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National Consultant to support the Development of a Gender Profiles for the Government of South Africa

Location : Pretoria, SOUTH AFRICA

Application Deadline : 01-Nov-21

(Midnight New York, USA)

Type of Contract : Individual Contract

Post Level : National Consultant

Languages Required : English

Duration of Initial Contract : 45 days

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

Background and Rationale: 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.

UN Women South Africa Multi Country Office (SAMCO) works to advance implementation of the agency’s normative, operational and coordination mandate, in close partnerships with the Government of South Africa, the United Nations Country Team and civil society organizations.

The Government of South Africa and UN Women South Africa Multi Country Office (SAMCO) acknowledge the centrality of gender equality and the empowerment of women to national development. This is reflected in national and international commitments to achieve gender equality goals, as outlined in national socio-economic policies including the National Gender Policy, Human Resources Development strategy, the Country’s National Development Plan 2030 aiming at attainment of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), CEDAW and Beijing Platform for Action (BPFA). Assessment of progress towards achieving the SDGs has been done and concrete steps taken towards strengthening the socio-economic response to advance national development priorities. In this regard the government, with the support of SAMCO plans to produce a country gender equality profile (CGEP). The production of the profile provides an opportunity to increase national knowledge on progress and gaps in achieving gender equality, strengthening monitoring systems, and providing evidence to inform strategic policy priorities and upscale gender equitable programming to advance the development agenda going forward.

The Country Gender Equality Profile will focus on the country’s priority development sectors. It will provide updated information the situation of women and men, key gender equality challenges, the differential effects of COVID-19 on women and men and identify priority actions required to tackle gender disparities. The Gender profile will build on lessons from ongoing programmes encouraging developments/approaches, which are worth replicating. The envisaged comprehensive gender analysis indicating gender roles of women and men in the selected sectors: in their socio-economic position, needs, participation rates, access to resources, control of assets, decision making, individual freedoms and human right conditions will be used to guide the development of strategies, policy and interventions.

The process shall be supported by an Advisory Group acting as technical backstopping, comprising a broad range of stakeholders, including representatives from governments, the United Nations, academia, and the Civil Society Organizations (CSOs)

It is anticipated that the profile shall be used to inform ongoing and planned law & policy engagements, supporting decisions and priorities to respond to the current socio-economic context, monitoring achievements and national development planning, upscaling and expanding of existing programmes and development of new initiatives. The profile shall also serve as a reference point and guidance to Development Partners, Civil Society, and the Private Sector. Overall, the profile will assist in accelerating and institutionalising mainstreaming of gender and women empowerment concerns across all sectors and levels, for maximum impact in achieving gender equality and poverty reduction. It shall further serve as a reference for setting a forward-looking gender equality agenda in line with national, regional and international norms and standards.

Objectives: The objective of this assignment is to undertake a comprehensive multi sectoral gender analysis in Botswana, culminating into a Country Gender Equality Profile. Specifically, the key objectives are:

•  To develop, discuss and agree on a detailed methodology and outline for the country gender profile with the Technical Reference Group, consisting of key governmental, and non-governmental experts;
•  To undertake a review of existing institutional and sectoral policies and legal frameworks, existing gender analyses reports and programmes identifying available information and gender equality gaps;
•  To identify key gender inequalities that constrain inclusive growth, assess the prevailing macro and sectoral policies and legal frameworks that impact on gender equality and women empowerment, and recommend key areas for strategic actions;
•  To assess and document facts and figures on the status of gender equality across all relevant sectors while identifying gender inequalities that constrain inclusive growth;
•  To assess and analyse the data gaps in relation to monitoring implementation of SDG’s gender indicators framework;
•  To examine the socio-economic impacts of the COVID 19 on women and men, with a specific analysis on how the multiple forms of discrimination experienced by women exacerbates the impact of the pandemic on their lives;
•  To examine the institutional and human resources capacity for advancing gender equality and empowerment of women;
•  To identify entry priorities for mainstreaming gender and promoting women’s empowerment in the South Africa’s National Development Plan including but not limited for example to infrastructure development (with focus on energy, transport, and water and sanitation), agribusiness, employment, trade and human capital development;
•  To provide concrete recommendations regarding existing gender gaps and inequalities and for accelerating the advancement of gender equality and the social and economic empowerment of women and their equal participation in decision-making.

Duties and Responsibilities

Scope of tasks: The South Africa’s Country Gender Equality Profile will combine description, qualitative analysis and statistical data in a manner that is useful for the planning, programming and preparation of gender specific programmes and projects that are gender responsive. The national consultant shall undertake the following:

Legal and policy frameworks for gender equality:

•  Examine the socio-cultural, economic, political and legal factors that hinder constrain gender equality in South Africa;
•  Undertake a gender analysis of policies in key sectors that are crucial for the promotion of gender equality and identify gaps, while making recommendations for policy review;
•  Evaluate sectoral policies and strategies from a gender perspective and identify good practices and shortcomings;
•  Analyse Government efforts to enhance attention to gender equality in the key sectors and document good practices for promotion of gender equality across sectors;
•  Evaluate the Statistics Act, the South Africa’s strategy for the development of statistics and the government sectoral plans with regards to its facilitation of the production and use of gender statistics;
•  Assess the existence and data availability for national and international gender indicator frameworks.

