Terms of Reference (TOR) for a consultant - A multi-country background study: domestic work in Arab States

Background

Despite progress, the Arab States region lags behind in addressing gender inequalities due to economic and political instabilities and entrenched patriarchal norms. Women’s employment remains a major issue, and the region (non-Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)) had the lowest female participation rate in the world at 11.7 per cent (while it is 66.2% for men) in 2024. The region sees huge gender gaps in income with Arab women earning just 12.5 per cent of the income earned by Arab men, which is the lowest ratio in the world. 

It is now widely recognized among the women’s rights advocates, development practitioners and academia that investing in the care economy is a game changer in enhancing women’s labour force participation, advancing gender equality in the world of work and advancing sustainable development. Many studies from the ILO have shown that investing in care can improve working conditions for care workers, enhance skills, tackle occupational segregation, and address the unequal distribution of unpaid care work. In June 2024 the International Labour Conference adopted the Resolution on Decent Work and the Care Economy, calling for an urgent need for action.

While more and more policy makers in the Arab States region recognize the importance of the care economy, gaps remain among the key stakeholders in terms of the levels of understanding to initiate and engage in discussions to develop adequate care polices and measures. Domestic workers, who are part of the care economy, constitute a significant part of the labour force and of the care workforce in the Arab States region and they are often international migrant workers. Recognizing the significance of domestic work in the Arab States region, measures have been taken in some countries to cover domestic workers by labour regulations and to promote decent work practices in the home For example, the Labour Market Regulatory Authority, Bahrain, has developed an Employer’s Handbook which provides guidance in hiring a domestic worker. The Ministry of Labour, Jordan has also expressed interests in developing a similar handbook for employers in Jordan. Many countries in the region also have bilaterial labour migration agreements with countries of origin. However, efforts to ensure decent work for domestic workers have been inadequate.

A South-South and Triangular Cooperation (SSTC) project: Towards ensuring decent work for paid care workers in the Arab States region, implemented by the ILO Regional Office for Arab States, is planning to develop background studies which will be used for peer learning and policy discussions to design and implement measures to improve the working conditions for domestic workers in the Arab States region.  In this context, the project is seeking the service of a consultant/consulting firm to develop a background study on various aspects of domestic work.

Objectives

The background study aims to improve understanding of the domestic work market, the role of domestic workers in the care economy and the perceptions of the employers of domestic workers in the Arab States region.

The study will be used to raise awareness of the situation of domestic workers and their role in the provision of care services within the care economy across countries in the Arab States region among policy makers and key stakeholders in the world of work, with a view to identify possible areas of action to promote decent work for domestic workers and their integration in existing or future care policies.

The report will be presented during the knowledge sharing workshop planned in 2025 to promote peer learning, collaboration, and SSTC among the key stakeholders to improve the regulatory framework, programme, and practices to strengthen the care economy for gender equality and decent work in the Arab States region.

Scope and Methodologies

The study report is expected to present the situation related to domestic work in 8-9 selected countries in the Arab States region.  This study is to be conducted in close coordination with other two studies being done on childcare and long-term care, under close guidance of the Senior Gender Specialist and Non Discrimination of the ILO Regional Office for Arab States.

The report will be the basis for creating a common understanding on the importance of domestic workers as providers of care services, ensuring decent work for domestic workers as a means of attracting a qualified workforce capable of meeting household care needs, and building the capacity of relevant stakeholders to promote decent work for domestic workers in the Arab States Region.

The key guiding questions for the study are:

1. Understanding the domestic work market in the Arab States region. What is the number of domestic workers? What is the size and nature of the demand for “live-in”, and “live-out” or “temporary” or hourly/daily/weekly based work?  Is it increasing or decreasing? What is driving the demand for domestic workers? What are the demographic trends and how is the demand projected to grow? What is the nature of work they perform, and what needs are they meeting? Are there different occupational categories depending on the nature of work they perform? What are the characteristics of the households employing domestic workers (e.g. household income, number of family member including children and elderly, employment status of women in the family, etc)? What are wage rates of domestic workers in comparison with other care workers or other workers with similar qualifications? Is there any wage protection system for domestic workers? Are there different rates depending on the occupational categories? What is the cost of employing a domestic worker? Who are the key stakeholders related to domestic work?

2. Understanding the role of domestic workers in the care economy. Domestic workers provide indirect and direct care to households, enabling female labour participation and shouldering an important share of care service delivery to the population. Understanding the size and nature of their role in the care economy can help frame and shape interventions on domestic work. The study should therefore answer questions such as: Are domestic workers engaged in direct care including in childcare, elderly care and care for people with disabilities, in indirect care, or both? What is the share of domestic workers in the care workforce? How is it compare with the share of care workers in education and health?

3. Understanding the needs and perceptions of employers of domestic workers: Employers of domestic workers have the critical role in ensuring decent work for domestic workers. It is therefore important to understand the perceptions of employers as well as their needs: What are the perceptions of employers of domestic workers in terms of their role, the value of work, treatment of domestic workers and working conditions? What are the expectations and concerns of employers of domestic workers when engaging a domestic worker? How are the employers of domestic workers select a recruitment agency? What are the preferred recruitment and employment modalities among household employers? What is the ideal set-up for childcare, elderly care and care for people with disabilities? What needs to improve in the domestic work sector? What are recommendations?

The study report will also include case studies as good practices from other countries (e.g. Thailand, Urguay, Argentina, South Africa, etc). The selection of case studies will be done mainly from the existing publications, under close guidance of the ILO Technical Specialist on domestic and other vulnerable workers.

The study will apply a mix methods approach and collect information using the following methodologies:

• Desk review of relevant documents, surveys and administrative data
• Surveys, focus group discussions  and interviews  

The report should include recommendations on improving the situation of domestic work sector to strengthen the care economy in the Arab States region.

Geographical scope

The multi-country report will provide analysis of the situation for 8-9 selected countries in the Arab States region. The country selection will be finalized, however, the following countries may be included: Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and United Arab Emirates.

Key Outputs

• Detailed plan of work for developing the report, prepared with inputs from relevant ILO specialists.
• A draft data collection plan and tools including survey instrument and questions for key informant interviews (KIIs) and focus group discussions  (FGDs).
• A final survey instrument and questions for KII / FGDs reflecting comments and inputs from relevant ILO specialists.
• Draft report containing the information specified in this TOR.
• Updated final draft report reflecting comments and inputs from relevant ILO specialists.

Timeline

The assignment is expected to start as soon as possible, to complete by end March 2025. The expected number of work days is 60.

Qualifications

• A postgraduate degree in social sciences, humanities, laws, international development with proven experience in a gender and labour related field.
• At least 5 years of experience in conducting mixed methods (quantitative and qualitative) research. 
• Publication track record on a gender-related topic.
• Excellent communication and writing skills in English.
• Familiarity with international labour standards.
• Understanding on gender and labour issues, particularly issues related to domestic workers.  Experience in the Arab States region is an advantage.
• Arabic language skill is an advantage.
• Prior experience of working with international organisations strongly preferred.