Historique

Headline socioeconomic data suggests that Cambodia has made real development progress over the past 10 to 15 years – rapid economic growth, high investment flows and progression to MIC status, alongside human development improvements and attainment of MDG targets (especially poverty reduction). Aggregate gender data also suggest that Cambodia has performed well – with long term improvements in various metrics, notably the UNDP’s Gender Inequality Index (GII), and the World Economic Forums Gender Gap Index . The economic components of these metrics are also generally more favourable than the welfare components. Women’s participation in the labour market stands at an impressive 81% versus 88% for men, and is well-balanced in agriculture and industrial sectors, although less so in services.

However, as with the wider economy, deeper level analysis suggests that many serious issues and challenges are faced. Cambodian women face discrimination and structural constraints. In the labour market these result in their receiving lower wages and less favourable working conditions than their male peers. It is also likely that they are disadvantaged in the capital market – some evidence suggests that women lack productive and financial assets, and female entrepreneurs find it harder to access adequate lines of credit.  Research published in 2017 by CDRI suggests there is an adjusted net wage gap (in the formal sector) of around 20% . Moreover, UN estimates of gendered-GNI per capita suggest a gap, and hence a loss in human development, of a similar proportion . Labour market data also underlines that women are over represented in informal and precarious jobs (42% of women are in salaried jobs versus 56% of men), and severely lag men at executive and decision-making levels. Finally, other composite indices including UNDP’s Gender Development Index (GDI), suggest that progress towards gender quality has slowed down in recent years, and may even have retrenched in the aftermath of the global financial crisis from 2009/ 2010 (UNDP NHDR, forthcoming).

Underpinning these challenges are deeply rooted negative social norms and practices. And despite progress in recent years, women’s standing in households and wider society remains challenged, particularly in rural and more socially conservative areas. Little is known of intrahousehold allocations of income, but studies and data on gender power dynamics, suggest that these allocations are likely to be inequitable, and women’s effective incomes (and consumption) therefore lower than those of men.

In turn, it seems likely that gendered economic biases are undermining the economy’s allocative efficiency, and are a constraint on macroeconomic performance. While these impacts may have been moot during the initial stages of development, with middle income status, and a more complex differentiated, and supply-constrained economy, these inequities will serve to restrain productivity growth and inhibit structural change. Going forward, without policy action, there are likely therefore to be negative impacts on investment and growth.  
The Royal Government of Cambodia (RGC) has long recognized these issues, and women’s economic empowerment is a key pillar of Neary Rattanak IV, the Fourth National Strategic Plan for Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment (2014-2018). This topic is also addressed in the regular Cambodia Gender Assessment, a comprehensive overview of gender in all sectors - undertaken by MoWA. This commits the Government to taking actions to facilitate economic opportunities - especially young women -  and to combat gender discrimination, with MoWA acting as a champion for women.

However, the lack of any regular in-depth statistical, or analyses of women’s position within the economy and their welfare within households, is a key challenge. The labour force survey is dated; the level of gender disaggregation in the national household survey (the Cambodia Socio- Economic Survey) is weak; there are no estimates of gender multi-dimensional poverty; and there is no regular time use survey (the last one took place in 2008, which was also reported to suffer from serious flaws). The latter is a major lacuna. Given Cambodia’s lack of formal systems of social protection and healthcare, and heavy reliance on family solidarity, women’s care burdens are likely to be high.
In the light of this, there is no gendered economic evidence base to guide policymakers, and it is important that the upcoming First National Gender Policy and Neary Rattanak, which will be supported by the Cambodia Gender Assessment be informed by solid data and analysis.  The purpose of this assignment therefore, is to deliver a more systemic account providing a gendered economic assessment covering all aspects of women’s role within Cambodia’s economy, including both productive and equity dimensions – what they contribute and what they receive, and their role over economic decisions in households, businesses and in the public realm. An important additional dimension is the need to link gender equality to the performance of the economy, and the likely allocative and hence growth losses.

This assignment would specifically offer new research on women within the labour market and the overall net wage gap (after controlling for male/ female differences on labour quality)  and an account of intra-household allocations, to provide some estimate of gendered income poverty, alongside measurement of gendered multi-national poverty. It is envisaged that this assignment would also lead on to a series of follow-up surveys and analyses (under a second assignment), notably an up to date time use survey.  Work should lay the basis of follow-on capacity building to enable future CGEAs to be undertaken by the RGC under the leadership of MoWA, and in collaboration with key stakeholders such as the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MoEF), the Supreme National Economic Council (SNEC), the Ministry of Planning (MoP), the National Institute of Statistics (NIS) and the private sector.

It is emphasized that this assignment will encompass 2 parties, international consultant (an individual contractor IC) and a national research team (drawn from a national think tank). The two will be expected to work together, with the IC serving as the technical lead. The CGEA will also be overseen by the Ministry of Women’s Affairs (MoWA) under the ‘Leading the Way for Gender Equality’ (LWGE) programme.
 

