Objective of the Assignment

The overall objective of the assignment is to prepare a country baseline study for the pilot countries (Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, and the United Kingdom) that can be integrated into the Women and the Mine of the Future global evidence base and compared, to the extent possible, with the 12 original country studies.

The specific objectives are to

• Compile and analyze the most reliable and recent gender-disaggregated data available on direct employment in the large-scale mining sector;
• Describe the profile of women and men in mining by occupation, age, education and skills, employment status and working arrangements, and earnings or pay gaps, where data permit;
• Review the policy, legal, and institutional context relevant to women’s employment, working conditions, equal opportunity, occupational health and safety, and career progression in mining;
• Identify key data gaps, inconsistencies, and methodological limitations and propose practical measures to strengthen future data collection and reporting;
• Identify relevant good practices and policy considerations that could improve women’s access to, retention in, and advancement within large-scale mining employment; and
• Generate standardized evidence that can be used in cross-country comparison and future updates of the global baseline.

Scope of Work

The standardized quantitative component of the baseline, including the extraction, harmonization, and analysis of labour market data using International Standard Industrial Classification (ISIC) and International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO) classifications, will be undertaken separately by a statistician contracted under the IGF–ILO collaboration, drawing on the ILO database and methodology. The national consultant will complement this analysis through the collection and analysis of country-level quantitative data and evidence, contextual research, and assessment of the policy, regulatory, and institutional environment affecting women’s employment in large-scale mining.

The consultant is expected to

• Prepare an Inception Report outlining the proposed methodology, work plan, national data sources, relevant stakeholders, and approach to data collection and analysis. The report should identify anticipated challenges related to data availability, access, definitions, coverage, and comparability, with reference to the analytical framework in Appendix B.
• Collect complementary quantitative data and support the quantitative baseline analysis by identifying and accessing relevant national and sectoral data sources in line with the analytical framework in Appendix B. These may include labour force and establishment surveys, national mining employment statistics, administrative data sets, and data from ministries and government agencies, industry associations, mining companies, workers’ organizations, education and training institutions, and other relevant sources. The consultant will collect available sex-disaggregated data relevant to the analytical framework, particularly where such information is not available or sufficiently disaggregated in the ILO data set. The consultant may also liaise with relevant institutions to clarify data definitions, coverage, and limitations. The consultant will not be expected to produce or replicate the standardized ISIC- and ISCO-based data analysis undertaken separately under the IGF–ILO collaboration.
• Review relevant national laws, regulations, policies, strategies, and institutional arrangements concerning mining, labour and employment, gender equality and non-discrimination, occupational health and safety, maternity and parental protections, education and skills development, and other issues relevant to women’s participation and progression in the sector. The consultant will also review available evidence on workplace practices, working conditions, and barriers and enabling factors affecting women’s employment.
• Undertake a qualitative and policy analysis of women’s participation and employment conditions in large-scale mining, including barriers to recruitment, retention, and advancement; occupational segregation; workplace conditions and enabling factors; education, training, and skills pathways; and the extent to which relevant policy, regulatory, and institutional frameworks support women’s participation and progression in the sector.
• Identify and document relevant good practices by governments, mining companies, industry associations, workers’ organizations, and other relevant actors aimed at improving women’s participation, retention, working conditions, and career progression in the mining sector.
• Assess gaps and challenges in national systems for collecting, classifying, and reporting sex-disaggregated mining employment data and identify opportunities for improvement. In coordination with the IGF and ILO, the consultant will document country-specific definitions, coverage issues, discrepancies between national and international sources, and other limitations affecting interpretation or cross-country comparability, and identify practical opportunities to strengthen national data systems.
• Interpret and contextualize the quantitative findings produced by the IGF and ILO, together with the complementary quantitative evidence collected at country level, drawing on the wider country analysis to explain key patterns, disparities, and trends in women’s employment in large-scale mining.
• Propose practical policy recommendations to address identified barriers and strengthen women’s participation, retention, working conditions, and career progression in the large-scale mining sector.
• Prepare a Country Report that brings together the quantitative and qualitative evidence and presents the following:
  • The national mining, labour market, policy, regulatory, and institutional context,
  • Key findings on women’s employment and participation in large-scale mining,
  • Interpretation of the quantitative findings produced by the IGF and ILO and complementary country-level data,
  • Barriers to women’s recruitment, retention, and advancement, including occupational segregation,
  • Workplace conditions, enabling factors, and education and skills pathways,
  • Good practices and relevant initiatives,
  • Gaps and challenges in national sex-disaggregated mining employment data systems, and
  • Practical policy recommendations to strengthen women’s participation, retention, working conditions, and career progression in the sector.
• Participate in regular coordination meetings with the IGF and ILO project team, and, where relevant, other national consultants to provide updates, clarify methodological issues, discuss emerging findings, and support consistency across the country studies.

The analytical framework guiding the study is provided in Appendix B. The national consultant is expected to use this framework to guide the collection and analysis of relevant national-level data and evidence. The standardized ISIC- and ISCO-based quantitative analysis will be produced separately through the IGF–ILO collaboration.

Profile of the National Consultant

The successful candidate will have an advanced university degree in economics, labour studies, gender studies, public policy, mining, social sciences, or another relevant field, or an equivalent combination of education and professional experience. Additional qualifications include the following:

• At least 7 years of relevant professional experience in mining, gender equality