Institutional Capacity for Gender Mainstreaming:

•  Assess the institutional capacity of sectoral ministries and other stakeholders to promote gender equality and the empowerment of women in South Africa;
•  Analyse the institutional mechanisms put in place at national and regional levels for the promotion of gender equality and document the successes or challenges of these mechanisms;
•  Propose recommendations for strengthening the capacity institutional mechanisms for the promotion of gender equality;
•  Analyse institutional mechanisms in place to produce gender statistics.

Social norms, cultural practices and Gender Equality

•  Examine the widely held social norms and cultural practices that impact (positively or negatively) on the rights of men, women, girls or boys;
•  Assess the prevalence of Gender-Based Violence in the country and examine possible actions taken by various stakeholders to combat it, identifying best practices, and entry points;
•  Examine the gender roles and responsibilities and traditional norms and expectations that position women and men differently with regards to their well-being and their access to and control over resources.

Gender Analysis of the Economic Sector

•  Examine women’s and men’s participation in key economic sectors in South Africa (infrastructure, private sector, industrialization, trade, tourism, agriculture, water, health, education, energy, science and technology) and identify constraints and opportunities for advancement of women’s economic empowerment;
•  Assess the participation of women and men in formal and informal employment in all sectors and discuss opportunities and challenges;
•  Assess the level of women’s entrepreneurship development; outlining key sectors or activities where women are engaged;
•  Assess women’s access to productive resources (including land and credit) from both formal and informal sectors and outline best practices, challenges, and opportunities for improvement;
•  Analyse the specific constraints to gender sensitive financial inclusion: enabling environments for all entrepreneurs, their access to credit and financial services, etc.;
•  Assess the status of women’s property rights and land rights and examine government efforts to improve property ownership by women;
•  Examine women’s role in private sector development;
•  Examine literacy levels and access to education for boys and girls at all levels and analyse factors that influence their educational performance;
•  Assess the socio-economic impacts of the COVID 19 on women and men, particularly in the productive sectors, informal sector, access to social services, employment, and gender-based violence; Evaluate the COVID 19 rapid response team’s response for gender responsiveness;
•  Evaluate the gender responsiveness of the communication and awareness strategy to respond to COVID 19;
•  Recommend actions to respond to the impacts of COVID 19, considering gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls.

Voice and participation in public life:

•  Assess whether the legal framework at national and local government level is effective in providing for women’s participation, representation and leadership in politics and the public service;
•  Assess whether security sector reforms and institutional frameworks are supportive of women’s representation and leadership;
•  Assess whether industry and labour laws are supportive to women’s protection from all forms of violence, discrimination, and leadership in the private sector;
•  Map the social norms and attitudes that restrict women’s participation, representation and leadership in politics, public service, and private sector;
•  Identify women’s legal rights relating to business and the workplace and the constraints faced by women in enjoying such rights;
•  Identify possible ways of amplifying women’s voice in public policy and decision-making, and addressing the constraints to women’s effective participation, representation and leadership in politics, public service, and the private sector.

Gender and environment in South Africa:

•  Identify and collate literature and data that demonstrates the relationship between gender inequality and climate change in South Africa; cw9AEwx Dmludy
•  Identify the differential impacts, risks and recovery burdens that women as compared to men face as a result of disasters including but not limited to floods, landslides, drought, water stress, loss of wildlife and biodiversity, forest cover change and land use change;
•  Map existing and scalable models at national and community-level that are supportive to gender equality in adaptation, mitigation and resilience to climate change and other environmental disasters in South Africa.

Development Partner Coordination Mechanisms for Gender Equality:

•  Assess and document the mechanisms put in place at the national level for the coordination of gender equality actions (e.g. across sectors, or externally with partners such as UN agencies, donors and civil society);
•  Update major needs and concerns with regard to the closing of gender gaps in South Africa and identify the coverage of these by other development partners, the UN, the Bank, and other development partners, gaps which could be addressed, where impact can be made and opportunities for programmes identified;
•  Propose the outline of a priority program of intervention in the field of gender in South Africa;
•  Facilitate a half a day national workshop on the preliminary results and findings of the study.

Methodology.

