National Consultant – Researcher on Unpaid Care and Domestic Work in Thailand

Unpaid care work is a critical—yet largely unseen—dimension of human well-being that provides essential domestic services within households, for other households and to community members. Unpaid care work is unevenly distributed between women and men, and women do on average four times as much unpaid care work in this region.  In order to identify measures to recognize, reduce and redistribute unpaid care, it is important to understand its magnitude, dynamics, and impact. Because women’s unpaid care work often remains unrecognized and undervalued, men receive a larger share of income and recognition for their economic contributions. In addition, time spent by women and girls on domestic chores limits their opportunities to participate in the labour force or to engage in economic activity. Standing outside of the labour market also has a negative effect on women’s social protection coverage.

The measures taken to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic has even further heightened the burden of women’s unpaid care and domestic work. With the closure of public services such as child and elderly care, the main burden has fallen on women to fill the gap. Further, women are overrepresented in paid care work, which is often underpaid and lacking of recognition. (See ILO’s 5R framework to recognize, reduce, redistribute unpaid care work, and reward and provide representation for care workers). Moreover, the coverage of social protection is in many cases tied to employment status, thus putting many women in an even more volatile and vulnerable situation. To ensure that the recovery from COVID-19 builds back better, these structural inequalities need to be addressed. In order to build back better and to leave no one behind, it is crucial to address gender inequalities at every stage of the development process and in the COVID-19 recovery. To do this, efforts to reduce the care burden and increase women’s participation in the labour force have a key role.

To tackle the burden of unpaid care and domestic work, a holistic approach is required. Policy changes need to address issues such as increased service provision, social norms influencing the distribution of unpaid care and domestic work, addressing barriers to women’s labour force participation, and recognising the role of the world of work in supporting workers to uphold their family responsibilities. This includes the importance of combating the motherhood penalty. (ILO (2019), A Quantum Leap For Gender Equality: For a Better Future of Work For All)

Thailand has made several commitments to promote gender equality, including ratification of the Convention on Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), ILO Convention 100 on Discrimination, and ILO Convention on Equal Remuneration. The Thai constitution stipulate for gender responsive budgeting and planning. Commitments to the Agenda 2030 on Sustainable Development and its 17 goals, including SDG 5 which address unpaid care work in target 5.4. Building upon Thailand’s commitment and efforts in achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, UNDP, jointly with ILO, UN Women, the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security (MSDHS), and the Ministry of Labour (MOL) can support the country in providing policy recommendations for a more gender equal society and reducing the burden of unpaid care and domestic work.

Objective of the Assignment:

In order to achieve gender equality and promote women’s economic empowerment, it is crucial to address the burden of unpaid care and domestic work. UNDP Bangkok Regional Hub (BRH) has developed a practical guide on possible policy changes to take a holistic approach to reducing the burden of unpaid care and domestic work. The practical guide is accompanied by a technical guide. The policy guidance articulates the need for a comprehensive set of policies addressing the availability of public and private services, supportive infrastructure, social norms and perceptions that are keeping women disproportionately in unpaid domestic and care work. The policy guidance note advocates for a transformation of the existing ecosystem and gendered power dynamics.

The objective of this study is to identify country specific policy gaps and recommendations for Thailand, by using the methodology provided in the guidance note as well as relevant reference materials from ILO E.g. ILO (2019), (A Quantum Leap For Gender Equality: For a Better Future of Work For All) and UN Women (E.g. UN Women (2019), Progress of the World’s Women 2019-2020: Families in a Changing World), while adhering to international standards set out in relevant ILO conventions and recommendations. The study will gather data, map out existing policies, identify policy gaps, and as a result provide policy recommendations to reduce the burden of unpaid care and domestic work. The policy recommendations will take a holistic approach, including but not limited to the labour market, provision of services, social security, and social norms. In addition, a calculation of the economic value of unpaid care and domestic work will be conducted as well as the cost of the recommended policies. The study will also take into account the context of response and recovery from COVID-19.

