Expertise: gender, IWRM, climate
Source: International
TOR Keywords: gender, IWRM, climate
Objective and Purpose of the Assignment
Currently, one of the priorities of Uzbekistan is to achieve gender equality in all spheres of life,
including the water sector. The “Development Strategy of New Uzbekistan for 2022-2026”, approved by No
UP-60 decree of the president of the Republic of Uzbekistan, dated January 28, 2022, sets a separate
priority goal “Goal 69: Supporting women and further increasing their activity in society.” In 2021,
“Strategy for Achieving Gender Equality in Uzbekistan until 2030″ (No PS-297- IV resolution of the
Senate of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan, dated May 28, 2021). There are plans to
annually approve separate comprehensive action programs in order to gradually implement the gender
strategy in 2023–2030.
In this regard, ensuring gender equality and women’s empowerment must be synchronized with reforms
carried out in Uzbekistan’s water sector. Integrating gender and social equality is key to achieving the
principles of Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM). Sustainable, equal and equitable use of
water resources urges active involvement of all stakeholders in decision-making, with particular focus
on the needs of women, youth, people with low income and other vulnerable groups. Women play a central
role in the consumption, management, protection of water resources and adaptation to climate change.
Their participation in water management can have a positive impact on their family and community.
It is essential that women occupy leadership positions and are able to participate in water-related
decision-making processes at all levels. Likewise, all vulnerable strata of the population must be
represented in such processes. This will increase their access to natural resources and their productive
use and will thus help address the root causes of poverty and inequality.
The following problems were identified during the gender assessment of the water sector, conducted
jointly with the Ministry of Water Resources (MoWR) and its Information Analytical and Resource Center
(IARC) in 2021:
• the presence of a number of socio-cultural and economic factors that prevent women and girls from
pursuing high-level careers in the water sector, especially at the national level;
• the unattractiveness of the water sector for women is rooted in traditional stereotypes about female
and non-female professions, and the importance of the role of women is underestimated;
• the lack of training opportunities and gender awareness-raising for national staff, both women and men;
• the lack of plans and actions to appoint gender focal points/gender specialists in water sector
institutions, as well as lack of gender strategies with a functioning monitoring mechanism;
• policy and regulatory framework does not take a gender perspective into account, and accordingly does
not address important gender disparities, making its implementation less effective overall;
• gender mainstreaming activities are not taken into account at the sector planning stage and,
therefore, are not reflected in the state budget;
• the lack of interdepartmental cooperation also aggravates the gender situation in the industry.
The assessment identified three main target areas for improvement and led to the development of a set of
specific recommendations to help achieve each of them:
• to create an enabling environment for gender mainstreaming in the water sector by developing water
policies based on a clear understanding of gender concepts and international best practices; providing
systematic training and collecting additional sex-disaggregated data; facilitating budget allocation and
ensuring measures such as hiring gender specialists and women’s empowerment initiatives at a local level;
• to ensure women and girls have access to information, resources and educational opportunities through
campaigns, career fairs and initiatives; provision of gender-sensitive educational courses, quotas and
flexible learning; ensuring gender-sensitive documentation, human resource management and infrastructure;
• to increase the gender sensitivity of water reform activities by implementing a dedicated gender
mainstreaming program, integrating gender issues into curricula, implementing gender quotas, using
innovative public engagement strategies, and improving access to lifelong learning for women in the
water sector.
The relevant action program was developed and implemented based on the results of the gender assessment
of the water sector (2021) and recommendations prepared to empower women in the water sector. Together
with IARC, a technical working group was set up, and it comprises representatives of interested donors
and government agencies and departments involved in the IWRM process, to discuss gender issues and the
inclusion of gender indicators in the regulatory framework of the water sector. At the same time, the
Ministry of Water Resources noted the need to promote gender equality in the water sector in the
designated areas, and also asked to donors to assist them in the development and implementation of the
gender concept of the water sector.
Taking into account what was stated above, there is a need to develop a Gender Concept for the water
sector of Uzbekistan until 2023, based on the principles of IWRM and interconnected with the Concept to
develop the water management sector of the Republic of Uzbekistan for 2020-2030.
The goal of developing the Gender Concept of Uzbekistan’s is to strengthen the strategic and
institutional framework of the MoWR, based on the principles of IWRM, to ensure gender equality and
empower women.
The main objectives of developing the Gender Concept are:
• analysis of the current situation in order to identify achievements and challenges for further
improvement;
• review of international experience;
• identification of main priority areas and approaches;
• defining expected outcomes and target indicators;
• development of a Roadmap (Action Plan) to implement the Concept.
