National Consultant/Expert on Capacity Building on the European Care Strategy

II. Consultancy Assignment

Background/Context

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; the achievement of equality between women and men as partners and beneficiaries of development; human rights; as well as humanitarian action and peace and security. Placing women's rights at the centre of all its efforts, UN Women leads and coordinates United Nations system efforts to ensure that commitments on gender equality and gender mainstreaming translate into action throughout the world. It provides strong and coherent leadership in support of Member States' priorities and efforts, building effective partnerships with civil society and other relevant actors.

UN Women’s Office in the Republic of North Macedonia in line with its priorities set in the UN Women strategic plan and in the UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework, supports the country on the normative commitments and is working in two thematic areas – governance and national planning and ending violence against women. In fulfilling its mandate, UN Women is cooperating with UN, the government and the CSOs to advocate for women’s empowerment and advancement of gender equality.

Within the Western Balkans and Ukraine, persistent gender inequalities and structural gaps in care systems continue to constrain women’s economic participation and access to decent work, social protection, and public services. Across the region, women shoulder a disproportionate share of unpaid care and domestic work, while the availability, accessibility, and quality of care services remain uneven. These challenges are compounded by demographic change, labour market informality, fiscal constraints, and decentralization dynamics, underscoring the need for evidence-based, gender-transformative approaches to strengthening care systems as a foundation for inclusive an