Management Response

: Regional Office for East and Southern Africa (Kenya)
: 2022 - 2025 , Regional Office for East and Southern Africa (Kenya) (RO)
: Transformative Approaches to Recognize, Reduce, and Redistribute Unpaid Care Work in Women’s Economic Empowerment Programming (3R Programme)
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: Regional Office for East and Southern Africa (Kenya)
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In summary, the management agrees with the main findings and recommendations of the evaluation report and follow-up actions will be implemented.

: Submitted
Recommendation: A. During the next phase of the programme, put continued and deepened emphasis on getting data/evidence in filling the knowledge gaps and strengthening capacities and dialogue around the 3R, including putting emphasis on the integration of the private sector to introduce good practices such as job creation, market access, positive changes stemming from more favourable internal culture (motivation, creativity, productivity of staff, ability to attract new talent etc.) as possible entry points for strengthening childcare services and services, social protection, and basic infrastructure, promoting sharing of domestic and care work between men and women, creating more paid jobs in the care economy. B. After successfully delivering the 3R programme, it is recommended to create a 5R framework in the next phase. While this is ideal, some countries, such as Senegal and South Africa, lack the readiness. It is thus essential to strengthen the work on 3R in the next phase, building the business case and providing evidence that reducing and redistributing women's unpaid care can and will generate fiscal and employment gains, creating political buy-in and reforms before moving to the other 2Rs. C. Continue adopting participatory, innovative, and iterative approaches that are based on analysis and research into the root causes of gender inequality. D. Concerning Senegal, emphasis should be put to scaling up the intervention to different regions and undertaking the same kind of assessments and research studies to provide strong foundation of innovative solutions.
Management Response:
More detail
Description:
Management Response Category: Accepted
Thematic Area: Women economic empowerment (SPs before 2018)
Operating Principles: Evidence, Data and statistics, Resource mobilization
Organizational Priorities: Not applicable
UNEG Criteria: Gender equality
Key Actions
Responsible Deadline Status Comments
Integrate the unpaid care and domestic work dimension in all UN Women programmes on climate resilient agriculture and women's economic empowerment. This will be also done by embedding unpaid care and domestic work to the three Gender Equality Accelerators that the economic empowerment section is leading on, in particular on transforming the care economy. HQ: Silvia Lanzarini, Programme Specialist JP RWEE ESARO: Mehjabeen Alarakia, WEE Advisor WCARO: Elena Ruiz Abril, WEE Policy Advisor 2024/01 Ongoing
Develop programme proposals in a participatory way for resource mobilization for scaling up the intervention considering the 3R and 5R frameworks based on research and evidence. This will be done as part of the regional and global efforts to mobilize resources to operationalize the UN Women gender equality accelerators. HQ: Brunella Canu, Programme Analyst ESARO: Mehjabeen Alarakia, WEE Advisor WCARO: Elena Ruiz Abril, WEE Policy Advisor Rwanda: Tess Kazuba, 3R National Coordinator Senegal: Rokhaya Gayes, 3R National Coordinator 2026/04 Ongoing
Recommendation: A. To continue implementing SAMCO programme related to the 5R programme, first commission and complete the South Africa baseline study (covering Time Use Survey as one of the objectives) The study should be conceptualized to create an opportunity for a broader understanding of the patterns of unpaid care work and their impact on the economic and social lives of women and girls. The aim of the proposed research should be to establish a baseline on non-market work (unpaid care) in South Africa. B. Currently, the South Africa programme requires overall Regional/Global support to strengthen the operational and administrative systems that support SAMCO 3R programme operations, including engaging the regional Gender Statistics Specialist, to support the conceptualization and processes related to statistical matters for sample surveys in the Baseline Survey. University of Town, whilst excellent in research, does not have the national infrastructure to do proper sampling and data collection. An alternative provider with proven national infrastructure and relevant experience, for instance, GeoScope, SA should be considered in this regard as recommended to ESARO Regional Gender Statistics Specialist during data collection.
