RFP - Enabling women’s access to decent and safe employment opportunities

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RFP - Enabling women’s access to decent and safe employment opportunities in STEM, digital and clean energy sectors with a focus on the states of Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Maharashtra

About the Organization

UN Women is the United Nations entity dedicated to gender equality and the empowerment of women. A global champion for women and girls, UN Women was established to accelerate progress on meeting their needs worldwide.

UN Women supports UN Member States as they set global standards for achieving gender equality, and works with governments and civil society to design laws, policies, programmes and services needed to ensure that the standards are effectively implemented and truly benefit women and girls worldwide. It works globally to make the vision of the Sustainable Development Goals a reality for women and girls and stands behind women’s equal participation in all aspects of life, focusing on four strategic priorities:

• Women lead, participate in and benefit equally from governance systems
• Women have income security, decent work and economic autonomy
• All women and girls live a life free from all forms of violence
• Women and girls contribute to and have greater influence in building sustainable peace and resilience, and benefit equally from the prevention of natural disasters and conflicts and humanitarian action

UN Women also coordinates and promotes the UN system’s work in advancing gender equality, and in all deliberations and agreements linked to the 2030 Agenda. The entity works to position gender equality as fundamental to the Sustainable Development Goals, and a more inclusive world.

About the Proposal

UN Women is inviting proposals from proponent organizations to strengthen the employability and economic opportunities of women and girls from marginalized backgrounds in technical and vocational institutes across Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Maharashtra under the WeSTEM 2.0 project. The selected organization will provide targeted skilling, entrepreneurship training, and industry linkages to enhance access to STEM, digital, and clean energy careers, addressing gender barriers and leveraging private sector partnerships for mentorship and career development.

Background:

Women in STEM face a lot of challenges, there is general lack of 21^st century employability skills, lack of role models, pressures to conform to societal norms and trappings of domesticity, stressors related to marriage, childbirth, etc., and an inordinate amount of responsibility associated with the running of households and elder care, physical safety during the commute to work, sexual and other types of harassment in workplaces, and a whole host of other issues.

Based on context and need UN Women initiated a project 'Empowering Women in STEM (WeSTEM), funded by Micron Foundation and further supplemented by additional grant from Government of Madhya Pradesh,  for a duration of  July 2023 till March 2025 in Madhya Pradesh, to address three significant national challenges in gender empowerment and equality: increasing women's labour force participation, reducing the digital divide, and increasing the number of women with careers in STEM.

This phase of the WeSTEM project was implemented across 12 tribal-dominated districts of Madhya Pradesh, namely, Balaghat, Chhindwara, Dindori, Mandla, Alirajpur, Barwani, Betul, Burhanpur, Jhabua, Khandwa, Khargone, and Seoni. A total of 2127 young women from 23 ITI institutes and 7 polytechnic colleges were trained for over 122 hours in 21st-century employability skills, STEM and vocational skills. Students, faculty, parents and the community were engaged while gender-specific training and counselling sessions. Over 450 girls benefited from one-on-one career counselling sessions. Capacity-building sessions conducted for more than 150 faculty members and TPOs of ITIs to institutionalize career counselling and gender training along with POSH workshops for over 190 faculty members across four districts. Regular industrial visits and knowledge sessions further strengthened industry collaboration and opened up new avenues for our beneficiaries. More than 27 job fairs were organised wherein 1200+ candidates participated and an impressive 926 (77%) secured job placements in various renowned companies.

Building on the WeSTEM project’s success, UN Women and the Micron Foundation have expanded the partnership to include Gujarat, continuing to use Madhya Pradesh as a learning hub. Additionally, European Union has provided funding support to UN Women under its Women Empower India (WE India) project to expand the initiative in new locations in Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra to further support women and girls in STEM across Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra, contributing to increased women’s labor force participation.

The next phase of this project ‘WeSTEM 2.0’ builds on the first phase and is informed by UN Women’s interventions in the areas of  skills building and enhancing entrepreneurship and  employment opportunities for young women in higher, technical, and vocational education institutions in high growth potential sectors including STEM, digital and clean energy fields Through scholarships, mentoring, and skilling and industry connect, the project upskill young women and link them to employment opportunities.

