International Consultant -Proofreading of the analytical report of Gender Asset Gap Survey of Ethiopia 2021

Background

Gender statistics creates the opportunity to evaluate the realization of equitable benefit from national and international commitments for economic growth and sustainable development. The development of gender statistics in Ethiopia is an emerging agenda. Addressing the gap in gender statistics will not only resolve the challenges related to gender but also the bigger challenge facing the National Statistical System (NSS) in producing statistics to fill data gaps in national, regional, and global SDGs indicator frameworks. Recognizing that gender equality is critical to achieving the vision set out in the 2030 Agenda, Goal 5 is dedicated to achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls. Under Goal 5, target 5.a directs countries to “undertake reforms to give women equal rights to economic resources, as well as access to ownership and control over land and other forms of property, financial services, inheritance and natural resources, in accordance with national laws”. Gender asset ownership survey plays a pivotal role in collecting data needed to measure these and others related to the power to make decision on asset, which goes beyond access. For instance, target 5.a focuses on the key economic resource land which is monitored by two indicators: indicator 5.a.1, a de facto indicator on women’s land tenure rights over agricultural land; and indicator 5.a.2, a de jure indicator on women’s land rights in the legal framework. The resource is highly linked to access, use and control of other economic and productive resources while ownership or, at least, control of land is critical for poverty reduction, food security, inclusiveness, and overall sustainable development objectives (UN, 2019).

Above all, women’s ownership right over assets is increasingly recognized as a fundamental aspect of development policies and a key feature of women’s empowerment. Moreover, recent studies have affirmed the importance of women’s asset ownership including land, housing and other assets for economic development and social security (ICRW, 2011).

Recognizing the gaps in the overall statistical system in general and gender statistics and its all-rounded importance, UN WOMEN Ethiopia Country Office is working in partnership with Ethiopian Statistics Service (ESS) to improve data production, analysis and dissemination from gender perspective that enables to monitor and measure the progresses and performances against SDG’s and the National Development Plan targets.

With this background, ESS in collaboration with UN Women, has conducted a Gender Asset Gap Survey (GAGS) of Ethiopia 2021. In line with the national and international guidelines, the survey strived to collect individual-level data on asset ownership that aim to measure the gender asset gap, gender wealth gap and intra-household dynamics of asset ownership and wealth in a society. The United Nations guideline for producing statistics on asset ownership from a gender perspective clearly stipulates that gender asset gap comprises, first, the prevalence of asset ownership among women and men, which measures women and men own a given type of asset; and second, the share of women among asset owners, which measures whether women and men are equally represented among the owners of the asset type. Hence, the GAGS of Ethiopia was designed considering all national and international contexts to produce a standardized report of gender asset ownership and control in the country.

In line with this, UN Women is seeking to hire an international consultant to conduct proofreading of the analytical report of the Gender Asset Gap Survey of Ethiopia. The main tasks of the consultant will involve, among others, language editing and proofreading of the draft analytical report. The consultant will undertake the task with the direct supervision of the ESS and UN Women.

Duties and Responsibilities

The consultant will be responsible for conducting professional edition and through proof reading to make the gender asset gap survey report attractive and reader friendly.

Editing and proofreading full content, footnotes and / or endnotes, captions under photographs, tables, graphs, statistical findings and data, annexes, executive summary… etc.
Produce reader-friendly, jargon-free report appropriate for varied audiences.
Make necessary revisions according to UN guideline “for the Producing Statistics on Asset Ownership from a Gender Perspective”.
Edit punctuation and delete redundancies, fix problem sentences, and sharpen vocabulary.
Improve the overall clarity and organization of the text through re-arranging sentences and paragraphs, if needed, replacing inappropriate words and polishing the whole text.
Ensure English language excellence and proofreading, including excellent language, expression and grammar, syntax, technical vocabulary, as well as use of formal gender sensitive terminology;
Ensure confidentiality of the original texts. ESS and UN women own the edited report and distribution and use by any other party are prohibited, unless authorized.
The editor is obligated to work within the required deadlines and be available to UN Women for comments and corrections.
Work in close collaboration with ESS and UN Women, and ensure the editing services are up to expectations and professional standards.
Ensure quality check of document; ensuring that no errors are left in the final text;
Ensure final drafts are submitted ahead of time and revised as needed to meet UN Women expectations.
Ensure completeness of the document and produce final version ready to be formatted and uploaded for multiple platforms including print and website.

Competencies

Compliance to the UN Core Values:

Demonstrates integrity by modelling the UN’s values and ethical standards
Promotes the vision, mission, and strategic goals of UN Women
Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability
Treats all people fairly without favouritism
Fulfils all obligations to gender sensitivity and zero tolerance for sexual harassment.

Required Skills and Experience

Education

Advanced Degree (MA or MSs) in English in the field of Communication, Linguistic, Literature, or any other relevant to field of study,

Experience

At least 5 years of experience in communication and editing research/survey reports,
Familiarity with gender statistics or other gender mainstreaming issues is desirable.
Background in research writing is desirable.

Knowledge and Skills

Ability to synthesize complex documents into key messages.
Ability to work with MS Word, PowerPoint or Excel files, as required.

Languages

Mother-tongue level of proficiency in English and demonstrated good writing skills