UN Women - International Consultant, Provide Technical Support on Women’s Entrepreneurship Ecosystem Assessment and Private Sector Skills Needs Mapping under the Women’s Economic Empowerment Project in Uzbekistan, Home-based, Home based, Remote

## UN Women - International Consultant, Provide Technical Support on Women’s Entrepreneurship Ecosystem Assessment and Private Sector Skills Needs Mapping under the Women’s Economic Empowerment Project in Uzbekistan, Home-based, Home based, Remote - Organization:UN Women - United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women - Office:UN Women in Home-based 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. In Uzbekistan, in line with its global Strategic Plan 2026-2029, UN Women works towards the overarching goal that “women and girls, including those at greatest risk of being left behind, fully exercise their human rights, enjoy a life free from violence and discrimination, and lead, influence, and benefit from sustainable and inclusive socioeconomic development towards the advancement of gender equality in Uzbekistan.” UN Women operates in four thematic areas: (i) governance and participation in public life; (ii) women's economic empowerment; (iii) ending violence against women and girls; and (iv) women, peace and security, humanitarian action, and disaster risk reduction. In line with its coordination mandate, UN Women promotes coherence and coordination across the UN system to enhance accountability and results for gender equality and women's empowerment, including through joint programming and advocacy, as well as standardized tools, guidance, and services to strengthen the capacities of the UN system. Within the framework of the “Women's Economic Empowerment in Uzbekistan” project, the intervention will contribute to the achievement of the goals set out in the New Uzbekistan Development Strategy 2022-2026, the “Uzbekistan-2030” Strategy, and the Strategy for Achieving Gender Equality in Uzbekistan 2020-2030, developed in alignment with the Law of the Republic of Uzbekistan “On Guarantees of Equal Rights and Opportunities for Women and Men” (LRU No. 562). The proposed Action contributes to several strategic objectives, including: (i) ensuring equal rights and opportunities for women and men in employment, the creation of decent jobs, the development of women's entrepreneurship, and expanded access of women to credit from commercial banks; (ii) promoting improved health literacy in family planning and strengthened reproductive health, as well as healthy lifestyles; and (iii) strengthening families and shared responsibility among family members. The overall objective (impact) of the Project is to create an inclusive economic environment in which women can participate equally in the economy and labour force of Uzbekistan, free from the constraints of gender stereotypes and harmful social norms. This entails addressing deep-rooted gender biases that limit women's opportunities and potential. By promoting gender equality in the workplace, enhancing access to education and vocational training, supporting women's entrepreneurship, and strengthening family planning and care-related services, the Project aims to enable women to secure decent work and grow their businesses, thereby increasing their economic independence and contributing to the country's economic growth and social development. The International Labour Organisation has been promoting women's entrepreneurship development (WED) as a means to job creation, women's economic empowerment and gender equality for over ten years. ILO's women's entrepreneurship development programme is unique within the UN family, working to strengthen the capacity of local, national and international partners to support women to start and improve their businesses by providing specific approaches for women entrepreneurs to achieve self-sufficiency and generate decent jobs while also taking action to identify and remove systemic barriers. The ILO is the only UN organization with a dedicated WED Strategy, adopted by its tripartite Governing Body in 2008. The Programme provides a comprehensive package of tools, advisory services and capacity building. Networks of local, national and international trainers and partners are accredited in ILO tools and approaches who in turn train trainers and/or entrepreneurs. In order to unleash the potential of women-owned enterprises, it is important to examine where failures exist, and to take actions to remedy them. For example, women's lack of access to finance may be linked to weak property rights (since property is an important form of collateral). In some countries, women need their husband's consent to start a business, which has the effect of substantially reducing the proportion of women-owned MSMEs relative to countries where such a requirement does not exist. Indeed, research finds a broad correlation globally between the extent of legal gender differentiation and the extent to which women work, own and run businesses. The gender-based structural barriers limiting the full participation of women in economic activity must be removed if women are to have equal opportunity to pursue entrepreneurial activity. In its revised WED assessment methodology, the ILO promotes a set of women's entrepreneurship development (WED) framework conditions that can be assessed nationally to develop relevant and locally adapted key policy recommendations for improving the environment for the promotion of women's entrepreneurship. The WED framework conditions and assessment methodology provide a comprehensive tool to assist country-level assessors to gather and assess a consistent body of information about the status of WED as well as to identify targeted measures to improve the ecosystem for WED. By assessing these conditions through a thorough methodology, the ILO aims to support national stakeholders (e.g. policy makers, decision-makers, implementing agencies, focal points, employers' organisations, business/ sector associations, and women entrepreneurs' associations and NGOs) to identify key, locally adapted and strategic recommendations to unleash the potential of women's entrepreneurship and women-led businesses to generate “decent jobs” at the country level. These recommendations should emanate from a clear process that puts an emphasis on dialogue and validated by a multistakeholder group (including women entrepreneurs) to be used for the formulation of a national action plan or national strategy for WED. Description of Responsibilities /Scope of Work The purpose of the consultancy is to provide technical expertise for the assessment of the women's entrepreneurship ecosystem and the mapping of private-sector HR and skills needs, generating evidence and practical recommendations to inform gender-responsive programming, skills development and private-sector engagement under the Women's Economic Empowerment Project. Under the supervision of the UN Women Programme Analyst and in close cooperation with the National Consultant, the International Consultant will provide technical expertise, coordination, and quality assurance support for the implementation of ProjectActivity 1.1.1- Assessment of women's entrepreneurship ecosystem, including legal review; andActivity 1.1.2-Mapping of human resources and skills needs of the private sector. The following tasks will be undertaken to provide a national assessment of women's entrepreneurship and specific recommendations to improve the environment for WED in the specific country, implementing the methodology of the ILO: «Assessing the Framework Conditions for Women's Entrepreneurship Development - Assessor's guide». The data collection, selection of interviewees will be done according to the process indicated in the Guide. - Lead the desk review of relevant research, policies, strategies, administrative data and other available evidence on wo