The WeSTEM 2.0 project will target women and girls, including but not limited to the marginalized scheduled castes, scheduled tribes and minorities, who are part of state government’s higher/technical/vocational education institutes specifically Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) in predominantly STEM fields.

The project envisions following result areas:

Outcomes:

• To enhance the enabling environment for economic and social rights for women and girls in all their diversity in India
• Young women are upskilled to access decent employment, apprenticeship, or higher education opportunities in STEM fields

Outputs:

• 7500 Women trained in employability skills.
• 2500 Young women placed in jobs
• 4000 Women trained in entrepreneurship skills
• 1000 Women learners established as entrepreneurs
• 300 Faculty members trained as master trainers

UN Women seeks the services of a civil society organization (hereinafter referred as proponent organization) working with women and girls from marginalized backgrounds (hereinafter referred as target group), from technical/vocational institutes, to strengthen their access to employability skills and employment opportunities in high growth potential sector.

It is expected that the proponent organization is already working in the areas of women’s skilling and employment with women in government ITI, polytechnics and colleges, understand the ecosystem including from the perspective of gender barriers, brings credible industry networks and partnerships for industry connect and strengthening project activities.

The proponent organization is expected to work in close coordination with UN Women and its technical partner agency working with private sector on adoption and implementation of UN’s Women’s Empowerment Principles and leveraging them for strengthening the project activities around industry connect for mentorship and career development support through STEM Connect.

Geographic Location:

Gujarat: 5 Districts: Surat, Ahmedabad, Bharuch, Kutch and Vadodra.

Madhya Pradesh: 18 Districts: Mandla, Balaghat, Dhindori, Alirajpur, Barwani, Betul, Burhanpur, Jhabua, Khandwa, Khargone, Chindwara, Seoni, Bhopal, Indore, Jabalpur, Ujjain, Gwalior and Rewa.

Maharashtra: 6 Districts: Aurangabad, Nagpur, Bhandara, Chandrapur, Nasik and Osmanabad.

Target Group:

• 12000 women and girls enrolled in predominantly STEM courses in government ITIs and polytechnics, in above mentioned districts
• Faculty members from government ITIs, polytechnics in above districts
• Parents and community members in above districts

Description of Services:

Sustained engagement with existing 12 tribal districts in Madhya Pradesh that were a part of phase 1.

The intervention will continue its impactful work across the 12 existing districts of Mandla, Balaghat, Dhindori, Alirajpur, Barwani, Betul, Burhanpur, Jhabua, Khandwa, Khargone, Chindwara and Seoni. This component will leverage the foundational efforts in these districts to deepen and expand the project’s reach and outcomes. Key activities include:

• Strengthening Capacity Building: Train ITI faculty as Master Trainers on the WeSTEM curriculum, covering gender training, career counselling, STEM, and employability skills. These trainers will cascade the learnings to young women and girls, amplifying the impact at the grassroots level.
• Enhanced Digital Access: Facilitate the enrolment of girl students onto UN Women’s Equilearn platform, offering free online courses focused on employability and gender training.
• Facilitating Career Opportunities: Establish linkages for job and internship placements through job fairs, bootcamps, and direct engagement with local employers, ensuring a smoother transition for women from training to employment.
• Modernizing ITI Infrastructure: Collaborate with potential employers and foundations to upgrade the infrastructure of women’s ITIs, creating an enabling environment for effective skill development.
• Fostering Digital Networking: Enable girl students to join platforms like LinkedIn for mentorship, networking, and career development, equipping them with tools for professional growth through UN Women’s ongoing intervention with LinkedIn.

