National Consultant-Conduct a Gender-Responsive Assessment of the Fiscal Stimulus Packages and existing fiscal policies and related legal frameworks in support of gender equitable inclusive

Consultant Human Rights

Overview

Conduct a gender-responsive assessment of fiscal policies

You have:

• Minimum qualification Master's degree in economics or any other relevant field of economics or public policy.
• Proven record of a minimum of 10 years’ experience in promoting economic policy reform in development economics, gender and economics, Gender Responsive Budgeting, poverty reduction, or women’s economic empowerment policies in the context of Ethiopia.
• Excellent knowledge of written and oral communication in English.
• Proficiency in Microsoft applications relevant to the assignment.

Contract

This is a National Consultant contract. More about National Consultant contracts.

Background

UN Women, grounded in the vision of equality enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, works for the elimination of discrimination against women and girls; the empowerment of women; and the achievement of equality between women and men as partners and beneficiaries of development, human rights, humanitarian action and peace and security. Placing women's rights at the center of all its efforts, UN Women leads and coordinates United Nations System efforts to ensure that commitments on gender equality and gender mainstreaming translate into action throughout the world. It provides strong and coherent leadership in support of Member States priorities and efforts, building effective partnerships with civil society and other relevant actors.

Women in Ethiopia represent the most deprived group of the population in spite of their paramount social and economic role. They have limited access to, and control over critical resources, as a result of social, cultural and economic norms and practices. UN Women Ethiopia Country Office (ECO) envisions to become a Center of Excellence for Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment (GEWE) with capacity and clout to influence national and regional political, social and economic agendas. The ECO uses result Based Management and a Rights Based Approaches to promote women as rights holders, while supporting the Government of Ethiopia (GoE) and other stakeholders to be gender responsive as duty bearers and development partners. The country office is working on four priority areas: (i) increasing women’s leadership and participation, (ii) ending violence against women and girls; (iii) enhancing women’s economic empowerment; and (iv) making gender equality central to national development planning and budgeting.

Aligned to UN Women Ethiopia Strategic Plan (2022-2025), Women Economic Empowerment (WEE) interventions focus on creating opportunities for women living in rural and urban areas by binding their agencies, promoting their access and control over productive resources such as land, climate resilient agriculture and agricultural technologies, inputs and services, finances and know-how to ensure that they are economically empowered and increasingly benefit from economic development initiatives, programs and reforms in Ethiopia. These strategic focuses have also been translated through its various programs including the ongoing Joint Program of UN Women and ILO.

UN Women and ILO developed the Global Joint Programme - promoting decent employment for women through inclusive growth policies and investments in the care economy with the aim of supporting governments and social partners in implementing gender-sensitive policy responses to the pandemic and during the recovery phase. The JP activities intends to scale up the UN Women’s work on Gender responsive budgeting with the government; Ministry of Finance (MoF), Ministry of Women and Social Affairs, and international organizations; IMF and WB. The JP supports various policy and operational level government and development partners’ initiatives to promote decent employment for women through macroeconomic planning, sectoral policy and investments in the care economy.

World Bank WDI data 2017 indicated that globally, only 50 percent of women participate in the labor force, compared to 75 percent of men. Raising female employment to the same level as men could raise GDP. When women are able to engage in the labor market, there are also likely to be improvements in efficiency and job matching, which together would further increase the level of economic output of an economy. The study on Aggregate Costs of Gender Gaps in the Labor Market showed the losses in per capita GDP attributed to gender gaps in the labor market have been estimated at around 12 percent in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). In SSA the informal economy is a key component of most economies and many women are engaged in this informal economy. According to the 2018 Ethiopia Gender Statistics Report, the rate of informal employment amongst women fell from 58 percent in 2000 to 36 percent in 2016, compared to 38 percent and 20 percent respectively amongst men. This leaves many women without social protection, health benefits, and legal status

Ethiopia is one of Africa’s fastest growing economies, and recent political and economic reforms have recognized the importance of empowering women and increasing their participation in the labour force. The finding of the study conducted by IMF and UNW suggested that eliminating gender gaps in both educational attainment and the rate of formal employment could increase output in Ethiopia over time by over 24% which is significant to the country’s development. Increasing the participation rate of women in the formal economy could increase output by increasing the labor supply. Evidence shows that there is a significant gender productivity gaps in agriculture and education in Ethiopia and consequently, the aggregate labor force participation statistics likely underestimate the full economic losses due to gender gaps.

Therefore, a truly gender sensitive and inclusive policies and budget should seek to address gender gaps by focusing both on increasing incomes and improving women’s right and well-being. Gender-responsive budgeting (GRB) which is essential for both gender justice and fiscal justice helps governments to

1 Selected Issues paper on The Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia prepared by IMF as background documentation for the periodic consultation with the member country: Prepared by the African Department and UN Women

understand how they may need to adjust their priorities and reallocate resources. This will lead them to live up to their commitments to achieving gender equality and advancing women’s rights including those stipulated in the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), the Beijing Platform for Action and the SDGs. Engendered budget is critical to transforming rhetoric about women’s empowerment into concrete reality. Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (1995) makes specific reference to using budgets for the advancement of women which stated that “Full and effective implementation of the Platform for Action, including the relevant commitments made at previous United Nations summits and conferences, will require a political commitment to make available human and financial resources for the empowerment of women. This will require the integration of a gender perspective in budgetary decisions on policies and programmes, as well as the adequate financing of specific programmes for securing equality between women and men”.2 Additionally, a discussion paper on financing for gender equality in the context of the SDGs revealed achieving the financing goals of a key SDG for gender equality will lead to facilitate achievement of many other SDGs.

