External collaborator to research and draft a report on women’s progress and setbacks in parliament in 2019 and on the last 25 years of women’s participation in parliament

Background
The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) is the global organization of national parliaments. It has a membership of 179 Member Parliaments. The IPU promotes democratic governance, institutions and values, working with parliaments and parliamentarians to articulate and respond to the needs and aspirations of the people. It works for peace, democracy, human rights, gender equality, youth empowerment and sustainable development through political dialogue, cooperation and parliamentary action. These objectives are pursued through the Organization’s political and programmatic work, which includes research, standard-setting, knowledge dissemination, technical cooperation and capacity-building.

The IPU recognizes gender equality as a key component of democracy and works to achieve equal participation of men and women in politics. It monitors the participation of women in parliament at the global, regional and national levels and makes data available.  

Every year the IPU produces a report on progress and setbacks for  women’s participation in parliament. The objective of the report is to analyse the results of elections held throughout the year, draw attention to developments, and highlight trends and lessons learned at the global, regional and national levels. 

As 2020 marks the 25th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, the 2020 Report on Women in Parliament will aim to examine developments in women’s participation in parliament and draw out key findings and lessons learned over the past 25 years.

Request for proposals
The IPU is seeking applications from qualified and experienced candidates to conduct research and draft a report on women’s progress and setbacks in parliament in 2019 as well as an analysis of how the participation of women in parliament has developed over the last 25 years.

The assignment will include a home-based desk review, analysis of IPU data on women in parliament and the drafting of the report. The assignment is expected to be completed in a maximum of 30 working days, between 23 December 2019 and 3 February 2020.

Candidates should propose a daily rate and the number of days of work. 

No travel or daily subsistence allowances will be covered by the IPU for this assignment.

Deliverables

• Carry out desk research between 23 December 2019 and 6 January 2020 on elections held in 2019, including: 
  • The political situation of the countries where elections were held in 2019
  • The results of those elections and the numbers and percentages of women elected, using IPU data (information provided by parliaments on electoral results and compiled by the IPU and data included in the IPU’s open data platform, New Parline)
  • A comparison of results with previous proportions of women in parliament
  • The existence and types of gender electoral quotas used
  • The number of women candidates
  • The prevalence of acts of violence against women candidates
  • Initiatives taken to boost the election of women.
• Carry out additional research using IPU data focusing on elections for which results were not yet available end December 2019 and early January 2020, and factor those results into the analysis and report.
• Identify trends and lessons learned from achievements made and challenges faced, and highlight interesting practices at the national, regional or international levels.
• Draw main conclusions about the global, regional and national levels of progress made and setbacks encountered for women’s participation in parliament based on elections and appointments in 2019.
• Analyse developments in women’s participation in parliament over the past 25 years and draw out the main findings, lessons learned and key recommendations for accelerated progress by 2030.
• Draft and submit a 12-page report, as follows:
  • Draft a preliminary report (6–13 January)
  • Share the preliminary draft with the IPU (13 January)
  • Incorporate comments received from the IPU (17–22 January)
  • Share a second draft with the IPU (22 January)
  • Incorporate comments received from the IPU (29-31 January)
  • Finalize and submit the final version of the report to the IPU (3 February)

Required experience and qualifications

• At least 10 years’ relevant professional experience in the field of gender equality and women’s rights
• Excellent analysis and writing skills, proven skills in drafting reports and presenting and analysing data
• Recent research conducted in the field of women’s participation in parliament would be a strong asset
• Proficiency in tabulation and analysis using MS Excel
• Excellent drafting skills in English or French

Recruitment principles 
Our guiding principle in selecting candidates is to secure the highest standards of efficiency, competence and integrity. We do not discriminate on any grounds and are committed to promoting diversity in our workforce. 

Particular attention is paid to candidates from developing countries and to achieving gender balance. We strive to provide an environment where the contribution of each individual is valued.