Strategic Expansion in 17 new districts in Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra (Gujarat- Surat, Ahmedabad, Bharuch, Vadodara and Kutch; Madhya Pradesh:  Bhopal, Indore, Jabalpur, Ujjain, Gwalior and Rewa; Maharashtra: Aurangabad, Nagpur, Bhandara, Chandrapur, Nasik and Osmanabad)

Building on the successes of the program’s foundational phase, this component focuses on scaling up activities to 18 additional districts mentioned above. Key activities include:

• Mobilizing women for enrollment in project activities: Work with faculty in enrolling women and girls from ITI and polytechnics in project activities, conducting at least 20 mobilization sessions across three states.        
• Comprehensive Training Programs: Deliver in-class and online training sessions to equip women and girls from ITIs and polytechnics with employability and entrepreneurial skills, complemented by access to UN Women’s Equilearn platform for self-paced learning.  – A minimum of 40 training sessions will be delivered.
• Industry Exposure: Organize exposure visits for women and girls to facilitate their participation in STEM, digital and clean energy sectors, with a minimum of 20 industry visits.
• Faculty Development: Extend the Master Trainer program to ITI faculty in above districts, focusing on gender sensitization and the WeSTEM curriculum to foster a supportive ecosystem for women learners. – A minimum of 10 ITI faculty training sessions will be conducted.
• Digital Engagement and Mentorship: Facilitate the onboarding of women learners onto digital platforms such as LinkedIn, enhancing their access to networking, mentorship, and career guidance opportunities.
• Job and Internship Linkages: Strengthen connections between women learners and potential employers through job fairs, bootcamps, and placement initiatives, bridging the gap between training and employment. - A minimum of 40 job fairs and bootcamps will be organized.
• Ensure placement, retention and post placement support:  Ensure placement, retention of women in jobs and girls including through post placement support.
• Community and Social Norm Advocacy: Engage parents, communities, ITI staff and industry stakeholders to address and challenge restrictive social norms that limit women’s participation in STEM careers.
• Industry Collaboration through STEM Connect: Work with UN Women’s implementing agency to connect women learners with industry mentors, career development resources, and employment opportunities including leveraging partnerships like LinkedIn. – A minimum of 10 industry meets will be organized.
• Infrastructure Development: Upgrade ITI facilities in the new districts with support from employers and stakeholders, ensuring an improved learning environment including with UN Women’s implementing agency on STEM Connect.
• Upskilling ITI Teachers: Provide targeted capacity-building programs for ITI teachers to enhance their ability to deliver high-quality training and mentorship.
• Policy Advocacy: Inform relevant policy and programme change opportunities based on learning from the project including through industry dialogues and meets. - A minimum of 3 policy dialogues will be conducted.

Estimated Budget:  Within the range of Min INR 1,20,00,000/-. – Max 1,50,00,000 (for 3 years)

Timeline:

Gujarat: May 2025 – March 2026

Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra: May 2025 – June 2027

If the number of target group/ states need to be increased the contract would be amended accordingly in line with the UN Women partnership agreement rules and regulations.  

Eligibility

• The organization must have a minimum 5 years of experience in facilitating and managing large scale skills development and placement projects.
• Relevant experience and significant expertise on the issue of women’s skilling, employment, and entrepreneurship
• Demonstrable experience of designing, conducting, and monitoring of trainings/ capacity building workshops on skill/vocational training and placement initiatives, particularly in STEM, digital, and clean energy sectors from gender perspective.
• Demonstrable experience of developing skill training modules, particularly in STEM, digital, and clean energy sectors
• Demonstrable experience of working with private sector companies on women’s employment and leadership.
• Strong network and partnerships with private sector companies for women’s employment, apprenticeships, and internships.
• Familiarity with state-level policies and programs supporting women’s skilling and employment.
• Ability to conduct awareness sessions for parents, faculty, and communities on women’s participation in STEM careers.
• Understanding of the local context and functional competency in the local languages
• knowledge on the structure and functioning of vocational training system (it is) is desirable.
• Demonstrable experience in advocacy initiatives with Government and other key stakeholders.
• Ability to deliver efficiently large-scale mobilization and training programs in a defined timeline.
• Documenting, analyzing the change in learning outcomes through Monitoring & Evaluation tools.
• Other competencies, which while not mandatory, can be an asset for the performance of services
• Substantial experience of working with Central Ministries, State Department and Corporate/Foundation for implementing large scale skill development and placement programs across the country.
• Experience of working with Government Educational Institutions.

How to Apply

All proposals should be sent by email to the following secure email address: registry.india@unwomen.org

Submission deadline: 10 March 2025

For more information please check the Link

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Tags Skill Development Women Empowerment Others