Consultancy to Develop Global Guidance and Training Materials for Parliamentarians On Addressing Social Norms That Hinder Women’s Participation in Parliament

The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) is the global organization of national parliaments with a membership of 181 Member Parliaments and 15 Associate Members. The IPU promotes democratic governance, institutions and values, working with parliaments and parliamentarians to articulate and respond to the needs and aspirations of the people. It works to promote peace, democracy, human rights, gender equality, youth empowerment, climate action and sustainable development through political dialogue, cooperation and parliamentary action. A key strength of the IPU since its founding has been its ability to connect Member Parliaments with each other and leverage their collective political strength to accelerate progress on key global issues, including gender equality and women’s rights and empowerment.

The IPU recognizes gender equality as a key component of democracy and works to achieve the equal participation of men and women in politics. It mobilizes parliaments and supports them to be more representative and inclusive institutions by increasing women’s political participation and leadership, transforming themselves into gender-sensitive institutions that deliver on women’s rights, and advancing gender equality. Combatting and eliminating sexism, harassment and violence against women in politics and in parliament are at the heart of such mobilization and support.

Since 2024, thanks to a UN Women grant, the IPU has been implementing one of the components of the European Union-funded Women and Youth in Democracy Initiative (WYDE). In this framework, UN Women, the IPU, the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA), and United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG), are implementing the WYDE/Women’s Leadership component through a programme entitled: Advancing Women’s Political Participation and Decision-Making through Social Norms Change, Networking and Global Advocacy.

The WYDE/Women’s Leadership programme (WYDE/WPP) prioritizes changing social norms and shifting cultural attitudes that portray women’s roles in communities and society as incompatible with political power; and puts specific focus on building critical skills among young women, and engaging men and boys, office holders and the media as allies for gender equality and women’s empowerment.

Through WYDE/WPP, the IPU will contribute to the project’s objective of promoting transformative social norms through evidence-based advocacy and capacity-building. The IPU will add value by deepening the understanding of social norms and narratives related to parliaments which hinder women’s political participation and will provide capacity-building support to members of parliament, aimed at enhancing their role in transforming these norms.

**Consultancy tasks**
- Conducting desk research on harmful social norms that hinder women's political participation and leadership with a focus on parliamentary settings.
- Carrying out consultations with MPs on harmful social norms in parliament that hinder women's political participation and leadership, and will also focus on assessing the training needs of MPs. Consultations will be held with both male and female MPs from diverse groups.
- Designing the concept and methodology for the development of a guidance paper and training modules for MPs on addressing social norms that hinder women’s participation in parliament, including a learning approach, monitoring, evaluation, and resource requirements.
- Developing a guidance paper and training modules for MPs on addressing social norms that hinder women’s participation in parliament.
- Testing the training methodology and modules through one or two training workshops for MPs.
- Training a small group of trainers on addressing social norms that hinder women’s participation in parliament.
- Contributing to the development and implementation of tools for measuring social norm change in the area of women’s political participation.
- Participating in meetings and events on addressing social norms that hinder women’s participation in parliament.
- Carrying out consultations with experts, practitioners, and specialists as needed.

In carrying out his/her responsibilities, the Consultant will benefit from current efforts to integrate a behavioral science approach in the IPU’s programmatic work. Also, the Consultant will collaborate with the IPU’s Consultant/External Collaborator on the participation of persons from diverse groups in parliament.

**Key deliverables**
- Inception report: a report including a workplan and tentative budget outlining the methodology, timeline, and engagement strategy for developing the training modules.
- Scoping report: a report on findings and conclusions of the desk review and consultations with MPs, experts, practitioners and specialists, including conclusions and recommendations from findings related to the capacity and needs assessment of MPs.
- Guidance paper for parliamentarians on addressing social norms that