distinguishing feature" or "characteristic" is a neutral
rendering.

4) сосредоточена — if the speaker is going fast, the literal translation
"concentrated" is fine. But if there is time to think about the term, what
is meant here is simply that there are more women in these fields than in
others — i.e. that they "are" there, are "found" there.

5) по содействию — the noun needs to be changed into a verb in English.
This phrase can be shortened even further to "help unemployment women
find jobs." All too often "содействие" and "содействовать" are rendered
as "promote" or "advance," and while there are contexts when this is
appropriate, in many contexts "help" or "assist/assistance" is more clear
and idiomatic.

6) профессиональной подготовке, переподготовке и повышению квали­
фикации — these are frequent terms in the language of social services, and
should be learned. Note that "профессиональная подготовка" often
means "vocational" rather than "professional" training, and that "skills"
is a shorter and more idiomatic translation of квалификации than
"qualifications."

7) это необходимость, вызванная условиями рынка — the simplest
translation might be simply "This is caused by market factors" or "This is
a result of/results from market conditions."

8) обусловлена также — on seeing the word обусловлена interpreters
often tend to reach for "condition," but anything involving "conditioned
by" will not work here. The idea is that there is a link between the
opportunities and educational level and needs of the service sphere of the
industries mentioned. "Are a function of or even "are linked to" are short
translations which get the point across.

9) целенаправленную — forget about "goal-oriented," long a standard
rendering of this word which pops up so often. "Focused" or
"concentrated" is far more idiomatic.

10) подкрепить весь комплекс экономико-правовых мер — подкрепить
does not necessarily have to be translated as "reinforced;" "backed" often
works. Комплекс should be translated as "range" or "set," but not as
"complex."

11) трудно признать за... — here some rephrasing is called for. Трудно
признать can become the subject: "It is difficult for women's activities to
gain social recognition/status" is short and clear, while attempts to
translate this literally as "It is difficult to recognize or acknowledge" will
cause problems in finishing the phrase.

12) ибо — this word implies both cause and emphasis, and thus "for" or
"the fact is" will get both of these across.

13) сложившаяся в настоящее время экономическая ситуация — сло­
жившаяся is usually best rendered as "existing" or "present." Attempts to
do something with the verb "formed" tend to produce clumsy results.

14) в настоящее время — this can be rendered simply as "now" or "at
present" rather than as "at the present time."

15) постоянной тендерной экспертизы правовых норм, государственной
поддержки научных разработок в области тендерных исследований —
постоянной is often rendered as "ongoing" rather than as "continuous" or
"continued." Экспертиза implies expert analysis, and the word "analysis"
should appear here. Разработок here can be rendered as "projects" rather
than as "plans" or "designs" (which might be appropriate in other
contexts), and научных often means "research," "scholarly" or
"academic" as well as "scientific."

16) такая целенаправленная работа позволит успешно реализовать
международные акты — here again, "целенаправленная" should be
rendered as "focused" or "targeted." "Позволит успешно реализовать"
can be reduced to "create" or "bring about" international instruments.
"Instruments" here is preferable to "acts."

On the Development of Women's Medium and Small-scale Business in Kazakhstan (UN, 1997)

(Читается в нормальном и быстром темпах с британским акцентом)

Madam Chairwoman,

In our country there are 8.5 million women who account for 51.38 per cent of the total population. In all as of January I, I996, 49% of the women were employed. It should be recalled that the employment rate for women in the Republic of Kazakhstan is relatively high in comparison with other countries of the Asian region.

A distinguishing characteristic of female employment is the fact that most working women are found in education, health care, commerce and social services. In government employment centers women accounted for 50.5% of the applicants. Unemployed women for the most part have work experience, have previously held jobs, have a high-school education, and are in their prime working years.

Among those women officially designated as unemployed, 45% live in rural areas. The average length of their unemployment is five months. The Ministry of Labor and the state employment service are taking measures to help unemployed women in finding jobs. The government's job assistance program, which is revalidated annually, includes a special division, "Employment of Women," which provides for active measures to implement it. One effective way to help disadvantaged groups to find jobs is still the use of job quotas. In this way every year one-fifth of the unemployed are placed. Special attention is given to vocational training, retraining and upgrading of the skills of unemployed women, and this is the most effective form of social assistance provided by the republic employment service, financed by the State fund for assistance to employment.

In today's circumstances the development of women's small and medium-scale business is taking on special significance.

Women's involvement in business is caused by market conditions, and is a kind of alternative to unemployment, unpaid domestic or poorly paid work in the state sector.

Women's opportunities for participation in business are determined by their rather high educational level, the need for the development of the service sphere of the cottage industry, and traditional national handicrafts, areas in which women have experience and skills.

The development of women's role in business is a positive factor in many respects, since entrepreneurial activity, inter alia, is one of the best forms for self-expression and self-fulfillment. It also builds a sense of dignity and self-confidence.

For the participation of Kazakhstan women in medium-scale enterprise to be successful, action must be taken on at least two levels. The state, for its part, must organize focused legal, economic and financial assistance to women's enterprises. This is necessary not to do them any special favors or provide unwarranted advantages for reasons of gender, but to equalize the start-up conditions for business or commercial initiatives by men and women. Simultaneously, there is a need to strengthen the entire range of economic and legal measures through painstaking and sensitive work on the individual level.

At the same time, it is difficult for women's entrepreneurial acti­vities to gain any kind of social status as long as there is no single program for the development of female entrepreneurship, nor any edict or legislative instrument to address it.

A special status, justified on social, economic and moral-psychological grounds, is something women entrepreneurs acquire, in our view, only within the framework of a popular movement, which today is winning recognition in our country. In fact, by becoming involved in business by necessity or by choice, women are above all protecting their own interests as full-fledged citizens of their society. Thus, the prospects for expanding women's role in business are, first of all, to be found in the context of the women's movement, and second, in state and legal support for women entrepreneurs.

The present economic situation is conducive to a number of immediate decisions, backed by the requisite resources. This will make it possible in the next few years to bring about the rapid growth of small and medium-scale businesses, which is especially important right now.

A particularly important part of our Convention is the section on ensuring equal rights and equal treatment in the labor market. The section on the basic concept provides for the elaboration of republic and regional programs of development of small and family businesses, economic incentives in the form of temporary tax exemptions, favorable credit conditions, a strengthening of the system of vocational training, ongoing gender-based analysis of legal norms, state support for research projects in the area of gender studies, the implementation of ongoing monitoring of the situation of women in the labor market, the establishment of criteria for assessment of the impact of environmental factors and working conditions on women's health, and the establishment of conditions to provide employment for women. Such targeted work will help create international instruments to improve the situation of women.

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