Consultant to Lead the Development of the Common African Position on Care Work

Background:

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.

Care work, both paid and unpaid, is a cornerstone of societal well-being and economic development, yet it remains undervalued and inequitably distributed. Across Africa, the systemic undervaluation of care work perpetuates gender inequalities, impedes women’s economic opportunities, and limits progress toward achieving gender equality. In sub-Sharan Africa, women and girls bear a disproportionate responsibility performing nearly 70% of unpaid care work, averaging 3 to 4 times more hours on unpaid care activities than men[1]. In Tanzania women spend an average of 4.5 hours per day on unpaid care work, compared to 1.5 hours for men. In Kenya, the figures are even higher with women spending up to 5 times more time on unpaid care and domestic work than men[2]. Unpaid care work, if assigned a monetary value, would represent significant shares of the GDP in countries, specifically, 7.2% in Ethiopia, 7.9% in Tanzania, 13.9% in Senegal, and 8.8% in South Africa[3].

Despite this enormous value, and its significant contribution to socio-economic development, unpaid care remains largely overlooked in fiscal and economic planning. Furthermore, the paid care sectors which consist mostly of women are characterized by poor pay and working conditions which creates further challenges for women’s social and economic wellbeing.[4] The paid sectors, including professions such as healthcare, education, and social services, also continue to experience high budget cuts, leading to persistent threats of job insecurity for the workers. Underinvestment in care services has real costs including limited childcare facilities, inadequate social protection, and lack of essential infrastructure such as clean water and energy. These limited services disproportionately affect women’s ability to participate in the labour market, pursue educational opportunities, or participate in leadership. In turn, this reduces productivity, limits human capital development and tax revenues, and constrains inclusive growth. In many African countries public investment in care services such as childcare and early childhood development is extremely low. Comparative analyses find government spending on pre-primary/ECD is typically under 0.2% of GDP and accounting for around 2% or less of education budgets, well below international targets[5].

Nationally, several African countries are beginning to integrate care work into their social and economic policies. For instance, Kenya’s National Care Policy (2022) recognizes unpaid care as an economic activity and proposes measures to reduce and redistribute care burdens. Rwanda and Ethiopia have incorporated early childhood development and childcare services into national gender and labour policies. South Africa is advancing discussions on a comprehensive social protection floor that includes long-term care. Côte d’Ivoire is integrating care into its national social protection strategy (2024-2028). Mali developed a national Care Roadmap in 2024 and established in 2025 a National Care Committee to monitor progress.

Senegal is integrating care into its upcoming Law on Women’s Economic Empowerment. Cabo Verde is the first African country to adopt a National Care System (2017), and has introduced legal reforms, childcare subsidies, and eldercare initiatives. Other countries, including Uganda, Ghana, Nigeria, Zambia, Zimbabwe, are conducting time-use surveys and developing care economy assessments with support from UNECA, UN Women, and the ILO.

At continental level, the African Union approaches care work through a human rights perspective, underscoring the importance of recognizing it as skilled and valuable work, treating it as a public good, and ensuring adequate social protection and services for those who depend on care. Through frameworks such as the AU Gender Equality Strategy (2018–2028), Agenda 2063, and various human rights protocols, the AU promotes the recognition of unpaid care work, shared caregiving responsibilities, and inclusive social protection systems covering children, older persons, and persons with disabilities.

Despite growing recognition of the care economy across the continent, Africa currently lacks a unified and coherent Common African Position on Care Work to guide policy, investment, and coordination efforts. This absence has resulted in fragmented approaches across countries, with care policies often developed in isolation and without alignment to broader macroeconomic, labour, and social protection frameworks. As a result, care continues to be undervalued, underfunded, and disproportionately borne by women, reinforcing gender inequalities and constraining labour force participation and productivity.

During the Heads of State Summit, the Specialised Technical Committees (STC) requested the African Union Commission (AUC), through the Women, Gender and Youth Directorate (WGYD), to facilitate the development of a Common African Position on Care Work, leveraging an African-cantered approach that reflects Africa’ realities and priorities The Common Africa Position contributes to consolidated evidence, scale effective national innovations, mobilize sustainable financing, and present a coordinated African voice in global policy and financing processes on care, social protection, and decent work. Establishing a Common African Position on Care Work is therefore critical to harmonize national efforts, elevate care as a public good and a core development investment, and provide a strategic framework for transforming care systems. Such a position would strengthen policy coherence, support inclusive growth, and accelerate progress toward gender equality, decent work, and social justice across the continent.

Under the overall guidance of the African Union Commission Women, Gender and Youth Directorate, the Consultant supporting the development of the Common African Position on Care Work will lead the preparation of a comprehensive, evidence-based, and consensus-driven position paper for consideration and adoption by African Union policy organs, to inform and advance the transformation of care work across Africa.

Objective of the Consultancy

The overall objective of this consultancy is to support the African Union Commission in developing a comprehensive, evidence-based and consensus-driven Common African Position on Care Work for adoption by AU policy organs and use in transforming care work in Africa.

