Background

In Nepal as well as many other countries the COVID-19 pandemic and the crises it induces threatens to roll back gains made in the past decades in regard to gender equality. The pandemic is deepening pre-existing inequalities, exposing vulnerabilities in social, political, and economic systems which are in turn amplifying the impacts of the pandemic.

Countries like Nepal with a weak public health system have faced enormous challenges to cope up with devastating impact of COVID-19 in day-to-day life. Growing evidence of the COVID-19 pandemic has exposed multidimensional issues of inequalities and unveiled women’s vulnerabilities in social, political, and economic systems.

The ongoing COVID crisis has disturbed the livelihood of people. Women are at greater risk of experiencing the consequences of rising poverty and food insecurity, increased unpaid care work and gender-based violence. Constructive steps to address the systemic implications of this unprecedented crisis are needed and an important task for building a more just society.

Guiding Questions

Against this background, FES Nepal is looking for a (team of) researcher(s) to analyse the immediate and potential long-term economic impacts of the COVID-19 crisis on Nepali women and formulate policy recommendations. For the purpose of the study, the following questions need to be considered:

• How has the pandemic impacted economic well-being of women in Nepal? Have there been commonalities and differences in the way pandemic affected women in formal and informal sector?
• Has the pandemic affected the presence of women in labour market? Has it widened or shrunk women’s access to economic opportunities? What kind of structural inequalities in the economic sector have been reinforced by the pandemic?
• Has there been a positive impact of pandemic in the economic life of women (this could include new business ideas, strategy, and networking opportunities etc.)? Has the pandemic been a blessing in disguise for women’s economic participation?
• How effective have the government responses been in mitigating the economic effects of the pandemic?  Was there a gender-sensitive response?
• How does the post-COVID economic world look like for women in Nepal? How can the economy be shaped into the direction of a more ‘gender just new normal’?

Proposal should include

• Written outline of the proposal include methodology
• Budget plan with breakdown of costs, expected daily fee and estimated number of working days (subject to negotiation and FES regulations)
• CV and examples of relevant work experience (including a writing example)

Timeline and Submission

For the services rendered, an honorarium will be paid in two installments:

• 1^st instalment (50%) on submission of first draft
• 2^nd instalment (50%) after submission of final draft

Any expenses associated with the fulfillment of this assignment shall be borne by the contractor. Travel expenses (if any) for the presentation of the outcome of the research will be borne by FES separately.

Please note costs for professional copy editing of the final manuscript, lay outing and printing will be borne by FES separately and should not be included in the budget.

Deadline: Please send an offer for the project alongside the required documents via email to pabitra.raut(at)fesnepal.org by 10^thSeptember, 5 pm Nepal Time. The proposal should be valid until 30^th September 2021.

Please note: The successful proposal will be chosen based on the quality of proposal (40%), qualification and proven relevant previous experience (30%) as well as costs (30%).

FES Nepal is committed to promote social justice and aspires to increase diversity among individuals and service suppliers we are working with. Therefore, we encourage applications from people regardless of gender, ethnical, religious or caste background.

Please find the detailed call here.

For More Detail Please click here.