External collaborator to collect, check and process data on women in government (en anglais)

Background

The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) is the global organization of parliaments. It was founded in 1889 as the first multilateral political organization in the world, encouraging cooperation and dialogue between all nations. Today, the IPU comprises 179 national Member Parliaments and 12 regional parliamentary bodies. It promotes democracy and helps parliaments become stronger, younger, gender-balanced and more diverse. It also defends the human rights of parliamentarians through a dedicated committee made up of MPs from around the world. Twice a year, the IPU convenes over 1,500 parliamentary delegates and partners in a world assembly, bringing a parliamentary dimension to global governance, including the work of the United Nations and the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

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 to 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 2021 and the IPU will therefore be collecting new data on women in the Executive and women in parliament at 1 January 2021.

Request for proposals

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

The assignment is expected to be completed in a maximum of 50 working days, between 9 December 2020 and 12 March 2021.

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

• Support finetuning IPU’s methodological approach to data on women in government, including through desk research and exchanges with Permanent Missions in New York and Geneva, as well as IPU staff.
• 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 e-mail and phone contact with missions, as well as 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 portfolios and ensure production of statistics on women in government.
• Analyze key trends on women in government as compared with previous editions of the Map.

Required experience and qualifications

• At least a B.A. level education in social or political science. M.A degree or enrolment in a M.A. programme;
• Strong analytical and comparative research skills in political science;
• Proven ability to assess, manage and structure information;
• Experience in data collection, checking and processing;
• Knowledge of issues related to democratic participation and representation of women;
• Knowledge of information management systems;
• Knowledge of Microsoft Office package (in particular Excel);
• Ability to multi-task and prioritise work;
• 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.