Background

Re-Advertised: Candidates who previously applied, need not reapply.

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. 

The United Nations Statistical Commission (UNSC) created the Praia City Group on Governance Statistics (the Praia Group), at its forty-sixth session in March 2015. Its primary goal is to “contribute to establishing international standards and methods for the compilation of statistics on the major dimensions of governance”. The Praia Group has more than 100 members, including representatives from National Statistical Offices, UN agencies, multilateral and bilateral agencies, and academia.

The group is currently in its second phase of operations (2020-2025) and has thus far developed a Handbook on Governance Statistics for National Statistical Offices. This handbook includes sections on the conceptuzalization, measurement methodology and dissemination of statistics on eight dimensions of governance, namely non-discrimination and equality, participation, openness, access to and quality of justice, responsiveness, absence of corruption, trust, and safety and security. The handbook was endorsed by the UN Statistical Commission in March 2020.

Even though the handbook is comprehensive, several gaps related to Governance statistics remain – one of these is around the use of administrative data sources to produce statistics on discrimination and inequality. Preliminary research shows that while the potential of admin data to improve the availability, granularity and timeliness of statistics for national and international monitoring of discrimination and inequalities is large, few countries have adopted a coherent and systematic approach to collecting admin data across the National Statistical System and to producing comprehensive statistics on discrimination & inequalities. The research will not only identify what is currently happening at country level, but will also prioritize actions needed to bridge the current data and capacity gaps.  

UN Women East and Southern Africa Regional Office (ESA-RO) is therefore currently collaborating with the Praia City Group and its Task Team on Non-Discrimination & Equality to expand methodological guidance on the collection and use of administrative data that documents discrimination and inequality in all its forms, including ‘indirect discrimination’ – i.e. inequalities in development outcomes caused by laws, policies or practices that appear neutral at face value, yet are discriminatory for population groups with certain characteristics (e.g. when a requirement of a birth certificate for school enrolment discriminates against ethnic minorities or non-nationals who do not possess, or have been denied, such certificates). This links well with UN Women’s agenda on the elimination of intersectional discrimination, as well as the gender data and statistics work done as part of the global Making Every Woman and Girl Count (Women Count) programme. One of the areas of work of the programme is to support the development of new methodologies and tools for more effective data collection, as well as the modernization of statistical practice. 

It is within this context that the Praia City Group and UN Women are seeking the services of 5 consultants based in the Africa region. The main purpose of the consultancy will be to identify current and potential administrative data sources that can be used to produce statistics on discrimination and inequality in the region, as well as the data and capacity gaps associated with this data that need to be addressed through the development of guidelines. These guidelines should include recommendations on quality assurance, data recording, linking with other sources, calculating indicators and the like.

The Task Team on Non-Discrimination & Equality has elaborated the following conceptual and measurement framework on non-discrimination and equality, which consists of 6 broad sub-categories:

Experiences and Perceptions of Discrimination & Harassment

• Prevalence, by grounds, by different domains (“areas of life”), by perpetrator.
• Perceived prevalence.
• Effects on the person.

Hate Crimes and Hate Speech

• Prevalence, by type of bias motivation & type of offense.
• Perceived prevalence, by type of bias motivation & type of offense

Reporting and Sentencing of Discrimination, Harassment and Hate Crimes

• Public reporting, by type of authority & reasons for non-reporting & satisfaction.
• Convictions & reparations provided to victims.

Attitudes Towards Minority Groups

• Level of hostility vs. ‘acceptability’ towards different social or ethnic/racial groups.
• Attitudes on equal treatment of groups, multiculturalism, integration.

Promotion of Equality

• Public awareness and evaluation of national efforts to fight discrimination/harassment/hate crimes.
• Effectiveness of national efforts to fight discrimination/harassment/hate speech.

Indirect Discrimination

• Inequalities in outcomes, by grounds of discrimination.

Administrative data systems in this context is understood in its widest sense i.e. systems that capture operational data of any entity be it Government, CSOs, INGOs etc. Administrative data cannot be used to measure all of the six areas above (e.g. some areas, such as “4. Attitudes Towards Minority Groups”, can only be measured with survey data), but the framework provides an indication of the range of dimensions that need to be included in this work. Of relevance to administrative data systems is areas no. 1,2,3,5 and 6 above.

The outputs of the 5 consultants will contribute towards the design and development of a published guidance on how to develop and strengthen the collection and use of admin data to better measure and monitor trends on discrimination and inequalities, and generate the necessary data to inform policymaking in this area.

