National Consultant - Assessment on Gender Statistics production, analysis, dissemination, and use at the national and regional level and identification of gaps

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. Guided by the vision of equality enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, UN Women operates under a triple mandate—coordination, normative, and operational—which together define its unique role within the UN system. Through its coordination mandate, UN Women leads and harmonizes the UN system’s efforts to promote gender equality, ensuring coherence across agencies, programs, and country-level interventions. Its normative mandate focuses on supporting global standard setting by helping Member States develop, adopt, and monitor international norms and policies on gender equality and women’s rights, including contributing to processes such as the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW). Complementing these, the operational mandate enables UN Women to implement programs on the ground, working directly with governments, civil society, and communities to advance women’s empowerment, end gender-based violence, and promote economic and political participation. Together, these three dimensions reinforce UN Women’s comprehensive approach to driving transformative change for women and girls worldwide.

UN Women is committed to eliminating discrimination against women and girls, empowering women, and achieving substantive equality between women and men across all spheres of development, human rights, humanitarian action, and peace and security. A central pillar of this mission is the strengthening of gender-responsive statistical systems that accurately reflect the lived realities and diverse experiences of all genders. Such systems are essential for evidence-based policymaking, effective program design, and institutional accountability.

Traditional statistical systems often fail to capture gender-specific data and statistics, resulting in significant data gaps that obscure the lived experiences of women, men, girls, and boys. These gaps hinder the ability of policymakers and institutions to identify inequalities and design targeted, evidence-based interventions. Integrating gender perspectives across the entire statistical cycle including data collection, analysis, dissemination, and utilization enables the production of gender responsive, inclusive, reliable, and representative datasets. Beyond generating evidence, gender statistics serve as an essential resource for policymakers and legal drafters, illuminating the realities of women and men and informing the development of laws and policies that promote equity across all sectors such as health, education, agriculture, employment, and political participation and decision making. 

The Joint Programme “Strengthening Institutional Capacity of Gender Machineries in Ethiopia” implemented by UN Women and UNFPA Ethiopia Country Offices with financial support from the European Union and the Spanish Agency for International Development aims to strengthen gender mainstreaming systems, institutional capacity, gender statistics, coordination, and accountability mechanisms at the Federal and Regional level. One of the result areas for the joint programme is “strengthened mechanisms for Production, analysis and use gender-related data.’’ As part of this effort, a national assessment will be conducted to assess the current landscape of Ethiopia’s gender statistics system. The assessment will review existing initiatives, achievements, and institutional practices, while identifying persistent gaps and challenges. It will also examine how available gender statistics are utilized by policymakers and legal drafters to drive tangible improvements in the lives of women and vulnerable populations. To this end, UN Women is planning to bring on board a qualified national consultant to conduct a comprehensive assessment of the National statistics system and, analysis, dissemination, and use of gender statistics at both national and in Afar, Amhara, Tigray, Somali and Gambella regions.

The consultant will work under the overall guidance and supervision of UN Women National Programme Coordinator and UNFPA Ethiopia Programme Specialist, in close collaboration with the Ministry of Women and Social Affairs Ethiopian Statistical Services (ESS) and relevant federal institutions. A technical task team may be established to provide guidance, review data collection tools, facilitate access to institutions and documents, and ensure quality assurance throughout the process. 

The assessment will focus on the Federal Statistics Service and selected Regional Statistics Bureaus, with particular attention to selected pro-poor sectors at the federal and regional levels, including sectors such as, Ethiopian Statistics Service, Ministry of Women and Social Affairs, Ministry of Planning and Development, MOH, MOE, MOA, Ministry of skills and job creation, etc...  and. The scope will examine how gender statistics are produced, analyzed, disseminated, and utilized within these institutions and sectors to inform inclusive development. In addition, the consulting firm will engage a broad range of stakeholders involved in policy formulation and legal drafting processes at both federal and regional levels (in Afar, Amhara, Tigray, Somali and Gambella regions), including relevant ministries, legislative bodies, and sectoral agencies, to assess how gender data informs decision-making and regulatory frameworks.

The national consultant is expected to propose and justify the most appropriate and robust methodology for carrying out this assignment, combining qualitative and quantitative approaches as relevant, and ensuring participatory engagement with key stakeholders to generate comprehensive and actionable findings.

• →Conduct a comprehensive situational analysis of Ethiopia’s gender statistics system, including institutional frameworks, legal provisions, key stakeholders, and coordination mechanisms at national and in Afar, Amhara, Tigray, Somali and Gambella regions.
• →Assess the production and quality of gender statistics by reviewing data sources, methodologies, standards compliance, and the availability of disaggregated data.
• →Evaluate current systems for dissemination and accessibility of sex disaggregated data, and gender statistics, including platforms, communication tools, and user-friendliness for diverse audiences.
• →Analyze how gender statistics are used by policymakers and legal drafters to inform policies, programs, and legislation, and identify barriers to effective utilization.
• →Assess the technical and institutional capacities of relevant agencies involved in gender data production, analysis, management and utilization.
• →Identify key gaps and challenges within the gender statistics ecosystem and develop practical, prioritized recommendations for improvement.
• →Facilitate the collection of data at the regional level in Afar, Amhara, Gambella, Somali and Tigray regions including onboarding and managing data collectors
• →Prepare and deliver key outputs, including an inception report, stakeholder consultations, validation of findings, and a comprehensive final assessment report.

The key deliverables for this assignment include:

I. Inception Report: A detailed work plan outlining the assessment methodology, data collection tools, stakeholder engagement plan, and implementation schedule detailed work plan .

II. Desk Review and Data Collection Summary report: A consolidated summary of reviewed documents, mapped data sources, and synthesized findings from field visits and stakeholder consultations.

III. Draft Assessment Report: A draft report presenting preliminary findings on the production, dissemination, and use of gender statistics, including identified gaps and proposed recommendations.

This is a home-based consultancy with possible travel to in Afar, Amhara, Tigray, Somali and Gambella regions to collect data and information from KII and FGD.

• Integrity;
• Professionalism;
• Respect for Diversity.

• Awareness and Sensitivity Regarding Gender Issues;
• Accountability;
• Creative Problem Solving;
• Effective Communication;
• Inclusive Collaboration;
• Stakeholder Engagement;
• Leading by Example.

Please visit this link for more information on UN Women’s Values and Competencies Framework: 

• Excellent analytical and report-writing skills;
• Strong facilitation and stakeholder engagement skills;
• Demonstrated ability to conduct policy and institutional analysis;
• Excellent communication and presentation skills.

• Master’s degree or equivalent in Statistics, Demography, Gender Studies, Development Economics, International Development or any other relevant field
• A first-level university degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

• At least 7 years of progressively responsible work experience in gender statistics, research, and data analysis, with a strong understanding of gender equality and women’s right principles. 
• Proven track record in conducting similar national or regional assessments, including stakeholder consultations and field data collection, preferably within the Ethiopian context.
• Ability to produce high-quality analytical reports and facilitate stakeholder workshops, with strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Experience coordinating and liaising with government agencies is an asset.
• Knowledge of gender issues and women´s empowerment
• Work experience within UN Women and or the UN system is an asset.
• Experience in drafting quality and timely research reports, policy briefs, and position papers.

• Fluency in English and Amharic is required.
• Knowledge of any other UN official language is an asset

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.

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