The methodology to be adopted in carrying out this exercise combines desk review, focus group discussions, meetings, interviews as well as a consultative workshop. This Country Gender Profile will be developed in close consultation and coordination with the Gender Coordination Unit. The process shall be supported by an Advisory Group acting as technical backstopping. The consultant shall work in close collaboration with the Gender Coordination Unit in the country. More specifically, to deliver on the expected output, the consultant shall:

•  Meet with the relevant ministries and consult on the proposed methodology and content of the study;
•  Conduct necessary desktop research for the Country Gender Equality Profile. This should involve collection and review of available literature from stakeholder’s reports, strategic frameworks, legislation, policies, academic literature, statistical information, UN documents, CEDAW reports, and other relevant organizations and government documentations on the subject matter;
•  Collect and review recent gender disaggregated statistical data and gender assessment/analysis conducted by development partners, governmental institutions, universities and civil society organizations;
•  Conduct in-depth interviews with members of key Government departments and institutions, development partners and other key stakeholders, including civil society organizations and women’s associations and universities, aiming to identify gender disparities, challenges, opportunities, and good practices. The data collected through interviews and focus groups should complement the desk review;
•  Review Development Partners interventions and their contribution to the closing of identified gender gaps, including research reports, and sector analyses;
•  Review gender policies and strategic plans of the sectors and identifying their contribution to gender equality;
•  Organize focus groups with key stakeholder’s groups including representatives of CSOs, associations of rural women, religious and community leaders and women entrepreneurs (including beneficiaries of microfinance programs);
•  Facilitate a half day-workshop to discuss with relevant stakeholders the preliminary findings of the study (first draft) and its recommendations and integrate comments into final draft CGEP;

Depending on the COVID-19 regulations at the time of the consultancy, the meetings and consultations above may be carried out virtually.

Format and content of the Country Gender Profile for South Africa:

The Country Gender Profile will follow the format outlined below:

•  A document of not more than 50 pages maximum, detailing all above-mentioned information with all statistics disaggregated by sex. This document should contain an analysis of the current situation, gaps, challenges, opportunities, and recommended actions;
•  Contain a summary of 3 pages maximum, which will present the statistics disaggregated by sex on the gender situation in South Africa.

Content of the Country Gender Profile.

The Gender Profile should reflect the knowledge needs of the government of South Africa the UN and partners. There needs to be a “context” chapter or section, which should be very brief. It should include a summary of gender dimensions of poverty, gender in the current context of the economy, legal and policy frameworks referenced against national and international norms and standards on gender equality and women empowerment, and socio-cultural issues where these can be seen as relevant for national development planning, the work of the UN. Where possible, and based on available literature, these should include observations on the strengths and limitations of these areas, and the implications for the advancement of gender equality, women’s rights and women’s empowerment in South Africa.

Duration of the Assignment: The duration of the assignment is nine (9) weeks for the national consultant (45 days in full-time equivalent); and commencing tentatively in November 2021. The schedule of execution of the mission will be adjusted according to the needs of

the government of South Africa and UN . The nine weeks in full-time equivalent will tentatively be scattered over a period of 3 to 4 calendar months’ maximum. The consultant will sit at the Ministry of Women, Youth and PWDs.

Deliverables:

•  An inception report with a detailed methodology;
•  First draft gender profile submitted for peer review and stakeholder consultation;
•  Final South Africa Country Gender Profile with inputs from reviewers and stakeholders;
•  Debriefing meeting with a power point presentation on the key findings and recommendations.

Competencies

Core Values:

•  Respect for Diversity;
•  Integrity;
•  Professionalism.

Core Competencies:

•  Awareness and Sensitivity Regarding Gender Issues;
•  Accountability;
•  Creative Problem Solving;
•  Effective Communication;
•  Inclusive Collaboration;
•  Stakeholder Engagement;
•  Leading by Example.

Please visit this link for more information on UN Women’s Core Values and Competencies: https://www.unwomen.org/-/media/headquarters/attachments/sections/about%20us/employment/un-women-values-and-competencies-framework-en.pdf?la=en&vs=637

Functional Competencies:

•  Good understanding of national context including the development plans; social protection mechanism and the gender equality situation;
•  Strong analytical skills on gender and economic policy and women’s economic empowerment;
•  Strong communications skills in spoken and written English;
•  Strong drafting skills and ability to produce a variety of knowledge products for different audiences and purposes;
•  Ability to produce impactful communications materials and knowledge products;
•  Strong commitment to knowledge-sharing within a multicultural environment;
•  Ability to design and deliver training and other capacity building strategies in the area of gender and economics to a variety of audiences;
•  Basic project management skill.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

•  Advanced University (at least a Master’s) degree in Gender Studies, Social Sciences, Economics or related disciplines is required; a PhD in economics is a plus.

Experience:

•  Minimum of 7 years of demonstrated extensive experience that combines research and capacity development in the area of gender and economics and/or women’s social and economic empowerment at the national and international levels is required;
•  Proven record of publications on economics and gender, women’s socio-economic empowerment

, including publications on these topics in English with renowned institutions is required;

•  Demonstrated experience in facilitating multi-cultural training for adults. Knowledge of socio-cultural, geopolitical, economic, country context is an advantage. Excellent writing and analytical skills.

Languages: Excellent command of written and spoken English and local languages.

Note:

Please note that applications without a completed and signed UN Women P-11 form will be treated as incomplete and will not be considered for further assessment.

UN Women Personal History form (P-11) can be downloaded from https://www.unwomen.org/en/about-us/employment/application-process

UNWOMEN 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.