International ratings confirm that Kazakhstan is a leader in Central Asia in addressing the causes of gender inequality; however, there are still significant gender differences in key areas. In particular, gender discrimination in the labor market is complex: when hiring or dismissing, while restricting access to certain professions and positions, in matters of promotion and career growth, when remuneration is paid for performing the same work, not related to differences in labor efficiency. Discrimination is especially sensitive in relation to pregnant women and women with young children. Discrimination continues with access to social measures for avoiding poverty and in the pension system. Further progress requires more strategically significant and focused actions to identify and bridge the remaining factors of systemic discrimination and gender gaps. In the article, we show the insufficient attention of the legal science of Kazakhstan to the problems of regulation of equality. We present the author’s methodology for analyzing labor and social legislation from the perspective of regulating gender equality, consisting of several assessments: Kazakhstan’s fulfillment of international obligations; implementation of the principle of nondiscrimination in labor and social legislation; administrative and judicial mechanisms to protect against discrimination based on sex; and opportunities for implementing best foreign and international practices for the regulation of equality.

The study describes the results of a study of environmental problems that limit socio-economic development in Kazakhstan. Changes in legislation, management decisions, and strengthening of control over compliance with environmental standards are proposed. The article examines the gaps in the legislative regulation of environmental safety and the policy at the national level. The recommendations outlined in the research will create conditions for ensuring a higher level of environmental protection, introduce a more effective system for the prevention and control of pollution and waste management, which will inevitably lead to a significant step-by-step improvement in the quality of the environment in the medium and long term, and as a result - to reduce the levels of morbidity and mortality, loss and decrease in the working capacity of the population caused by environmental pollution. Such positive social consequences will help reduce the losses in GDP associated with the above factors.