National Consultant - Gender gap review and policy support for promoting women’s access to leadership positions in public administration in Lao PDR

Contract

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Background

The project “building capacities for promoting the presence and leadership of women within public institutions at national and local levels” is implemented by the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs through its Division for Public Institutions and Digital Government (UN DESA/DPIDG). The project aims to support the development of action plans that prioritize gender equality and promote women’s career progression toward leadership positions in the public sector at national and local levels in Mauritius, Senegal, Bhutan, and the Lao People’s Democratic Republic. Project implementing partners include the UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), UNCTs in respective countries, the UN Development Programme (UNDP), and UN Women.

The project intends to contribute to the call by the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development for the achievement of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls (Goal 5) based on the importance of “women’s full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision-making in political, economic and public life”. Commitments to the equal participation of women and men in public life, decision-making and policy development are also included in many international instruments such as the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW, 1979) and the Beijing Platform for Action (1995) and in many regional and national documents such as Constitutions and legislation.

According to data from the Ministry of Home Affairs, in 2018 45 percent of civil servants were women but less than 20 percent of those in senior positions were women. The two ministries where the number of women exceed men were the Ministry of Education and Sport and the Ministry of Health. This could be explained by the gendered nature of the work associated with these ministries as opposed to those ministries with significantly less women which were the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, and the Ministry of Public Works and Transport.

21.9 percent of the legislature are women, relatively high within the region, but women continue to face barriers advancing to higher levels within the public service. Reasons for this could be due to education requirements (there are less women with Master’s degrees or PhDs than men) or mandatory training requirements which women may be unavailable to attend as a consequence of care responsibilities.

UN DESA and UNDP Lao PDR are seeking a consultant from Lao PDR to liaise and collaborate with national and regional stakeholders and assist in promoting the presence and leadership of women within public institutions at national and local levels in the country. The consultant will carry out an analysis of the profile of women’s participation in public administration in Lao PDR from both quantitative and qualitative perspectives. S/he will support the Governmental Lao PDR to build on the existing knowledge base of gender presence in the public sector and map out the size and position of female workers in public administration at both national and subnational levels to quantify the gender gap.

The consultant will work in close consultation with the Ministry of Home Affairs (MOHA) to carry out the consultancy in a satisfactory manner. S/he will complete an in-depth review of existing policies, institutional culture, practices and relevant legislation, and gap analysis at the national and subnational levels in Lao PDR based on the GEPA analytical review framework developed by UNDP and OECD and an addendum provided by UN DESA. The addendum is the result of a global analysis of existing laws and organizational policies and good practices that have proved effective in enhancing women’s access to decision-making roles in public administration at national and local levels. The review will include the procedural, cultural, and behavioural limitations, including gender norms and stereotypes that hamper the selection of women candidates and pose obstacles to their career progression in the public sector. The review will also include an assessment of differing degrees of prioritization of women’s participation between national and subnational public institutions to identify challenges and remedial action.

The consultant, in consultation with MOHA, national and local stakeholders, will support the drafting of a gender parity action plan that prioritizes gender equality in public administration at the national and local levels and promotes women’s career progression towards leadership positions in the public sector. S/he will also provide substantive inputs and assistance in organizing and facilitating national training in close coordination with MOHA, UNDP Lao PDR and UN DESA staff.

OBJECTIVE

The objective of this consultancy is to support, in consultation with UNDP and UN DESA, national and local stakeholders, the Government of Lao PDR to identify and address gender gaps in public administration by acquiring requisite capacities and develop a gender parity action plan in public administration

Duties and Responsibilities

SCOPE OF WORK

1. Liaise with MOHA, UNDP, UN DESA staff and various national stakeholders. Attend the training on the analytical framework to be used during the in-depth review of norms and practices and gap analysis.

2. Participate in the global validation workshop on the analytical framework and other national and regional capacity development events and provide substantive inputs, as needed.

