Background

Background/Context

The United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (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 Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) in collaboration with the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (Zimstat) and the Ministry of Women Affairs Community Small and Medium Enterprises Development (MWACSMED) seeks to engage a consultant with expertise in gender statistics and gender responsive Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) to develop a Gender Sector Statistics Plan (GSSP) for Zimbabwe. 

Gender differences and gender inequalities have often been overlooked in statistical production even though it is now widely acknowledged that access and control over resources, as well as the various dimensions of wellbeing, is gendered and that women and men have different needs and interests. It follows that national statistics that do not reflect these differences do not adequately reflect social reality in a way that supports sound development policymaking and planning. Gender-responsive surveys analysis can therefore contribute to making the national statistics base more relevant and comprehensive and improve decision making for development planning and programmes. Gender analysis focuses on gender-related social inequalities, discriminatory practices and unjust power relations. Cross-referencing this information and going beyond sex-disaggregation to consider other factors such as ethnicity, age, place of residence can help identify additional social issues related to subsets of excluded or vulnerable groups.

Zimbabwe’s commitment to addressing issues of discrimination against women and other related gender inequalities is reflected in a manner that conforms with international standards and expectations. Gender Equality and women empowerment is also a long-term commitment of the Government of Zimbabwe. This idea is enshrined in the Constitution of Zimbabwe. The Constitution contains an expansive bill of rights and underlines the principles of equality of all persons and prohibits discrimination based on sex and gender. Section 17 provides for equality and equal rights in all spheres of state and public life and section 52(2) postulates that women and men have the right to equal treatment and equal opportunities in political, economic, cultural and social spheres. The production of gender statistics is embedded in a long history of pronouncements on the importance of statistics for underpinning evidence-based policy formulation, planning, monitoring, and evaluation. Examples include the reporting requirements for Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) as adopted by the United Nations in 1979 and the specific references made to the critical importance of gender statistics in the Beijing Platform for Action (1995). 

The 1995 Beijing Platform for Action called for disseminating and generating gender-disaggregated data and information for planning and evaluation, and in 2013, the UN Statistical Commission endorsed a minimum set of gender indicators to serve as a guide for data compilation and further adopted a set of violence against women indicators. The need for the strengthening of gender statistical systems was further emphasised after the adoption of the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda with its 17 goals and considerable measurement imperatives. Regionally, the Africa Agenda 2063- the Africa we want was adopted in 2015 and it highlights additional statistical requirements as articulated in the first 10year plan. 

While there have been efforts to produce quality and relevant gender statistics in response to the growing demand, the country still faces various resource constraints and weak coordination of the national statistical system. The GSSP will highlight strategies and actions that will be geared towards addressing the data gaps between what is currently produced or is available and the data that is required to inform policy, advocacy, accountability and other priority development issues – particularly those linked to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Developing a GSSP is crucial for addressing and advancing gender equality and women’s empowerment across various sectors.

In this regard, UN Women is seeking the services of a highly qualified national consultant to support with the above task. The successful consultant will work closely with UN Women, Zimstat, MWACSMED and in close consultation with the Data for Development and Innovation Social Cluster to conduct this process. 

1.  Sixth periodic report submitted by Zimbabwe under article 18 of the Convention, due in 2016*

[Date received: 6 December 2018]

2. United Nations, 1995 Beijing Declaration and Platform of Action, adopted at the Fourth World Conference on Women, 27 October

1995; United Nations 2013, Report of the Secretary-General on Gender Statistics, prepared for the Forty-fourth session of the Statistical

Commission

Duties and Responsibilities

Deliverables

Consultant’s Workplace and Official Travel

This is a home-based consultancy. / This is an office-based consultancy.

UN Women will cover travel and accommodation costs beyond commuting distance from the consultant’s usual place of residence for UN Women authorized travel as per the UN Women standard travel guidelines. As part of this assignment, there will not be any trips outside Harare.

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/en/about-us/employment/application-process#_Values 

FUNCTIONAL COMPETENCIES: 

• Technical credibility in Gender Statistics
• Commitment to continuous improvement
• Partnerships building
• Research

Required Skills and Experience