The overall purpose of the study is to provide practical recommendations for policymakers to systematically and effectively reduce the unequal burden of unpaid care and domestic work, and improve women’s labour market outcomes, while proposing how to effectively improve existing social protection measures. Reducing the burden of unpaid work requires a holistic and cross-cutting approach, UNDP has for that reason partnered with ILO, UN Women, MSDHS, and MOL to leverage their expertise on the labour market, social security, gender equality and women’s empowerment. The study will be led by UNDP Thailand, with technical support and guidance from UNDP BRH, ILO, UN Women, MSDHS, and MOL.

The research intends to focus on four key areas: i) conducting a situation analysis of women’s unpaid work burden; ii) identify existing policies and the policy gaps; iii) identify a set of policy recommendations for Thailand; ix) provide an economic evaluation of the economic value of unpaid care and domestic work and the costs of the recommended policies.

Scope of Work:

Under the overall guidance of the Deputy Resident Representative of UNDP Thailand and in close consultation with the Inter-Agency Advisory Committee consisting of members from UNDP Thailand, UNDP BRH, ILO and UN Women, the national consultant will be responsible for:

1. Conducting a situation analysis of women’s unpaid work burden. The situation analysis will include quantitative information on distribution of unpaid care and domestic work, labour market statistics, and demographic trends. This section will also include qualitive information related to gender roles influencing women’s participation in the labour force. The situation analysis will also take into consideration the COVID-19 context, and how the burden of unpaid work has been affected;
2. Mapping existing policies and gaps. These policies may have the explicit aim of alleviating the burden of unpaid domestic and care work on women, or being part of other national priorities, such as improvements in early childhood development, managing the needs of the ageing population, increasing women’s labour force participation, increasing productivity at work, etc. The mapping will include social protection measures and how unpaid care and domestic work influence their coverage;
3. Identifying a suitable policy package for Thailand to reduce the burden of unpaid care and domestic work, while promoting decent work in the care sector. This will include a broader list of potential policies addressing the identified gaps, as well as a narrowed down set of suitable and realistic policy recommendations;
4. Perform an economic evaluation of the economic value of unpaid care and domestic work in Thailand. As well as conducting a cost-benefit analysis of the proposed policy recommendations; 

Performance of the consultant is monitored closely, and regular feedback will be provided by the Deputy Resident Representative of UNDP Thailand and the Inter-Agency Advisory Committee consisting of UNDP, ILO and UN Women.

Expected Output and Deliverables:

The consultant under this contract is required to:

• Prepare a workplan and concept note outlining the research methodology, list of stakeholders and report structure to be presented in a workshop setting and approved by the Inter-Agency Advisory Committee, MSDHS and MOL;
• Collect and analyse data related to the distribution of unpaid care and domestic work, relevant labour market statistics, social protection coverage, and how this has been impacted by COVID-19;
• Collect qualitative information influencing unpaid care and domestic work, such as social norms and workplace culture;
• Conduct research on national laws and policies, programmes, and services that are directly and indirectly related to the burden of unpaid care and domestic work, including social protection measures;
• Identify the policy gaps to reduce the uneven burden of unpaid care and domestic work;
• Identify possible policy changes and interventions to reduce the burden of unpaid care and domestic work, while promoting decent work in the care sector;
• By the identified potential policies, provide a narrowed down set of realistic policy recommendations for Thailand;
• Calculate the economic value of unpaid care and domestic work in Thailand;
• Conduct a cost-benefit analysis of the proposed policy recommendations;
• Conduct interviews to validate information from all relevant stakeholders, including but not limited to government agencies, women’s organisations, Employers’ and Workers’ Organisations;
• Prepare a verbal presentation of the draft report and validate these through UNDP Thailand, UNDP BRH, ILO, UN Women, MSDHS, and MOL;
• Prepare bi-weekly status reports to the Gender Advisor of the UNDP Thailand Country Office;
• Store and update an online repository database for the collected materials; and
• Document all the information collected in English.

The consultant will utilize her/his own equipment to complete the assignment.

Intellectual Property

All information collected for the advocacy report pertaining to the assignments as well as outputs produced under this Contract shall remain the property of the UNDP who shall have exclusive rights over their use. The products shall not be disclosed to the public nor used in whatever format without written permission of UNDP in line with the national and International Copyright Laws applicable.