3. Building on official statistics, conduct a quantitative review of the distribution of civil servants to establish a baseline against which to measure progress. The review will determine where female and male civil servants are posted and what their functions are and offer a comprehensive analysis of the distribution of the civil servants by sex across (i) different government entities/institutions and (ii) departments and positions within each institution for both national and subnational governments (excluding political appointees and elected officials). Among other relevant indicators, the consultant will gather data on the positions of female employers in the civil service, their level/grade, educational background (if available), mobility status within the service, and timespan of promotions at the national and subnational levels. Data collection and analysis should be complemented as needed by field surveying using the GEPA analytical review framework developed by UNDP and OECD and an addendum provided by UN DESA. The quantitative review should assess, among others:

a. Discrepancies across policy areas with a focus on digital government presence and leadership

b. Discrepancies between national and subnational levels of government

c. Discrepancies among different subnational governments

4. Perform a qualitative assessment of challenges and bottlenecks different cohorts of women (for example younger recruits and those in the technical and administrative cadre) face when pursuing their careers in leadership positions across levels and departments of public administration. Conduct interviews and focus group discussions with civil servants in different ministries at the national level and with civil servants at subnational levels. The aim is to collect qualitative information about recruitment, career stream, work-life balance and other pertinent aspects of women’s career development in public administration. The sample size would be determined by the results of the previous quantitative review, and case stories can be developed from selected interviews in different sectors or roles to illustrate phenomena like the glass ceiling, gender discrimination, exclusion and abuse.

5. Undertake an in-depth review of norms and practices and gap analysis as specified in the section “Reference Documents” of these terms of reference and based on the GEPA analytical review framework developed by UNDP and OECD and an addendum provided by UN DESA.

6. Develop a comprehensive report on the Status of Women in the public administration in Lao PDR with capacity building recommendations to address inequalities. Present the recommendations of the report to national and international stakeholders.

7. With the support of MOHA, prepare and co-facilitate the national substantive training in Lao PDR and provide substantive inputs, as needed. Translate training materials into the national official language, if necessary.

8. Support the adoption of policy or strategic documents by national stakeholders and the revision of regulations. Follow-up on implementation of all national level outcomes and outputs and support the drafting and revision of a national action plan that prioritizes gender equality in public administration at the national and local levels and promotes women’s career progression towards leadership positions in the public sector.

9. Support the external evaluator (at the end of the project implementation) in arranging the national level meetings and interviews, as needed.

10. Other project-related activities, as required.

Competencies

• Experience and knowledge of Lao PDR’s government/mass organization system and/or UN agencies and/or other development partners.
• Good facilitation and coordination skills
• Result oriented, patient, and hands-on with good teamwork skills
• Excellent computer skills (word, excel, power-point, internet, and other related matters)

Required Skills and Experience

• Advanced university degree (Master's degree or equivalent) in women and gender studies, social science, social work, public administration, public policy, or other related fields. A first-level university degree in combination with three additional years of experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree
• Experience in public administration, political science, governance, and gender. Familiarity with the 2030 Agenda, the SDGs and in particular SDGs 5 and 16 and their implementation is required. Proven capacity to work independently is required. Experience in analysis of and reporting on gender gaps in public administration is desirable.

LANGUANGE

• Proficiency in oral and written English and Lao is required. Excellent analytical, research and writing skills

Requirements for submission of proposals

All interested and qualified International or National Individual Consultants should apply online using the following links:

UNDP Lao PDR Country Office website at https://www.undp.org/laopdr/jobs

In order to make your submission, please read the relevant documents available at the links below

1. TOR (Annex I)

2. IC General Terms and Conditions _ Annex II

Interested Individual Consultants must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications:

1. Technical Proposal

   (i) Explaining why you are the most suitable for the work;

   (ii) Providing a brief methodology on how you will approach and conduct the work including the work

   schedule for the delivery of outputs/deliverable;

2. P11 Form Education and work experience, including past experience in similar projects and contact references of at least 3 references for whom you have rendered preferably the similar services;

3. Financial proposal: Detailed financial proposal: Lump sum offer with clear cost breakdown against each deliverable. Please use this template Offerors Letter to UNDP

Instructions for online submissions:

• Step 1: Please prepare all required documents electronically.

• Step 2: Combine all documents in ONE SINGLE FILE (PDF or WORD file) and upload to the UNDP Jobs using this link https://www.undp.org/laopdr/jobs

• Step 3: After that you will receive an auto reply from the UNDP jobs if your offer is received successfully.

Incomplete proposals or proposals received after the deadline will be rejected

Note: Any request for clarification must be sent in writing before the submission deadline to the following emails: surith.sengsavang@undp.org