Management Response:
More detail
Description:
Management Response Category: Accepted
Thematic Area: Women economic empowerment (SPs before 2018)
Operating Principles: Evidence, Data and statistics
Organizational Priorities: Not applicable
UNEG Criteria: Gender equality
Key Actions
Responsible Deadline Status Comments
Commission and complete the South Africa baseline study as basis for future programming on unpaid care work Ayanda Mvimbi, WEE Programme Specialist, SAMCO 2025/04 Not Initiated
Recommendation: A. To address structural causes of gender-based inequalities, increase the numbers of women and the agency of women to lead in the next phase of the programme, UN Women should develop a 5R centric women leadership programme to train more women to create a women leadership cohort with modules that include access of women to markets and means of production, deconstruction of social norms and stereotypes related to participation of women in male dominated occupations, HeForShe approaches, as well as other barriers to women’s economic participation. B. From the design stage, and progressively during the implementation of the programme, strengthen the planning of exit strategies for the various components, and ensure that actions are implemented that contribute to the sustainability of results.
Management Response:
More detail
Description:
Management Response Category: Accepted
Thematic Area: Women economic empowerment (SPs before 2018)
Operating Principles: Evidence, Data and statistics
Organizational Priorities: Not applicable
UNEG Criteria: Gender equality
Key Actions
Responsible Deadline Status Comments
Develop a 5R centric women leadership programme to train more women to create a women leadership cohort with modules that include access of women to markets and means of production, deconstruction of social norms and stereotypes related to participation of women in male dominated occupations, HeForShe approaches, as well as other barriers to women’s economic participation. Rwanda: Tess Kazuba, 3R National Coordinator Senegal: Rokhaya Gayes, 3R National Coordinator 2024/10 Not Initiated
While writing proposals for the next phases of the programme, strengthen the planning of exit strategies for the various components. The 5R centric women leadership programme may also be inserted as part of the UN women global training manual on care, currently under development as part of the 3R phase II. HQ: Brunella Canu, Programme Analyst, Amber Parkes, Policy and knowledge management specialist ESARO: Mehjabeen Alarakia, WEE Advisor WCARO: Elena Ruiz Abril, WEE Policy Advisor Rwanda: Tess Kazuba, 3R National Coordinator Senegal: Rokhaya Gayes, 3R National Coordinator 2026/04 Ongoing
Recommendation: A. In the area of unpaid care work, UN Women is weak in private sector engagement (through WEP’S) and should explore potential partnerships with private sector entities in direct programme implementation at the national level and in raising funds for future interventions. Research should be carried out to find private companies and foundations potentially interested in collaborating and funding unpaid care work-related interventions in Sub-Saharan Africa should be approached to partner with UN Women in the next phase of the programme. B. In the next phase the 3R programme should emphasize the pivotal role that the private sector should play in promoting GEWE issues and addressing the needs of most vulnerable women. UN Women should proactively use existing UN System opportunities and promote development of innovative public and private partnerships with government and non-government affiliated agencies highlighting the crosscutting role of SDG 17 in acceleration of achievement of targets under the SDG 5 Gender Equality and other SDG goals. C. To ensure more synergies with other UN and non-UN agencies and actors to address structural causes of gender-based inequalities i.e., access of women to markets and means of production, deconstruction of social norms and stereotypes related to participation of women in male dominated occupations, as well as other barriers to women’s economic participation that stem from regional disparities and include some public-private partnerships may become instrumental in achieving nationalized targets on gender equality and women’s economic empowerment, therefore, the catalytic role of the SDG 17 should be emphasized by UN Women and partners as a crosscutting issue in all their projects and interventions, including working more closely with other UN agencies working in the sector (ILO, UNICEF)
Management Response:
More detail
Description:
Management Response Category: Accepted
Thematic Area: Women economic empowerment (SPs before 2018)
Operating Principles: Knowledge management
Organizational Priorities: Not applicable
UNEG Criteria: Gender equality
Key Actions
Responsible Deadline Status Comments
