Consultant - Preparation of the India CSO Report on Beijing Platform for Action +25 Review (Open to Indian Nationals Only)

Background

In 1995, the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (BPfA) was adopted by the Fourth World Conference on Women, and subsequently endorsed by the United Nations General Assembly in 1996.  The Beijing Platform for Action, which India committed to along with 188 other countries, constitutes a global framework for realising gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls.

The BPfA calls upon governments, the international community and civil society, encompassing non-governmental organisations and the private sector, to empower women and girls by taking action in 12 critical areas: poverty, education and training, health, violence, armed conflict, the economy, power and decision-making, institutional mechanisms for the advancement of women, human rights, the media, the environment and the girl child.

2020 will be a pivotal year for the accelerated realization of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls. As the global community marks the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women and adoption of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (1995), and five years of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its Sustainable Development Goals, the moment is right to achieve irreversible and measurable progress towards this universal commitment to all women and girls, everywhere. The Beijing+25 review will help shape and accelerate a transformative agenda where gender equality and women’s empowerment are realized.

The completion of 25 years since the adoption of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (1995) is also the opportunity to strengthen gender-responsive action and implementation of other global commitments, such as those under Security Council resolution 1325 (2000) and subsequent resolutions on women and peace and security; the Addis Ababa Action Agenda of the Third International Conference on Financing for Development (2015); the Paris agreement on climate change (2015), among others.

At its sixty-fourth session, in 2020, the Commission on the Status of Women will undertake a review and appraisal of the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action and the outcomes of the twenty-third special session of the General Assembly, including an assessment of current challenges that affect the implementation of the Platform for Action and the achievement of gender equality and the empowerment of women and its contribution towards the full realization of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development through a gender perspective. In this regard, UN Women and the five United Nations regional commissions are collaborating with Member States for the review and appraisal process. The regional commissions will use the national reviews to prepare regional assessment reports that will be submitted to regional intergovernmental processes during the course of 2019. The national reviews will contribute to the global review and appraisal to be prepared by UN Women, in consultation with relevant stakeholders, to be presented during CSW 64. 

With this context, UN Women India MCO plans to undertake comprehensive review to assess progress made in implementation and identify challenges encountered to achieve the agenda of gender equality and empowerment of women. The process will include taking stock of achievements, identifying gaps, and outlining strategies for addressing those gaps and challenges and chalking out priority actions, in close consultation with government machineries, Civil Society, Women’s Groups, Human Rights advocates, Academia, Media etc. The review will also align and build synergies with work on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and galvanize its gender-responsive implementation.

UN Women will build a strong substantive knowledge and evidence-base for the review of the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action by the Commission on the Status of Women in March 2020.  In doing so, UN-Women will draw on a broad range of sources and inputs, including national reports, current research and data, and information available from the Government, UN system and civil society.

UN Women MCO is seeking the services of an experienced consultant to support the analysis and drafting of an India national CSO report. The main objective will be to review India’s progress on the implementation of the commitments made to BPfA since last five years, focusing on the 12 areas:

• Women and the environment
• Women in power and decision-making
• The girl child
• Women and the economy
• Women and poverty
• Violence against women
• Human rights of women
• Education and training of women
• Institutional mechanisms for the advancement of women
• Women and health
• Women and the media
• Women and armed conflict

The report will highlight progress made by government, donor agencies, development institutions, NGOs and advocacy groups in the past 25 years. It will also reflect on the challenges faced and identify what strengthen actions are needed to realize gender equality, women’s empowerment and human rights. The report will analyse, and present fundamental discourses and policy shifts related to the BPfA implementation, human rights treaties and the Sustainable Development Goals - including a stand-alone goal for gender equality-and the challenges and opportunities as well as future actions for women in India.

