Research on Women's Political Participation and Quotas (Home-Based)

Research on Women's Political Participation and Quotas (Home-Based)

Organization: UN Women

Location : Home Based, United States of America

Application Deadline : 10-Sep-23 (Midnight New York, USA)

Job Category : Democratic Governance and Peacebuilding

Type of Contract : Individual Contract

Post Level : International Consultant

Languages Required : English  

Starting Date : (date when the selected candidate is expected to start) 02-Oct-2023

Duration of Initial Contract : 130 days between 2 October 2023 and 26 April 2024

Expected Duration of Assignment : 130 days between 2 October 2023 and 26 April 2024

UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence.

UNDP does not tolerate sexual exploitation and abuse, any kind of harassment, including sexual harassment, and discrimination. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks.

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.

Women’s political participation is one of UN Women’s primary areas of work, recognizing the role of women’s leadership in strong and stable democratic processes and inclusive societies. It is covered under the Entity’s Strategic Plan 2022-2025 Impact Area 1 – Participation and Governance in Public Life: “Women and girls participate in leadership and decision making and benefit from gender responsive governance”. Two of the key initiatives to accelerate gender equality in this thematic area are the support for achieving the 50/50 gender balance in decision-making at all levels, including through temporary special measures (TSMs) such as quotas, and monitoring progress through data collection and dissemination for SDG indicators under the custody of UN Women.

In this context, UN Women has recently launched a global portal on electoral gender quotas, which requires constant monitoring of legislative changes in electoral or other laws, and regular updating and dissemination of information on quotas and other TSMs. In addition, it has developed the methodology to measure women’s representation in executive positions and is now engaged in regular compilation of data on Cabinet positions. Finally, UN Women continues its works on collecting data for SDG indicator 5.5.1b (on women’s representation in local government) and disseminating relevant information through the dedicated website on local government.

To support this work, UN Women now wishes to engage a consultant to monitor legislative changes and update the content on the new quota portal and the website on local government; support data collection on women’s representation in the executive for the Map on Women in Politics 2024; and support the preparation of knowledge products on women in politics

Duties and Responsibilities

Under supervision of UN Women’s Political Participation Advisor and the Policy Specialist on Local Government, in HQ, the consultant will support the work on women’s political participation and be responsible for the following tasks:

A. Legislative change monitoring, review, and analysis

• Conduct ongoing monitoring of legislative changes (electoral, political or parity laws) in regard to electoral gender quotas at national and local levels, including through media monitoring and national legal framework reviews.
• Review legislation to update and upload information on parliament quotas and electoral systems to the new UN Gender Quota portal on a regular basis.
• Provide regular updates to the WPP team on reforms of national electoral laws and quota laws or bills under discussion.  
• Respond to ad hoc requests for information on TSMs and quotas in selected countries as needed, including providing a summary of existing legislation and overview of proposals for law reform that are under discussion.
• Review national legal frameworks to update information on local government organization, quotas, and electoral systems for at least 160 countries and upload the new information on the local government website.

B. Data compilation support

• Support the global data compilation on women’s representation in local government, as of 1 January 2024, by updating data request forms and checking the data quality for answers received from National Statistical Offices.
• Support the global data compilation on women in executive positions, as of 1 January 2024, including by updating data request forms, collecting information from at least 170 government websites, checking information submitted by Missions to the United Nations, preparing summary database tables, classifying information on ministerial portfolios and providing support to the preparation of the Map on Women in Politics 2024.

C. Support for development of knowledge products

Contribute to the development of key messages, infographics and other knowledge products on women’s political participation and gender quotas, including by preparing analysis and drafting data-based inputs. 

Deliverables

• Information on electoral gender quotas is updated and uploaded on the UN Gender Quota Portal.
• Information on local government, quotas and electoral systems is monitored, researched and uploaded on the Women in Local Government website.
• Global data compilation on women in local government and women in the executive for 1 January 2024 are supported; summary tables with information collected are prepared; and quality checks for dissemination of data are performed.
• At least two brief knowledge products on women’s political participation and quotas are supported.

Competencies

Core Values:

• Respect for Diversity
• Integrity
• Professionalism

Core Competencies:

• Awareness and Sensitivity Regarding Gender Issues
• Accountability
• Creative Problem Solving
• Effective Communication
• Inclusive Collaboration

Required Skills and Experience

Required Qualifications, Experience and Skills:

• Master’s degree in Social or Political Science, Human Rights, Law or related field.
• A minimum of three years of professional experience carrying out or supporting research on women’s political participation, gender quotas and reviews of national legal frameworks.
• Data, research and IT skills, including experience in working with databases and websites.
• Analytical and writing skills, including the ability to summarize and present information on women’s political participation and quotas. 

Language:

Fluency in oral and written English is required.

Knowledge of another official United Nations language is desirable.

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