UN WOMEN: Consultants on Women’s Economic Empowerment (Retainer), International Consultant, Home-based

Background:

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 UN Women Europe and Central Asia Regional Office provides support and oversight to Country Offices in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova , Turkiye and Ukraine. In addition, the Regional Office directly supports programme and project presence in  Kosovo (under UN Security Council Resolution 1244), Serbia, The Republic of North Macedonia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

Women’s economic participation and paid and unpaid work contribute enormously to sustainable development and are key for the achievement of the 2030 Agenda. Women make major contributions to the economy, directly and indirectly contributing to economic growth and development. The most direct route is via workforce participation, which boosts production – and thus income, savings, and tax contributions at the household, community, and national levels. And while the world has advanced significantly in ensuring equality in women’s and men’s legal rights to work, rights at work and access to economic resources, structural barriers continue to constrain women and girls from enjoying their full rights. Discriminatory laws, policies and social norms persist in impeding women’s full and equal participation in the economy. Additionally, shifts in the global economy and demographics, technological advancements, and protracted crises are driving a changing world of work, which presents both challenges and opportunities for women’s economic empowerment. Addressing the barriers to economic empowerment and unlocking opportunities requires work at multiple scales: from the attitudes, beliefs and practices of individuals and communities to institutions including workplaces, community organizations and public services, to economic markets and laws, policies, norms and regulations at national and international levels. It also requires engagement with and action from diverse stakeholders, each of which has a role to play: from women’s movements, civil society organizations and workers representatives; to private sector employers and organizations; to multilateral organizations including international financial institutions; to public sector policy-makers and decision-makers.

 

In 2023 UN Women has adopted Women’s Economic Empowerment Strategy which articulates UN Women’s vision for enabling women’s economic agency, autonomy and wellbeing. Anchored in UN Women’s Strategic Plan 2022-2025 and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, its objective is to provide a framework that galvanizes internal and external stakeholders to work together at the local, national and global level through transformative solutions that improve the lives of women and girls with no one left behind. The strategy has been informed by data-driven analysis, extensive consultations, and UN Women’s Independent Evaluation Service’s 2022 corporate evaluation of UN Women’s contribution to women’s economic empowerment by advancing gender responsive laws, frameworks, policies and partnerships and its recommendation to undertake such a strategy