Consultant to Develop a study on Sustainable Jobs in the Blue Economy for Women in East and Southern Africa

Background:

UN Women, grounded in the vision of equality enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, works for the elimination of discrimination against women and girls; the empowerment of women; and the achievement of equality between women and men as partners and beneficiaries of development, human rights, humanitarian action and peace and security.

The ocean economy (otherwise referred to as the blue economy) is becoming a powerful engine for Africa’s sustainable growth. It offers vast opportunities for developing countries to foster innovative and resilient economies and accelerate trade through the adoption of social and environmentally sound practices. As of 2019, the blue economy contributed nearly US$300 billion to Africa’s GDP[1] and was responsible for creating 49 million jobs. This underscores the sector’s critical role in supporting livelihoods and advancing national development agendas across the continent. The African Union’s Agenda 2063 declares the Blue Economy to be “Africa’s Future,” and recognizes the key role the ocean plays as a catalyst for socioeconomic transformation. The blue economy encompasses a wide range of activities, including fisheries, aquaculture, marine transport and trade, coastal tourism, offshore energy, waste management, and ecosystem services among others. For many African countries, these industries present untapped potential to diversify economies, boost foreign exchange earnings, and build climate-resilient communities.

In Sub Saharan Africa (SSA), women are integral actors in the blue economy. For instance, in the fisheries, aquaculture and seafood production, women play a significant but underrecognized role; they make up about 40% of the workforce directly engaged in small-scale fisheries[2] and this includes activities such as harvesting and processing. Approximately 34% of those employed in aquaculture across Sub-Saharan Africa are women[3]. In the broader fisheries industry, while fishing remains predominantly male-dominated, women hold 59% of the jobs in fish processing[4]. In marine seafood trade, women dominate local and regional seafood markets in SSA. Women account for over 70% of the workforce in processing, trading, and marketing of seafood across Africa[5].  Women also often manage the movement of seafood from landing sites to markets. Furthermore, women are increasingly leading sustainable tourism ventures in coastal regions. For example, women in Sub Saharan Africa are largely engaged in marine conservation tourism, sale of handicrafts and local food services, cultural and heritage tourism among other economic activities. Women make up a growing share of tourism entrepreneurs, particularly in community-based tourism including through running marine ecotourism businesses that integrate conservation with income generation. Within the renewable energy sector, women are increasingly involved in solar-powered cold storage, aquaculture systems, and renewable-powered irrigation for coastal food production[6]. For example, in Kenya and Ghana, women-led cooperatives are using solar and wind energy to power fish drying, refrigeration, and aquaponics systems[7].

As the transition to green and blue economies is accelerating, women risk being left behind in new job markets. Women have limited access and control over productive blue economy resources. For instance, land and marine tenure rights are often male dominated. This is supported by data that only 13% of women in Sub-Saharan Africa claim sole ownership of land, compared to 36% of men[1]. Furthermore, women face challenge accessing the sea, owning boats, fishing gears, cold storage equipment, and are often confined to processing and post-harvest activities; these limitations often dictated by discriminatory social norms[2]. Women are underrepresented in many high-value blue economy sectors which limits their ability to fully benefit within the blue economy sector. Women are also rarely represented in fisheries management bodies, marine policy forums, or coastal planning committees[3]. In many countries, coastal women are disproportionately affected by climate change, including sea-level rise, extreme weather, and declining fish stocks and often lack the resources to adapt or relocate. Women also face limited access to infrastructure services such as storage facilities which affect their ability to scale their businesses. Digital exclusion limits access to market information and e-commerce opportunities in the blue economy sector.