The report will be advised by the CSAG for India MCO members during and after the Beijing+25 CSO national consultation. The recommendations put forward during the consultation will be used to inform the report which will be submitted to UN Women at the regional and global level and will also serve as an advocacy document.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the supervision of Deputy Representative, UN Women; Programme Analyst – Inter Governmental Process, UN Women; and CSAG for India MCO, the Consultant is expected to substantively review the developments in India since 1995 using available secondary resources and through conducting a series of interviews. Specific tasks to undertaken are:

• Conduct desk reviews of existing literature on the BPfA implementation, which includes the official country submission from the Government of India, media articles, surveys, reports by businesses, policy institute and research companies, data published by the Government of India, evaluations by various NGOs and advocacy groups, and past UN reports on the state of women in India, material on CEDAW and intergovernmental processes including SDG and IPCD;
• Produce a mapping of which organisation/networks are working on the 12 critical areas of BPfA and related intergovernmental processes and develop an interview schedule.
• Analyse and report on the implementation of the BPfA in India, present concrete, evidence-based and anecdotal assessments on the impact of actions taken and results achieved on each of the 12 critical areas, showcasing actions /non-action taken by the government, donors, development institutions, and national and international NGOs, and advocacy groups;
• Seek inputs from a multitude of stakeholders, external/non-governmental observers, and national experts through interviews;
• Produce a forward-looking draft with ample focus on current and future advocacy efforts, implementation challenges and barriers that shape the future of women’s rights and equality in India and the realisation of the BPfA principles, emerging issues that pose new questions and complexities in the implementation of the BPfA, and opportunities that enable the process such as intensified public debates and media reporting on women’s issues, among others;
• Incorporate inputs and key recommendations from the CSO consultation meetings.

Deliverables:

• A detailed outline highlighting timelines and the proposed methodology.
• A mapping of who which organizations/networks and institutions are working on issues relation BPfA.
• A report consolidating and highlighting the main discussions, decisions and outcomes of the Beijing+25 India CSO consultations.
• A final compiled document reflecting evidence-based analysis and reporting of India’s status on the implementation, impact and future plans with respect to the BPfA’s 12 critical areas of concern.

Competencies

Corporate Competencies:

• Demonstrates commitment to UN Women’s mission, vision and values;
• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability.

Functional Competencies:

Knowledge Management and Learning:

• Shares knowledge and experience;
• Actively works towards continuing personal learning, acts on learning plan and applies newly acquired skills.

Development and Operational Effectiveness:

• Ability to perform a variety of specialized tasks related to design, planning and implementation of programme, managing data, reporting;
• Ability to provide input to and use new IT based systems.

Leadership and Self-Management:

• Focuses on result for the client and responds positively to feedback;
• Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude;
• Remains calm, in control even under pressure;
• Demonstrates openness to change and ability to manage complexities;
• Good understanding of gender and development in South Asia;
• Demonstrable ability to work in a team;
• Ability to work under pressure;
• Good writing and communication skills;
• Excellent computer literacy and skills.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• Master's degree or equivalent in Social Science, Political Sciences, Public Administration, International Relations, Journalism, Gender Studies, or related field.

Experience:

• Proven experience in producing high-level national reports on gender, human rights, or rights-based development;
• Minimum 10 years’ experience in journalism, policy research, or strategic communications;
• Experience with Civil Society and UN system preferred;
• Relevant papers, articles and knowledge products published;
• Strong written skills in English and good command over Hindi as medium of communication;
• Ability to work independently and with minimal supervision.

Language: 

• Fluency in written and spoken English language skills.

Application:

Interested applicants should apply to this announcement through UNDP jobs site: jobs.undp.org

Interested individual consultants must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications in one single PDF document:

• All applications must include (as an attachment) the completed UN Women Personal History form (P-11) which can be downloaded from http://asiapacific.unwomen.org/en/about-us/jobs;
• Kindly note that the system will only allow one attachment, please combine all your documents into one (1) single PDF document. Applications without the completed UN Women P-11 form will be treated as incomplete and will not be considered for further assessment;
• Applications received after the close date will not be accepted;
• Only short-listed candidates will be contacted.

Evaluation and Selection Criteria

Criteria for shortlisting of CVs will be based on the following assessment:

• Required Degree and Qualification (5 points);
• Minimum 10 years of experience working in journalism, policy research, or strategic communications (5 points);
• Prior experience of work with Civil Society and UN system (5 points);
• Excellent analytical and writing skills in English (5 points).

The evaluation process for selection of the candidate will be based on the following assessment:

• Interview – 70%;
• Writing Samples – 30%.

Please Note:

• For an assignment requiring travel, consultants of 65 years or more require full medical examination and statement of fitness to work to engage in the consultancy.
• Due to large number of potential applicants, only competitively selected candidates will be contacted for remaining steps of the service procurement process.

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.