Devoirs et responsabilités

The purpose of the assignment is to produce (with a national counterpart) a Gender Economic Assessment for Cambodia, providing a gendered account of production and trade, and the distribution of incomes, rooted in gender relations, structural constraints and biases.  Furthermore, to bring these together to provide an estimate of the macroeconomic impacts, including on growth, along with policy recommendations to enhance the inclusion of women. Specific elements must include:

• Labour market dynamics, women’s/ men’s participation in work, the quality of male versus female employment and rewards (and specifically an authoritative estimate of the wage gap, i.e. after controlling for non-gender bias differences using an appropriate method, and covering for all sectors).
• Allied to this, an account of women’s position in education and training, hence differences in the level/ quality of human capital formation.
• Capital market and asset ownership differences, women’s economic status, command over assets and ability to access credit, and hence how they affect entrepreneurship and the supply of credit/ investment.
• Overall Impacts of gender differences and biases on macroeconomic performance, specifically growth retardation, and the possible economy-wide gains of delivering gender equality.
• Income and consumption differences, specifically examining gender poverty differences, probing intra-household allocations, to provide an estimate of men’s and women’s (consumption) poverty levels.
• Analysis of the unpaid (domestic and care) sector, and how this interacts with the money economy, to include proposals for future empirical work (i.e. time-use surveys).
• Policy recommendations to deliver greater participation via both empowerment and the tackling of biases and constraints, and deliver economic equity between men and women, and deliver overall economic gains.
• The role of the IC is to guide analyses and to produce the final report (the Cambodia Gender Economic Assessment - CGEA) together with a national research counterpart (for which a separate TOR and contract will be issued). Responsibility for delivery will therefore be shared, but the IC will be expected to lead the process and be responsible for writing up the supporting analysis in the final report. They will also be expected to build the capacity and supervise the national counterpart in undertaking and supporting technical analyses – notably on wage gap, gendered poverty (including intra-household allocations), and multi-dimensional poverty analysis, and in estimating the wider economy impacts of gender biases.

The assignment will likely require three visits to Cambodia and home-based working over a period up to 6 months. The national counterpart will receive a concurrent contract for the period.  It is expected that a progressive approach be adopted, with analyses rooted in a fully-gendered understanding of the Cambodian economy. This approach should be articulated to the counterpart and other stakeholders at the outset, and explained/ advocated for throughout the assignment, and set-out in the opening chapters of the final report.
It is envisaged that there will be several follow-on assignments, and specifically in providing for a new time-use survey and its institutionalization within the National Institute of Statistics (NIS), and potentially, further work on intra-household allocations. This will be detailed in a later TORs as a separate assignment, but this work should lay the basis, with proposals outlined in the policy recommendations chapter.
The CGEA development process will also be used by MoWA and UNDP Cambodia to identify priority areas for a future programmatic intervention on Women’s Economic Empowerment. Thus, advisory support from the IC for further programmatic opportunities to UNDP and MoWA and resource mobilization is envisaged.

Interested Offerors must visit this link http://procurement-notices.undp.org/view_notice.cfm?notice_id=47248   to download Individual Consultant Procurement Notice, Terms of Reference, and Document Templates to be included when submitting this online application.
 

Compétences

• Advanced knowledge of gender economics, supported by a strong publications record;
• Knowledge of labour market economics and poverty analysis;
• Econometric/ statistical skills, knowledge of modelling techniques;
• Experience of working as a mentor/ supervisor of analytical work;
• Ability to synthesise research inputs into an authoritative report;
• Exceptional written and verbal presentational skills.
   

Qualifications et expériences requises

Education: 

• PhD in economics or other relevant social science (e.g. Development Studies, Women’s Studies, Sociology)

Experience:

• 10 years’ work experience, with 7 years in relevant subject area/ assignments
• Experience of similar joint working assignment modalities (i.e. working alongside a national counterpart)
• Experience of working in similar contexts in Southeast Asia
• Hands-on experience of data gathering and analysis

Language Requirement:

• Fluent English, knowledge of Khmer is advantageous

Other Requirements:

• Flexibility, ability to fulfil specified timetable

Interested Offerors must visit this link http://procurement-notices.undp.org/view_notice.cfm?notice_id=47248   to download Individual Consultant Procurement Notice, Terms of Reference, and Document Templates to be included when submitting this online application.

UNDP reserves right to reject any applications that is incomplete.

Please be informed that we don’t accept application submitted via email.

Interested Offerors are required to submit application via UNDP jobsite system as the application screening and evaluation will be done through UNDP jobsite system. Please note that UNDP jobsite system allows only one uploading of application document, so please make sure that you merge all your documents into a single file. Your on-line applications submission will be acknowledged where an email address has been provided. If you do not receive an e-mail acknowledgement within 24 hours of submission, your application may not have been received. In such cases, please resubmit the application, if necessary. Please combine all your documents into one (1) single PDF document as the system only allows to upload maximum one document.

Any request for clarification/additional information on this procurement notice shall be communicated in writing to UNDP office or send to email dalis.heng@undp.org and cc procurement.kh@undp.org . While the Procurement Unit would endeavor to provide information expeditiously, only requests receiving at least 5 working days prior to the submission deadline will be entertained. Any delay in providing such information will not be considered as a reason for extending the submission deadline. The UNDP's response (including an explanation of the query but without identifying the source of inquiry) will be posted in Individual Consultant (IC) Procurement Notice page as provided above. Therefore, all prospective Offerors are advised to visit the page regularly to make obtain update related to this Individual Consultant (IC) Procurement Notice.