During the next phases of the programme, explore partnerships with the private sector on the basis of research to assess the most appropriate entities in the specific context, private-public partnerships, and collaborations with UN agencies in line with SDG17. At the global level in the phase II, the 3R programme will be aligned with the UN system wide approach to care, led by UN Women, that recognizes the value of partnerning with a wide range of stakeholders, including the private sector. This action will also be taken forward as UN Women operationalize the gender equality accelerator on transforming care where the private sector is underlined as one of the key actors to work with. HQ: Brunella Canu, Programme Analyst Rwanda: Tess Kazuba, 3R National Coordinator Senegal: Rokhaya Gayes, 3R National Coordinator 2024/10 Ongoing
Recommendation: A. In the next phase of the programme, the capacity development portfolio on 5R should focus on improved knowledge generation and dissemination, capacity development pedagogy for unpaid care work, professionalized through standardization of capacity development offerings, longer training duration, and better sequencing of training activities. B. The advocacy and policy interventions delivered as part of capacity development should be positively applied at local levels within reasonable duration. At national levels there is need to coordinate and advocate with Governments and stakeholders and that requires more time to internalize the programme. C. Provide technical support for the comprehensive review of the minimum standards, integrated models, and guidelines, and other additional ECD guides to integrating not only gender and unpaid care work but also update the documents to be aligned with the current national, regional policies (Vision 2050, African Union (AU) Agenda 2063, EAC gender strategy.), and global targets announced through several instruments including SDGs, CEDEAW, Beijing Platform for Action, etc.
Management Response:
More detail
Description:
Management Response Category: Accepted
Thematic Area: Women economic empowerment (SPs before 2018)
Operating Principles: Capacity development, National ownership, Advocacy
Organizational Priorities: Not applicable
UNEG Criteria: Gender equality
Key Actions
Responsible Deadline Status Comments
During the next phases of the programme, strengthen the following components: capacity building, knowledge generation and management, and advocacy at both local and national level. The phase II foreseen the development of a comprehensive training manual on the care economy that will ensure long-term, institutionalized knowledge on the care enconomy around the 5R framework. HQ: Brunella Canu, Programme Analyst; Amber Parkes, Policy and knowledge management specialist Rwanda: Tess Kazuba, 3R National Coordinator Senegal: Rokhaya Gayes, 3R National Coordinator 2026/04 Ongoing
Recommendation: A. UN Women Strategic Notes should profile care work as a central programmatic arena of the UN Women triple core mandate, and clearly advocate at policy levels for national governments to systematically fund care work from national budgets, and local non-government funding sources, including providing grant funding to care facilities and ensuring equal distribution of these facilities amongst communities, especially in rural communities, remains a challenge. B. Support the establishment of ECD community funds managed jointly by elected community representatives, partners, and local leaders to address unpaid care givers efforts spent for childhood care services. The rules and conditions of operations are to be determined in framework documents.
Management Response:
More detail
Description:
Management Response Category: Accepted
Thematic Area: Women economic empowerment (SPs before 2018)
Operating Principles: National ownership
Organizational Priorities: Not applicable
UNEG Criteria: Gender equality
Key Actions
Responsible Deadline Status Comments
Ensure that UN Women offices at all levels include unpaid care work in their Strategic Notes and other regional and global strategies. HQ: Brunella Canu, Programme Analyst ESARO: Mehjabeen Alarakia, WEE Advisor WCARO: Elena Ruiz Abril, WEE Policy Advisor 2026/04 Ongoing
Support the establishment of ECD community funds managed jointly by elected community representatives, partners, and local leaders to address unpaid care givers efforts spent for childhood care services Rwanda: Tess Kazuba, 3R National Coordinator Senegal: Rokhaya Gayes, 3R National Coordinator 2025/04 Ongoing
Recommendation: A. Commission dedicated baseline studies that provide disaggregated data on various vulnerabilities including people with disabilities. B. Crucial to maintain women and children with disabilities and their associations/cooperatives as partners and beneficiaries. ECDs necessitate extra services, equipment, and competences to host children safely and adequately with disabilities. This can be considered through partnerships with specialized organisations if UN Women cannot intervene directly on this for lack of expertise.
