External collaborator to research, collect and check data on women in government

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 two years, it produces a Map on Women in Politics in partnership with UN Women.  The Map includes data on women in national parliaments as well as data on women in government. A new version of the Map on Women in Politics will be published in early March 2020 and the IPU will therefore be collecting new data on women in the Executive and women in parliament.

Request for proposals

The IPU is seeking applications from qualified and experienced candidates to conduct research and collect and check data on women in government.

The assignment is expected to be completed in a maximum of 40 working days, between 6 January and 13 March 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

• Analyse and check responses received from Missions in New York and Geneva to the IPU questionnaire on women in government.
• Complement information received though additional contact with missions and research.
• Research and collect data on women in the executive for those countries that have not responded and seek subsequent confirmation from the mission, other government authorities or parliaments.
• Process the data in a database, categorize ministers according to fields of work and ensure production of statistics on women in government.

Required experience and qualifications

• At least a B.A. level education in social or political sciences. M.A degree or enrollment in the M.A. programme;
• Strong analytical and comparative research skills in political science;
• Proven ability to assess, manage and structure information;
• Experience in research and data collection, checking and storing on women in government;
• Knowledge of issues related to democratic participation and representation of women;
• Knowledge of information management systems;
• Knowledge of Microsoft Office package (in particular Excel);
• Good interpersonal skills;
• Ability to appreciate diversity and work as part of a diverse team;
• Language skills: Fluent written and oral English; Spanish, French or Arabic language skills would be an asset.

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.