When developing the Gender Concept, significant attention will be paid to:
• compliance with strategic and legislative acts of Uzbekistan in the field of gender equality and water
issues;
• interconnection with existing national mechanisms for ensuring gender equality;
• compliance with Uzbekistan’s international obligations in the field of gender equality and water
issues and relevant reporting on them;
• interaction with development partners working in the field of gender equality and water issues to
avoid duplication of work;
Scope of Work
There are plans to set up an interdepartmental working group (IWG), consisting of representatives of
stakeholders, as well as specialists from the Ministry of Water Resources and other key ministries
involved in the IWRM process, and to attract international, regional and national experts to provide
assistance in the development of the Gender Concept of the water sector in order to properly carry out
the work and create a sense of ownership of the process and results.
There are plans to involve the following parties to provide technical assistance in developing the
Gender Concept:
- National experts who will support the IWG and international experts in studying and analyzing the
current situation, past experience, as well as identifying key areas of action, expected outcomes and
target indicators; - An international expert who, based on best practices, will assist in the development of the draft
concept, and will also prepare proposals for improving the gender aspects of IWRM, adapted to the
realities of the water sector of Uzbekistan. - A regional expert who will be in charge of close cooperation with the IWG, lead the development of
the Gender Concept, coordinate the contributions of national and international experts, and ensure
mutual coordination of the assignment results with the strategic and regulatory documents of the water
sector, which are being developed and those which were approved.
At the same time, the Ministry of Water Resources will play a leading role in this work, carrying out
overall coordination of the activity, providing organizational support and actively participating in the
progress of work at each stage.
National and regional experts will be hired by SDC under its own procedures on an individual basis in
accordance with their competencies and experience.
An international expert will be recruited by ADB through its own recruitment procedures and provided to
the MoWR for inclusion in the Gender Framework development team.
To understand the current situation, information about the gender assessment of the water sector of
Uzbekistan compiled in 2021 will be updated, and information on rural drinking water supply under social
contract in selected areas will be collected.
An analysis of the best foreign practice will be presented by an international consultant.
Detailed Tasks and/or Expected Output
The detailed responsibilities of experts are listed below, but are not limited to this list:
- Close interaction with members of the IWG, national experts and regional experts in the development,
discussion and agreement of the Gender Concept; - Participation in technical meetings and round tables with stakeholders to discuss each stage of
preparation of the Draft Gender Concept; - Preparation of a methodology for developing the concept, discussion with members of the IWG, regional
and national experts and coordination of their contributions; - Discussion, with members of the IWG, national experts and a regional expert, the results of the
collection of data and information, conducted by them, on gender issues to understand the specifics of
Uzbekistan and the functioning of the country’s water sector; - Review of foreign experience in taking into account gender aspects in the development and
implementation of water policy and integration of gender aspects into the work of water management
authorities; - Discussion, with members of the IWG, national experts and a regional expert, best international
practices on gender legislation in the water sector and its adaptation to apply it to the conditions in
Uzbekistan; - Participation in a round table with all stakeholders to discuss the results of the analysis of
domestic and international experience and agree on the main directions of the Gender Concept of the
water sector; - Preparation of specific proposals and recommendations with regard to the structure and key
provisions of the Draft Gender Concept, which ensures the implementation of IWRM principles; - Participation in the development, discussion and approval of the structure and text of the Gender
Concept, including the selection of priority areas, expected outcomes, target indicators and the Roadmap; - Participation in the discussion and refinement of the Gender Concept based on comments from the
public, stakeholders, donors, as well as the IWG for submission to be approved by the Ministry of Water
Resources and other key ministries; - Preparation and editing of the final version of the Gender Concept in English;
DELIVERABLES and REPORTING
The Expert must adequately document the completion of their assignment and submit the documentation and
reports specified in Chapter 5 in the Russian, Uzbek or English languages based on their preference.
Each report must be submitted in its soft version.
After completing the work, each expert should submit the Final report, including attachments with
documentation related to all results presented, in the Russian, Uzbek or English languages based on
their preference.
Minimum Qualification Requirements
The consultant must have graduate level qualifications in social science, development studies, gender,
or related field, and at least 10 years of relevant work experience. The specialist will have a strong
background in climate gender policy design and strategy, monitoring and evaluation of projects with
climate-gender focus, and experience working in developing countries. He/she must have strong speaking,
and applied training skills.