Description of Responsibilities /Scope of Work

Under the guidance of the African Union Commission Women, Gender and Youth Directorate, the Consultant will:

- Undertake a situational and policy analysis of care work in Africa to inform drafting of the CAP. This will include mapping the country assessments of unpaid and paid care work, associated socio-economic impacts, and the social and economic returns of increased investment in care and social infrastructure

1. Review existing AU frameworks and Member State policies, strategies, roadmaps and any other frameworks on care economy
2. Conduct inclusive and comprehensive stakeholder consultations to collate data, evidence, best practices and gaps.
3. Draft the Common African Position aligned with AU processes and negotiation priorities
4. Support validation and finalization of the CAP for submission to STC-GEWE

Consultant’s Workplace and Official Travel

This is a home-based consultancy with travel to AU Headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Deliverable Payment Schedule

Inception Report

• Detailed methodology with an preliminary list of relevant documents to review, research tools, stakeholder mapping, and workplan with timeline.

30%

Desktop analysis that will guide the drafting of the Common Africa Position on Care

• Situation analysis of the status of care economy on the continent including analysis of unpaid and paid care work; This will entail reviewing work that is already ongoing across different countries.
• Review existing AU frameworks and Member State policies on care economy
• Conduct key informant interviews and consultations with selected stakeholders

Development of the draft Common African Position

This should include:

• Vision and guiding principles (African-centred, rights-based, gender-responsive);
• Linkages to global and regional commitments, including the SDGs, Agenda 2063, and AU protocols
• Strategic pillars and priorities aligned with the 5R+ framework of care including:
  • Care as a public good and human right
  • Investment in care services and infrastructure (childcare, health, water, energy, eldercare)
  • Decent work for care workers
  • Gender-responsive and inclusive social protection systems
  • Data, measurement, and accountability systems
• Financing strategies, including:
  • Public financing and gender-responsive budgeting
  • Private financing
  • Innovative financing mechanisms (e.g., gender bonds, social bonds)
• Implementation framework, including:
  • Roles and responsibilities of AU, RECs, and Member States
  • Monitoring and evaluation framework with indicators

30%

Validation

• Presentation at the validation workshop - PowerPoint presentations summarizing findings for validation workshops (This will include presentation at the Africa Care Forum)

Final Consolidated Research Package

• Revised publication-ready versions of the consolidated report

40%

[1] UN Women. (2021). The Care Agenda: A Regional Perspective for East and Southern Africa. Available at: https://africa.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/2024-01/esa_care_framing_final_2b_3.pdf.

[2] UN Women (2024) Kenya time-use survey and care assessment: Summary brief. New York: UN Women. Available at: https://data.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/documents/Publications/2024/Kenya_time-use_care-assessment_summarybrief.pdf

[3] UN Women. (2021). Investing in free universal childcare in sub-Saharan Africa: A case for bold action to achieve sustainable development.

[4] Charmes, Jacques. (2019). “The Unpaid Care Work and the Labour Market: An Analysis of Time Use Data Based on the Latest World Compilation of Time-Use Surveys.” ILO Working Paper, International Labour Organisation, Geneva.

[5] Harris, K., Ajayi, K. and Mainali, A. (n.d.). Childcare and Early Childhood Development Expenditures in Africa Comparative Policy Insights for Advancing Women’s Economic Empowerment. [online] Available at: https://www.cgdev.org/sites/default/files/childcare-and-early-childhood-development-expenditures-africa-comparative-policy.pdf [Accessed 3 Nov. 2025]

Competencies :

Core Values:

• Integrity;
• Professionalism;
• Respect for Diversity.

Core Competencies:

• Awareness and Sensitivity Regarding Gender Issues;
• Accountability;
• Creative Problem Solving;
• Effective Communication;
• Inclusive Collaboration;
• Stakeholder Engagement;
• Leading by Example.

Please visit this link for more information on UN Women’s Values and Competencies Framework:

Functional Competencies:

• Technical expertise in report and guideline development
• Change management and organizational transformation
• Partnership development and stakeholder engagement
• Research and analytical skills
• Leadership and team coordination

Required Qualifications

Education and Certification:

• Master’s degree or equivalent in law, human rights, international relations or other social science fields is required.
• A first-level university degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.
• A project/programme management certification would be an added advantage.

Experience:

• At least 7 years of experience in gender equality, care economy, social protection, or labor policy is required;
• Demonstrated experience in developing regional/continental policy frameworks, gender-responsive macroeconomic and/or social policy is required;
• Demonstrated experience in producing high level political declarations, statements, positions, and policy documents is required;
• Strong knowledge of AU policy frameworks and Agenda 2063 is required;
• Experience working in policy spaces in Africa is required;
• Previous work on the Care economy including the 5R Framework is an asset;
• Experience working with the AU, UN system, or regional institutions is highly desirable.

Languages:

• Fluency in English and French is required;
• Knowledge of another official UN language is desirable (Arabic, Chinese, Russian or Spanish).

Statements :

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