To advance the goal of gender equality, macroeconomic policy; in particular the fiscal policy including the existing legal framework must be assessed/analyzed through an equity lens with much more attention to its distributional effects. The gender differentiated impact of macroeconomic interventions and adjustments need to be adequately analyzed in order to ensure gender equitable impact. Such an investigation will include a gender aware analysis of Government’s financial policies, fiscal stimulus package, fiscal and monetary policies including legal frameworks. The broad-based economic policies have different impacts on women and men, since they generally have different social and economic positions in society due to gender differentiations and socialization. They matter for gender equality because they shape the overall economic environment for realizing women’s rights by affecting opportunities for paid employment, resources for policies aimed at reducing inequalities, and the demand for women’s unpaid labor.

Reducing gender inequality and improving the status of women contribute to higher rates of economic growth and greater macroeconomic stability. Equality of opportunity in labor and financial markets is critical to enabling women to take full advantage of improved macroeconomic conditions. Thus, macroeconomic policies should take into account the benefits of reducing gender inequalities, especially in low-income countries like Ethiopia where these differences are most pronounced, and should consider the potentially harsher effects of economic crisis measures on women to avoid exacerbating gender inequalities.

The pandemic has exacerbated the existing gender inequalities in economic opportunities across the country where most people earn their livelihoods through the informal economy. The socio-economic impact of the pandemic affected women disproportionally as a result of their overrepresentation among very small businesses, and informal and vulnerable workers. They are at higher risk of job losses not only because they are disproportionately employed in sectors highly affected by the pandemic but also because they tend to be the first to be dismissed in any sector, due to their more tenuous employment situation relative to men. Moreover, they are at higher risk of physical and mental distress because they are overrepresented among key workers in the health and care sectors workforce, and face higher demands on their unpaid care work.

2 Gender Responsive Budgeting: Analysis of Budget Programmes from Gender Perspective

Economic impacts are the most common challenges women and girls have been facing because of COVID-

19. A Study on the Impact of COV1D-19 on Women and Girls in Ethiopia, results from high-frequency phone surveys showed that 26% of respondents lost their incomes entirely and 37% have either lost their jobs or been unable to continue their small businesses because of COVID-19. This study highlighted market closures, mobility restrictions, and the rise in unpaid labor at home are all impacting people’s ability to earn income. The garment and textile industry are one of the sectors hit hard by COVID-19 affecting thousands of factory workers. A study on COVID-19 impacts on women factory workers in Ethiopia made by Gender Innovation Policy Initiative for Ethiopia (GIPIE) indicated that among the newly recruited staffs, only 44 percent who began their jobs were working in a factory which the data was collected from March to April 2020 and about one month after the first COVID-19-related restrictions were introduced, while

29 percent had left their jobs permanently, and 27 percent reported being off work temporarily. Out of those who left their jobs permanently, approximately 65 percent left before the first confirmed case of COVID-19 was registered in Ethiopia. A study on the impacts of covid-19 on women owned enterprises in Ethiopia, findings from a high-frequency phone survey indicated that out of the 1,260 business owners interviewed, 13 percent of business owners closed their businesses temporarily, and 27 percent closed their businesses permanently because of COVID-19.

To respond to the crisis, government spends significant resources to provide immediate support measures and to boost economic recovery through ‘fiscal and monetary stimulus’ packages. Ten days after the first COVID-19 case, the government announces a stimulus package of 5 billion Birr (154 millionUSD) to build resilience against the virus and to mitigate its potential socio-economic impact. The centralbank also committed to inject 15 billion Birr (456 million USD) as added liquidity for private banks so thatthey could help businesses relax the financial constraints they were facing. To support local business thatmay have been affected by the pandemic, the government of Ethiopia also announced tax relief amounting 78 billion Birr. The Prime Minister’s office also released a COVID-19 Multi-Sectoral Preparedness and Response Plan, which requires 1.64 billion USD in funding3. In line with this, UN Womenhas developed a range of policy tools to support governments and social partners in implementing gender-sensitive policy responses to the pandemic and during the recovery phase, including one on “How to Assess Fiscal Stimulus Packages from a Gender Perspectives”.

Generally, it is important to ensure that adopted macroeconomic policy including the existing fiscal policy and legal framework are gender responsive and address equity gaps at national level and in particular ensure the recovery package from COVID -19 to be gender responsive and address equity gaps as well. Policies and packages need to ensure that those who are most impacted, those that are most marginalized and neglected in the economy and society –, should be at the center of the approach. Its worthy to understand how these groups those left behind are impacted differently and what this implies for the design of policy and choice of approach and instruments. Gender-differentiated impacts should be a major consideration, to ensure that women’s needs and priorities get attention and that women and girls benefit fully from financial policies and stimulus packages.