Management Response:
More detail
Description:
Management Response Category: Accepted
Thematic Area: Women economic empowerment (SPs before 2018)
Operating Principles: Knowledge management
Organizational Priorities: Not applicable
UNEG Criteria: Gender equality
Key Actions
Responsible Deadline Status Comments
Make sure to include people with disabilities in future programming, including baselines. The phase II approach to unpaid care aligns with the forthcoming UN system wide approach on the care economy and the UN Women Gender Equality accelerator on transforming care. As this entails looking at care throughout the lifecycle of a person and through the intersectional spectrum, women with disabilities will be included in the 3R phase II work. HQ: Brunella Canu, Programme Analyst ESARO: Mehjabeen Alarakia, WEE Advisor WCARO: Elena Ruiz Abril, WEE Policy Advisor 2026/04 Ongoing
Recommendation: The 3R programme should continue current efforts to operationalize its Communication, Knowledge Management & Advocacy Strategy in the following areas in all the operational countries: ? Advocate for the institutionalization of recognition, reduction, and redistribution of unpaid care work to advance gender equality and women’s economic empowerment. ? Increase the attention paid by participating governments, community leaders, Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), private sector, and international and regional partners to the care economy and unpaid care work interventions; and ? Ensure more effective consistency in messaging, knowledge management and policy advocacy, and strengthen outreach in communicating the 3R Programme results both internally and externally. These should be done through: Policy dialogues at national level; Policy dialogues at local level; and Production of articles and successful stories.
Management Response:
More detail
Description:
Management Response Category: Accepted
Thematic Area: Women economic empowerment (SPs before 2018)
Operating Principles: National ownership
Organizational Priorities: Not applicable
UNEG Criteria: Gender equality
Key Actions
Responsible Deadline Status Comments
Continue operationalizing and strengthen the communication, knowledge management and advocacy strategy. A knowledge management and communication strategy will be developed, and in additional to policy dialogues at all levels, the key actors will participante in the UN Women community of practice on Care, decent work, and macroeconomics. HQ: Brunella Canu, Programme Analyst; Amber Parkes, Policy and knowledge management specialist Rwanda: Tess Kazuba, 3R National Coordinator Senegal: Rokhaya Gayes, 3R National Coordinator 2026/04 Ongoing
Recommendation: In the next phase, the 3R programme should focus on policy development and advocacy with targeted policies and legal provisions that provide services, gender focused social protection, and basic infrastructure, promoting sharing of domestic and care work between men and women, and creating more paid jobs in the care economy, to urgently accelerate progress on women’s economic empowerment. The emphasis will be on getting data/evidence in filling the knowledge gaps and strengthening capacities and dialogue around 5R, including integration of the private sector to spur job creation, market access and positive culture [motivation, creativity, productivity and attracting new talent] as entry point to strengthen childcare services, and services, social protection, and basic infrastructure, promoting sharing of domestic and care work between women and men.