The outputs for this assignment are expected as follows:

Institutional Arrangement

The assignment will be conducted under the overall guidance from the Deputy Resident Representative of UNDP Thailand Country Office. The national consultant will report directly to and work closely with the Gender Advisor of UNDP Thailand. The Inter-Agency Advisory Committee will provide technical inputs and guidance.

Duration of the Assignment

Up to a maximum of 50 working days over a period of maximum 4 months. The expected starting date is 25 October 2020, and the expected ending date is 28 February 2021. 

Duty Station

The assignment will be home-based.

Price Proposal and Schedule of Payments

Consultant must send a financial proposal based on Daily Fee. Consultant shall quote an all-inclusive Daily Fee for the contract period. The term “all-inclusive” implies that all costs (professional fees, communications, consumables, etc.) that could be incurred by the IC in completing the assignment are already factored into the daily fee submitted in the proposal.

Payment Schedule

Corporate:

• Demonstrates integrity and fairness by modeling the UN/UNDP’s values and ethical standards;
• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability.

Functional/Technical:

• Excellent writing, editing, research, and proofreading skills both in English and Thai;
• Strong ability to communicate and function effectively in an international and multicultural environment;
• Ability to design and conduct interviews;
• Demonstrated accuracy and attention to details;
• Ability to meet deadlines and work under pressure;
• Ability to be flexible and respond to changes as part of the review and feedback process.
• Excellent interpersonal skills;
• Excellent organizational skills.

Education:

• Minimum Bachelor’s degree in economics or any other relevant field.

Work Experience:

• Minimum of 5 years of professional research experience in economic analysis or economic policy development, and its relation to gender equality;
• Demonstrated knowledge on unpaid care and domestic work and its link to women’s economic empowerment; 
• Experience working with major international organizations or the United Nations is desirable.

Language

• Good command in English and Thai.

EVALUATION OF CANDIDATES:

Individual consultants will be evaluated based on the following methodology:

Cumulative Analysis: The candidates will be evaluated through Cumulative Analysis method. When using the weighted scoring method, the award of the contract will be made to the individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as:

• Responsive/compliant/acceptable; and
• Having received the highest score out of set of weighted combine technical criteria (70%), and financial criteria (30%). Financial score shall be computed as a ratio of the proposal being evaluated and the lowest priced proposal received by UNDP for the assignment. 

Technical Evaluation Criteria (Maximum 70 points)

• Criteria 1: Educational Qualification – Max 10 points;
• Criteria 2: Overall work experience – Max 30 Points;
• Criteria 3: Experience in conducting research – Max 25 Points;
• Criteria 4: Good command of written English – Max 5 Points;

**Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 70% in the Technical Evaluation would be considered for the Financial Evaluation.

Financial Evaluation (30%)

Financial proposals from all technically qualified candidates will be scored out 30 marks based on the formula provided below. The maximum marks (30) will be assigned to the lowest financial proposal.

All other proposals will receive points according to the following formula:

• p = y (µ/z).

Where:

• p = points for the financial proposal being evaluated;
• y = maximum number of points for the financial proposal;
• µ = price of the lowest priced proposal;
• z = price of the proposal being evaluated.

DOCUMENTS TO BE INCLUDED WHEN SUBMITTING THE PROPOSAL:

Interested individual consultant must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications. Please group them into one (1) single PDF document as the application system only allows to upload maximum one document:

• Letter of Confirmation of Interest and Availability and financial proposal using the template provided in Annex III.
• Personal CV and P11, indicating all past experience from similar projects, as well as the contact details (email and telephone number) of the Candidate and at least three (3) professional references.
• Portfolio, including URL links where available, of at least three sample of published articles produced in English;
• Brief description of the research methodology and workplan in English (maximum of 2 pages).

Failure to submit the above mentioned documents or Incomplete proposals shall result in disqualification. The short listed candidates may be contacted and the successful candidate will be notified.

ANNEXES:

Annex I – TOR
Annex II – General Terms and Conditions of Contracts for the Services of Individual Contractors
Annex III – Letter of Confirmation of Interest and Availability and financial proposal
Annex IV – P11 Form for ICs

All documents can also be be downloaded from: UNDP Procurement Notice