National Consultant on Occupational Safety and Health Policy in revision and reduction of the “List of jobs in which the use of women’s labor is prohibited

Background

UN Women, the UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women has been created to accelerate up the process of meeting the needs of women and girls across the world. UN Women supports UN Member States as they set global standards for achieving gender equality and works with governments and civil society to design laws, policies, programs, and services needed to ensure that the standards are effectively implemented and truly benefit women and girls worldwide. UN Women is at the forefront of the global drive to remove gender barriers and end discrimination, because we believe in a world of justice and human rights for everyone.

In the modern world, the fight against gender discrimination is becoming more active every day. The world community and various feminist organizations are trying with all their efforts to ensure that women have equal rights with men in all spheres of human life. However, given the gender roles and societal expectations, political situation, religious views, culture, and other factors, in different countries of the world there is still a ban for women to work on some jobs. In the countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) (Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and others), women can’t work in such professions as a diver, fireperson, truck driver, welder, bricklayer and many others. There are restrictions on the admission of women and minors to underground works, as well as to work in the gas and oil sectors, construction, plumbing. Individual governments have pledged to follow the UN recommendations and address these discriminatory bans, or at least remove some of them.

Legislators in several countries believe that the removal of restrictions on work for women in “male” dominated professions will significantly increase their income because jobs, involving dangerous working conditions are well paid. Decent earnings will lead to competition in the labor market and non-discrimination based on gender. A number of legislators justify the ban in “male” dominated professions as harming women’s reproductive health. However, technological progress and automation of many jobs made those professionsless dangerous; social movements in several countries provoked a reduction in the list.

Article 35 of the Constitution of the Republic of Tajikistan establishes a ban on the use of the labor of women and minors in heavy work and underground work and prohibits working with harmful working conditions. And the Decree of the Government of the Republic of Tajikistan dated April 4, 2017 “On the List of Works where the use of women’s labor and the maximum allowable load standards for them when lifting and moving weights by hand” contains a ban on women in 336 professions[1].

“According to the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) 2018: it is recommended to repeal articles 160, 161 and 216 of the Labor Code and reduce the list of prohibited professions for women to ensure that any restrictions are applied on the basis of individual abilities, not women in general.

UN Women in Tajikistan provided support in this matter in 2023 and the List was reduced by 141 professions. By Decree of the Government of the Republic of Tajikistan dated December 30, 2023, No. 568, it is recommended to continue work to reduce this List, taking into account the automation of production processes and improving working conditions, with the aim of wide access for women to relevant professions and improving profitability. UN-Women plans to hire a National Consultant (hereinafter referred to as the Consultant) to finalize the above List, with specific proposals for radically reducing activities and improving women’s results in the labor market.

Goal and objectives of the consultancy:

The overall goal and objectives of the proposed assignment is (i) to revise the List and propose drastically minimization on the types of activities; (ii) work in partnership with lawyer hired by UN Women and present the results of the work done to representatives of ministries, departments, international development partners and CSOs.

[1] Decree of the Government of the Republic of Tajikistan dated April 4, 2017 https://shugl.tj/ru/news/dt/2b50e653-a8ff-4b6a-9d2e-c71cfc763e92

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the guidance of the UN Women Country Programme Manager and/or Program Coordinator, and with reference to available regulations, the Consultant should:

1. Develop and provide, in partnership with a lawyer, a work plan for the implementation of the process to the UN Women team.
2. Conduct an analysis and study international experience in the field of hard work and work in hazardous conditions. “Understanding Hard Work: Causes and Consequences.” Reconsider the concept of “hard work” and “work with harmful conditions” in modern conditions of automation and digitalization of production in sectors of the national economy.
3. Consider each profession separately to determine, based on the results of the risk assessment, showing that there are or are not certain risks to the health and / or safety of women, inviting academia, trade unions and employers’ associations to do this.
4. Participate and present the contributions in the public consultations organized by the USAID-funded project, implemented by ICNL, that gather stakeholders, including CSOs and relevant government agencies, trade unions, associations of employers and representatives of international organizations to elicit feedback on changes to the list of prohibited occupations.
5. Collaborate with such entities as the Institute of occupational diseases under the Ministry of Health and Social Protection of the Republic of Tajikistan, the Service for State Supervision of Safe Work in Industry and Mining Supervision under the Government of the Republic of Tajikistan, the Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Tajikistan and the Association of Employers of the Republic of Tajikistan.
6. Participate at the meetings of the interdepartmental government working group (near the Ministry of Labor) on the issue of finalizing and reducing the current list with representatives of employers’ associations, trade unions and employers in various sectors of the economy with the participation of experts and the scientific community.
7. Conduct and present the results of the work with the participation of government agencies, trade unions, associations of employers, representatives of international organizations and civil society.
8. Report to UN Women and their key partners.

Competencies

Core Values:

• Respect for Diversity
• Integrity
• Professionalism

Core Competencies:

• Awareness and Sensitivity Regarding Gender Issues
• Accountability
• Creative Problem Solving
• Effective Communication
• Inclusive Collaboration

Please visit this link for more information on UN Women’s Core Values and Competencies: https://www.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/Headquarters/Attachments/Sections/About%20Us/Employment/UN-Women-values-and-competencies-framework-en.pdf

Functional Competencies:

• Possesses the ability to work independently, under pressure and meet deadlines.
• Good knowledge of technical area.
• Good organizational skills and ability to pay close attention to details;
• Analytical and research skills
• Experience in report writing.

Technical competencies:

• Experience working under minimum supervision and tight deadlines.
• Computer literate (being able to use MS Windows, office applications, Internet search);
• Proven track record and experience in gender-related work.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• University (bachelors) degree on legal studies, social development, gender studies, social studies, human rights, or related field

Working Experience:

• At minimum 5 years of work experience in analysis of international legislation, policy research/analysis in the fields of legal reform, gender equality issues, political science, social sciences, or related field;
• Experience in document revision, strategy development, drafting normative legal acts, report writing should be listed in the P-11.
• Prior experience in the work environment of an international agency, local NGOs, UN agencies, including shelters in providing legal assistance to the population.
• Good knowledge of the legislation of the Republic of Tajikistan.

Knowledge of languages:

• Proficient knowledge of Tajik and Russian languages, English language is an asset.

Application Process

The application should include:

• A cover letter (maximum length: 1 page);
• Personal History Form (P-11 form) – including past experience in similar assignments; can be downloaded by following link: https://www.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/Headquarters/Attachments/Sections/About%20Us/Employment/UN-Women-P11-Personal-History-Form.doc a signed [scanned] copy should be submitted.

Candidates should have the ability to quickly produce degree certificates and medical certification (of good health) should they be short-listed in consideration of the consultancy post.