Management Response:
More detail
Description:
Management Response Category: Accepted
Thematic Area: Women economic empowerment (SPs before 2018)
Operating Principles: Knowledge management
Organizational Priorities: Not applicable
UNEG Criteria: Gender equality
Key Actions
Responsible Deadline Status Comments
During the next phases of the programme, focus on policy development and advocacy with targeted policies and legal provisions that provide services, gender focused social protection, and basic infrastructure, promoting sharing of domestic and care work between men and women, and creating more paid jobs in the care economy with an emphasis on generating data/evidence to fill the knowledge gaps and strengthening capacities and dialogue around 5R. Rwanda: Tess Kazuba, 3R National Coordinator Senegal: Rokhaya Gayes, 3R National Coordinator 2026/04 Ongoing
Recommendation: Continue supporting and advocating policies on unpaid care work. As part of policy focused capacity development of national stakeholders – conduct capacity gap assessments focusing on women and underrepresented groups for meaningful engagement with relevant key government ministries and service providers; arrange Training of Trainers (ToT) for UN Women staff and IP representatives on training modules adapted based on the findings of capacity gap assessments - focusing on inclusive social protection, access to justice and economic empowerment; conduct capacity training for the IPs, women and underrepresented groups, selected rights based CSOs, on inclusive social protection, access to justice and economic empowerment at the local/district level; organize capacity building trainings of IPs on disability and gender disaggregated data collection at national and district levels according to protocol guideline developed by UN Women and other partner UN agencies; organize IP consultations to prioritise key areas for policy reform among relevant key government ministries; and organize capacity development training of IPs for discriminatory law reforms and advocacy with governments.
Management Response:
More detail
Description:
Management Response Category: Accepted
Thematic Area: Women economic empowerment (SPs before 2018)
Operating Principles: Capacity development, Advocacy
Organizational Priorities: Not applicable
UNEG Criteria: Gender equality
Key Actions
Responsible Deadline Status Comments
In the next phases of the programme, continue supporting and advocating policies on unpaid care work. As part of policy focused capacity development of national stakeholders – conduct capacity gap assessments focusing on women and underrepresented groups for meaningful engagement with relevant key government ministries and service providers; arrange Training of Trainers (ToT) for UN Women staff and IP representatives on training modules adapted based on the findings of capacity gap assessments The phase II foreseen the development of a comprehensive training manual on the care economy that will ensure long-term, institutionalized knowledge on the care enconomy around the 5R framework. HQ: Brunella Canu, Porgramme Analyst; Amber Parkes, Policy and knowledge management specialist Rwanda: Tess Kazuba, 3R National Coordinator Senegal: Rokhaya Gayes, 3R National Coordinator 2023/11 Ongoing
Recommendation: A. Using lessons learned from this multicounty programme, the evaluation team recommends that deep after-action organisational development review be carried out on 2 case studies of the programme: Rwanda and South Africa. Results from these 2 country experiences of the same programme revealed vast differences and merit management attention with a view to develop future business continuity plans during emergencies (e.g., COVID-19), and develop resource planning measures such as bringing in surge teams to support a struggling Multicounty Office as was the case with SAMCO. B. Overall, Rwanda had excellent results, meeting most and exceeding some targets within the same short time span and during COVID. SAMCO had the opposite experience. Questions to answer include: Why did COVID-19 negatively impact UN Women SAMCO worse than Rwanda and Senegal and what are possible mitigation measures for the future? After HQ and Regional Office noticed repeated failures of milestones in SAMCO, how come UN Women did not intervene with surge support? C. SAMCO is not set up to deliver multicounty programming. The evaluation recommends that UN Women at Regional and HQ levels consider providing coordinated financial and human resource surge capacity for 24 months to create needed levels of operational, systems, human and financial capacities fit for multicounty programming. D. For Senegal, continue cultivating existing partnerships with state institutions and strengthen collaboration with other strategic actors who may be involved in unpaid care work.
Management Response:
More detail
Description:
Management Response Category: Accepted
Thematic Area: Women economic empowerment (SPs before 2018)
Operating Principles: Promoting inclusiveness/Leaving no one behind
Organizational Priorities: Not applicable
UNEG Criteria: Gender equality
Key Actions
Responsible Deadline Status Comments
Grounding new phases of the programme on this first phase good practices, lessons learned and recommendations. HQ: Brunella Canu, Programme Analyst ESARO: Mehjabeen Alarakia, WEE Advisor WCARO: Elena Ruiz Abril, WEE Policy Advisor Rwanda: Tess Kazuba, 3R National Coordinator Senegal: Rokhaya Gayes, 3R National Coordinator 2026/04 Ongoing