It is in light of the above, UN Women is looking for a national consultant to assess the national fiscal stimulus package and existing fiscal policies and related legal frameworks from a gender equality perspective to promote gender equitable inclusive growth.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the direct supervision of UN Women, Women Economic Empowerment and National Planning team leaders the consultant is expected to undertake the following tasks:

1. Upon recruitment, the consultant will develop an inception report that will be approved after inception meeting. This will have a road map and detailed action plan for the entire consultancy (including a timeframe) on the assignment. The Inception Report will define the approach and methodology; study tools to be used and the framework. The inception report will be due within five (5) calendar days after signing of the contract and its finalization will involve incorporation of feedback from UN Women. The Inception report will be used to confirm a common understanding of the purpose, objectives, scope, timescales, and methodology of the assessment. It will include:

• Overview of the assessment, purpose and objectives
• Consultant’s roles and responsibilities
• Assessment framework and methodology including tools
• Information collection and analysis
• Work-plan including reporting timelines
• Consultants work experience on a similar subject and context
• At the time of the inception report, the consultant will make a presentation detailing the salient features of the assessment at the inception meeting.

2. A consultant will submit the draft assessment report and two pager policy brief to UN Women in the structure specified below. The outline and main findings of the assessment should be completed and handed to UN Women during the final debriefing session. A Power Point is expected from the consultant during the presentation of the draft final report at a validation workshop.

3. Based on the feedback of the stakeholders during the de-briefing, a consultant will finalize and submit the final version of the report with revised policy brief to UN Women. The consultant will also support external editors/definers and make sure validity and timeliness of the findings until the reports are cleared and published.

Competencies

C****o****r****e Values/guiding principles:

• Integrity - Demonstrate consistency in upholding and promoting the values of UN Women in actions and decisions, in line with the UN Code of Conduct.
• Professionalism - Demonstrate professional competence and Consultant knowledge of the pertinent substantive areas of work.
• Cultural sensitivity and respect for diversity - Demonstrate an appreciation of the multicultural nature of the organization and the diversity of its staff. Additionally, each individual should have an international outlook, appreciating difference in values and learning from cultural diversity.

C****o****r****e Competencies:

• Planning & Organizing – Develops clear goals in line with agreed strategies, identifies priorities, foresees risks and makes allowances accordingly.
• Organizational Awareness - Demonstrate corporate knowledge and sound judgment.
• Teamwork - Demonstrate ability to work in a multicultural, multi-ethnic environment and to maintain effective working relations with people of different national and cultural backgrounds.
• Accountability – Takes ownership of all responsibilities and delivers outputs in accordance with agreed time, cost and quality standards.

Required Skills and Experience

Education

• Minimum qualification Master’s degree in economics, or any other relevant field of economics or public policy.

Experience

• Proven record of a minimum of 10 years’ experience and record of accomplishment promoting economic policy reform in the area of development economics, gender and economics, Gender Responsive Budgeting, poverty reduction or women’s economic empowerment policies in the context of Ethiopia.
• Proven experience with economic policy analysis and mastery of quantitative and qualitative analysis and methods;

Language and skill

• A consultant needs to have excellent knowledge of written and oral communication in English
• Computer skills: full command of Microsoft applications relevant to the assignment

N****OTE

Interested applicants must submit the following document/information (in PDF format) @ethiopia public with a subject ' Conducting assessment' to demonstrate their qualifications

T****e****c****hni****c****a****l component:

• Letter of interest explaining why he/she is the most suitable for the work
• A technical proposal clearly giving the consultant/s understanding of the assignment, proposed tool and methodology, detailed timeline
• Signed Curriculum vitae with contact details of 3 clients for whom you have rendered preferably similar services
• The proposal should be submitted in English, contain a table of contents. The proposal should be not more than 10 pages not including attachments.

Application:

• All applications must include (as an attachment) a completed UN Women Personal History form (P-11) which can be downloaded from http://www.unwomen.org/about-us/employment.
• Kindly note that the system will only allow one attachment and candidates are required to include in the P-11 form links for their previously published reports and articles completed within the last two years. Applications without the completed UN Women P-11 form will be treated as incomplete and will not be considered for further assessment.

At UN Women, we are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment of mutual respect. UN Women recruits, employs, trains, compensates, and promotes regardless of race, religion, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, ability, national origin, or any other basis covered by appropriate law. All employment is decided?on the basis of?qualifications, competence, integrity and organizational need.

If you need any reasonable accommodation to support your participation in the recruitment and selection process, please include this information in your application.

UN Women has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UN Women, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to UN Women’s policies and procedures and the standards of conduct expected of UN Women personnel and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. (Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check.)

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Potential interview questions

Added 4 years ago - Updated 1 year ago - Source: jobs.undp.org