Result of Service

We seek to engage an individual contractor (IC) to conduct substantive research and economic analysis based on the micro datasets of Labor Force Surveys (LFS), Labor Market Panel Surveys (LMPS), and other Household Surveys of multiple Arab countries to support the ongoing work on gender equality and women’s economic empowerment (for e.g., estimate the gender pay gaps, occupational segregation, gaps in LFPR and employment rates and change in socio-economic conditions of women, and to analyze the findings). The individual contractor will need to provide all the programming codes and data files (such as STATA *do files and *dta files) used in the analysis.

Work Location

UN House – ESCWA

Expected duration

6 months

Duties and Responsibilities

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development commits to inclusivity and prioritizes gender equality and empowerment of women and girls as integral to its achievement. Goal 5 is specifically focused on attaining gender equality and empowerment for women and girls. Despite this, gender-based inequalities persist and the Arab region has yet to meet the targets of Sustainable Development Goal 5 (SDG5). According to the 2022 Global Gender Gap Report, the Arab region has one of the highest gender disparities, ranking only above South Asia. ESCWA forecasts that the region will need another 149 years to attain gender equality.

Despite efforts to increase women’s economic participation in the Arab region, progress has been limited due to insufficient measures taken. The region continues to confront major obstacles in addressing the underlying causes of gender inequality. These include, but are not limited to, inadequate access to quality job opportunities, unequal access to secondary and tertiary education, regressive societal norms and attitudes, restricted mobility, insecure land rights, discriminatory legal frameworks and practices, lack of political representation, wage discrepancies, occupational segregation, and gender-based violence.

Arab women face other significant economic challenges, including higher likelihood of being unemployed. In 2019, the unemployment rate for Arab women was 19 per cent, more than double the rate for men (8 per cent). Even when employed, they often lack access to formal employment opportunities, leading to a high proportion of women engaging in low-paying and low-skilled work in the informal sector (62 per cent). This also limits women’s access to formal financing, hindering their ability to start businesses or enterprises. Consequently, the number of women entrepreneurs in the region remains much lower than global averages (ESCWA, 2021). Moreover, Arab women continue to experience considerable gender-based risks, vulnerabilities, and disparities throughout their lives.

Against this backdrop, it is critical to assess the situation and contributions of women and girls in the Arab region. Hence, ECW seeks to employ an individual contractor to support the ongoing effort on gender equality and women’s economic empowerment in the region. The individual contractor is expected to provide research and analytical support and other needed administrative support to contribute to the successful completion of various planned activities.

The IC will work under the supervision of the Economic Affairs Officer (Gender Economist) and is expected to commence work upon signing the contract. and is expected to undertake the following activities:

– Undertake comprehensive and quality literature and desk reviews for key areas under gender equality and women’s economic empowerment (namely, gender wage gaps, unpaid care work, LFPR of Arab women, and so on)
– Based on relevant literature and rigorous review of approaches, develop conceptual frameworks, for e.g., to estimate the gender pay gaps
– Conduct econometric analysis of micro dataset, such as LFS, LMPS, as instructed by the Economic Affairs Officer
– Document the results of the data analysis for preparing policy briefs or technical papers
– Amend and finalize the briefs/reports/technical papers based on the feedback of the Economic Affairs Officer
– Provide other research and administrative support as deemed necessary by the Economic Affairs Officer

Qualifications/special skills

A master’s degree or equivalent in the economic field and/or development studies and /or related areas is required.

All candidates must submit a copy of the required educational degree. Incomplete applications will not be reviewed.
A minimum of three years of experience in economic research is required.
Demonstrated experience in gender analysis and understanding of concepts related to gender and labour economics is desirable.
A minimum of three years of demonstrated experience in conducting quantitative research using analytical tools, namely STATA is required.
Familiarity with the literature on gender equality and women’s empowerment in the Arab region is desirable.
Excellent communication and writing skills in English are required.

Languages

Languages English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat; and Arabic is a working language of ESCWA.

For this position, Fluency in English language is required. Knowledge of Arabic is desirable.

Note: “Fluency” equals a rating of ‘fluent’ in all four areas (speak, read, write, and understand) and “Knowledge of” equals a rating of ‘confident’ in two of the four areas.

No Fee

THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CHARGE A FEE AT ANY STAGE OF THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS (APPLICATION, INTERVIEW MEETING, PROCESSING, OR TRAINING). THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CONCERN ITSELF WITH INFORMATION ON APPLICANTS’ BANK ACCOUNTS.