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 180 national Member Parliaments and 15regional parliamentary bodies. 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, climate action and sustainable development through political dialogue, cooperation and parliamentary action.
The IPU recognizes gender equality as a key component of democracy and works to achieve the 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 the data it gathers available.
Every year the IPU produces a report on progress and setbacks in women’s participation in parliament. The objective of the report is to analyse elections held throughout the year from a gender perspective, draw attention to remarkable developments – in particular good examples of progress in the representation of women in all their diversity – and highlight trends and lessons learned at the global, regional and national levels (see the 2024 edition).
As 2025 marks the 30th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, the 2025 IPU report on Women in Parliament will aim to both examine developments in women’s participation in parliament in 2024 and draw out key findings and lessons learned over the past 30 years on the road towards parity. The 2025 edition will also build on the special edition that covered progress from 1995 to 2020 (see the 2020 edition).
Request for proposals
The IPU is seeking applications from qualified and experienced candidates to conduct research and draft a report on progress and setbacks in the representation of women in parliament in 2024 as well as an analysis of how the participation of women in parliament has developed over the last 30 years.
The assignment will include home-based desk review, analysis of IPU data on women in parliament, quality control and cross-check of data files, drafting of the report, development of tables and graphics, and support to the development of data visualization and communication materials to help disseminate its findings. The assignment is expected to be completed in a maximum of 50 working days, between 15 November 2024 and 30 April 2025.
Candidates should propose a daily rate and the expected number of days of work.
No travel or daily subsistence allowances will be covered by the IPU for this assignment.
Key deliverables
– Carry out a desk review, between 15 November 2024 and 3 January 2025 related to parliamentary elections/renewals held in 2024, including through own research and analysis of data provided by the IPU as follows:
- A review of 2024 election results/renewals, namely the numbers and percentages of women elected, using IPU data (drawing on the IPU’s Parline data which is provided by parliaments), including a cross-check and quality control of data extracted from IPU’s Parline
- A comparison of election results with previous results (drawing on IPU data)
- Analysis of the political situation in the countries where elections held in 2024 resulted in great progress or a significant setback in the election of women
- The existence and types of electoral gender quotas used, including any recent developments (drawing on existing data from the IPU’s Parline, the Quota Project database, and own research)
- The number of women candidates (where available)
- The prevalence of acts of violence against women candidates
- Initiatives taken to boost the election of women
- Intersecting forms of discrimination and related challenges faced by women in elections and in office, and measures taken to address them
- Narratives in favour of or against women’s election in a context of pushback on women’s rights
- Advancements in equal parliamentary leadership (women Speakers, committee chairs, etc.)
- Diversity among elected women.
– Carry out additional research, during the drafting process, on elections for which results are not yet available by 3 January 2025, and factor those results into the analysis and report.
– Monitor and cross-check data on electoral gender quotas applied in 2024 parliamentary elections.
– Identify trends and lessons learned from successes achieved and challenges faced, and highlight interesting national, regional or international practices.
– Draw main conclusions about the global, regional and national levels of both progress and setbacks for women’s participation in parliament based on elections and appointments in 2024, including in-depth analysis of specific countries that have encountered remarkable progress or setbacks since the previous election.
– Analyse developments in women’s participation in parliament over the past 30 years (based on the IPU’s data and own research) and draw out the main findings, lessons learned and key recommendations for accelerated progress by 2030.
– Contribute to the development of graphics and tables, based on existing IPU templates as well as new ones to be defined, with a view to illustrating key data to be included in the report.
Draft and submit a 12-page report as follows:
– Ensure the report contains content on the following sub-topics: the political situation of the countries where elections held in 2024 resulted in great progress or significant setbacks in the election of women; the existence and types of electoral gender quotas used; trends in the proportion of women candidates; the prevalence of acts of violence against women candidates; initiatives taken to boost the election of women; intersecting forms of discrimination and related challenges faced by women in elections, and measures taken to address them; advancements in equal parliamentary leadership; diversity among elected women.
– Highlight key progress in 2024 and over the past 30 years.
– Include graphs and tables based on existing templates and new ones.
Timelines for report delivery:
– Share a preliminary draft with the IPU (6 January 2025)
– Incorporate comments received from the IPU (14–20 January 2025)
– Share a second draft with the IPU (21 January 2025)
– Incorporate comments received from the IPU (24-27 January 2025)
– Finalize and submit the final version of the report to the IPU (29 January 2025)
– Support the development of infographics based on the report’s key findings (30-31 January 2025)
Other deliverables:
– Cross-check data on gender quotas from the IPU’s Parline database, the Quota Project database and own research, and provide a file flagging required quota updates (3-7 February 2025)
– Support the dissemination of the report, in particular:
- Prepare key messages to support the launch of the report (10-14 February 2025)
- Comment on draft press releases and other materials (15-26 February 2025)
- Provide briefing notes on specific themes or countries (3 March–30 April 2025)
Qualifications and competencies
- University degree in social science, political science or law; specialisation in gender studies an asset.
- At least five years’ work experience in work related to gender equality, women’s rights and/or women in politics.
- Published work on women’s participation in politics.
- Recent comparative research on women’s participation in parliament would be a strong asset.
- Excellent drafting skills in English or French.
- Proficiency in tabulation and analysis using MS Excel.
- Expertise in data visualisation an asset.
- Knowledge of statistics an asset.
How to apply
Candidates will provide the following documents and information:
- Curriculum vitae.
- A cover letter with a brief description of why they are the right candidate for this consultancy, including details of their personal contribution to at least two relevant projects.
- One sample of published work on a related topic.
- Indication of a proposed daily rate or budget for the consultancy assignment.
- Information about their availability to begin work in mid-November 2024 and carry out the consultancy until April 2025.
Applications missing one or more of the required documents and information listed above will not be considered.
The deadline for applications is 4 November 2024. Applications should be sent by email to job@ipu.org with “External collaborator – Women in parliament report” in the subject line. For further details about the consultancy, please contact postbox@ipu.org.
Applicants will be contacted only if they are under serious consideration. Applications received after the deadline will not be accepted.
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.