The consultants will work under the direct supervision of the UN Women ESA Regional Gender Statistics Specialist but will also work in close collaboration with the Praia City group’s Task Team on Non-Discrimination & Equality through a Working Group appointed for the purposes of this work.

One consultant will be appointed for each of the following sub-regions in Africa:

North Africa: Algeria, Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia.

West and Central Africa: Côte D'Ivoire, Ghana, Mali, Nigeria, Senegal, Cameroon and Gabon.

East Africa: Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda.

Southern Africa: Malawi, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Botswana and South Africa.  

Lusophone Countries: Mozambique, Cape Verde

Consultants will be working remotely but will be required to be based in one of the countries of the sub-region they apply for.  

Scope of Work:

1. Review and refine a pre-designed data collection tool for use in each sub-region.
2. Do a desktop review of the administrative data-sources that document discrimination, inequality and the outcomes of discrimination in the targeted countries.
3. Use virtual engagements and snowball techniques to identify the state and non-state institutions that collect relevant admin data on discrimination and inequalities in the targeted countries, incl. Police & justice sector institutions; national equality bodies; national human rights institutions; ombuds institutions; service provision institutions; civil society organizations; academia and other relevant parties.  
4. For each one of these admin data-producing institutions, assess and document the nature of the data holdings (variable content as well as quality); nature and degree of access to the data (notably by the NSO) and use of data for statistical production on discrimination; main challenges associated with the data and how these can be overcome (e.g. data protection, data-sharing and other ethical considerations in the collection and use of such data)
5. Identify national examples of how admin datasets are also used to monitor inequalities in outcomes resulting from indirect/structural discrimination, in key sectors e.g. health, education, justice, policing and social services (and for each sector, identify key datasets/variables/ratios/averages used for equality analysis)
6. Document the role of the NSO in the targeted countries in coordinating/quality assuring the collection of admin data on discrimination and inequalities, and the existence (or not) of mechanisms facilitating cooperation between NSOs and organizations collecting/recording the data, and with organizations that have policy responsibility for non-discrimination & equality
7. Prepare a report that clearly maps the relevant administrative data holdings in the countries studied in the sub-region; identify good practices; challenges and opportunities associated with this data (vs. other types of data e.g. survey data); make recommendations on how to improve the collection of admin data on discrimination & inequalities, its use in statistical production, and its uptake in policymaking/monitoring.  

Duties and Responsibilities

Key Deliverables:

1. One PowerPoint presentation per sub-region which explains how the task will be approached. This will be shared and discussed in a virtual meeting involving all 5 contracted consultants, with the opportunity to engage and influence one another’s planned work strategy;
2. One report per sub-region that summarizes the results of the assessment;
3. One PowerPoint presentation which highlights the key findings per sub-region.

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/sites/default/files/Headquarters/Attachments/Sections/About%20Us/Employment/UN-Women-values-and-competencies-framework-en.pdf

Functional Competencies:

• Demonstrated ability to network amongst actors in the human rights sector;
• Competent in working with and using human rights and non-discrimination data;
• Analytical skills;
• Good report writing and editing skills.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• Minimum master’s degree in law, human rights, development studies or related field;
• Holding some formal qualifications in statistics or demography will be an advantage.

Experience:

• Minimum 10 years' experience in human rights and non-discrimination related work in at least one of the countries in the sub-region you are applying for;
• Minimum 5 years research and data analysis experience;
• Work experience in human rights and non-discrimination work with different organizations, in more than one country in the sub-region for which you apply, will be an advantage;

Language Requirements:

• Fluency in English, French, Portuguese or Arabic is required depending on the sub-region concerned. All reports and PowerPoints must be completed and presented in either English or French.  

All applications must include (as an attachment) a completed UN Women Personal History form (P-11) which can be downloaded from https://www.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/2022-07/UN-Women-P11-Personal-History-Form-en.doc

Please 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 and signed UN Women P-11 form will be treated as incomplete and will not be considered for further assessment.

Note:

In July 2010, the United Nations General Assembly created UN Women, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. The creation of UN Women came about as part of the UN reform agenda, bringing together resources and mandates for greater impact. It merges and builds on the important work of four previously distinct parts of the UN system (DAW, OSAGI, INSTRAW and UNIFEM), which focused exclusively on gender equality and women's empowerment.

Diversity and inclusion:

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.