[1] https://furtherafrica.com/2025/05/14/africas-blue-economy-a-catalyst-for-coastal-growth-and-job-creation/

[2] https://oceanriskalliance.org/news/expanding-evidence-on-womens-contribution-to-seafood-production-in-africa/

[3] https://www.fao.org/fishery/regional-aquaculture-reviews/sub-saharan-africa/en/

[4] https://www.worldbank.org/en/programs/africa-program-for-fisheries

[5] https://openknowledge.fao.org/server/api/core/bitstreams/644f9fb2-e0d9-461c-a237-91a5ee548c61/content

[6] https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s43621-025-01208-7

[7] ibid

[8] https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/099432211092367495/pdf/IDU0afeba6800588804d2a0ad290368a53e64004.pdf

[9] https://www.un.org/oceancapacity/sites/www.un.org.oceancapacity/files/2023unnf_gideon.pdf

[10] https://www.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/Headquarters/Attachments/Sections/Library/Publications/2020/Womens-economic-empowerment-in-fisheries-in-the-blue-economy-of-the-Indian-Ocean-Rim-en.pdf

Rationale

In this complex scenario, a study that provides insights into an inclusive, sustainable and resilient approach to productive livelihoods within the blue economy must, by necessity, take a systems approach and apply a multi-disciplinary analysis. While existing research on women and the blue economy has largely focused on broad gender analysis, there remains a gap in understanding specific opportunities for women’s employment and entrepreneurship within the blue economy - including in relation to its links with the green economy – in East and Southern Africa. The study aims to fill this gap by analyzing key blue economy sectors, including emerging sectors such as in the renewable energy sector, and the digital blue economy among others. Through region-specific case studies, this assignment will identify scalable models and good practices from the private and public sector and civil society. The study will also explore how to enhance women’s participation in blue economy jobs, support their transition into higher-skilled and better-paid roles, promote sustainable employment and entrepreneurship, foster innovation, and contribute to broader economic transformation in East and Southern Africa. These insights are crucial for developing targeted, transformative approaches for a just transition in the blue economy for stakeholders to support and contribute to inclusive practices for women’s employment and entrepreneurship in the blue economy in East and Southern Africa. This research will also contribute to a range of sectoral and cross-sectoral Women Economic Empowerment initiatives in the blue economy in East and Southern Africa Region.

Women in the blue economy is a part of UN Women’s Gender Equality Accelerators under the Gender Responsive Climate Action and recognizes the need for strengthened women’s participation and leadership within this space. The WEE Regional Office conducted a survey to identify where country offices required strengthened knowledge and information support within Women’s Economic Empowerment, and the Blue Economy sector emerged strongly as one of the areas. The expressed interest from country offices underscores a growing demand for evidence-based insights that can inform programming, policy dialogue, and regional collaboration. This regional study is well positioned to provide East and Southern Africa countries with the required data and information for policy and programming areas in the blue economy recognizing its untapped potential to drive inclusive and sustainable development in the region. 

Objectives of the assignment:

The purpose of the study is to provide a landscape identifying the share of blue economy jobs and opportunities that exist in East and Southern Africa and women’s engagement and accessibility to them using both quantitative and qualitative methods. It will help forecast whether a sustainable blue economy sector offers fair and equitable opportunities for women (including young women) to explore the full potential of the blue economy.

Specifically, the study will explore the regional trends on the blue economy in East and Southern Africa including a mapping of key sectors and women’s participation within these sectors, review literature on gender responsive legal and policy frameworks in the blue economy, alongside examining investments in small-scale infrastructure and financing for women-led initiatives in the blue economy. The study will identify opportunities for women’s employment and entrepreneurship in the blue economy sector, drawing on best practices/case studies and providing targeted policy and programmatic recommendations to enhance the enabling environment for women’s employment and entrepreneurship in the sector.

Findings from the study will inform UN Women programming on women’s economic empowerment and contribute to evidence-based advocacy with national governments, regional economic communities and global fora.

Duties and Responsibilities:

The consultant will:

Methodology

The study will focus on East and Southern Africa, drawing from the ocean region that covers the East and Southern Africa countries, including inland water (lakes, rivers and artificial basins). The methodology will adopt a mixed-methods approach combining quantitative analysis, (secondary data analysis from labour force participation surveys, agriculture surveys, among others and qualitative methods (interviews with no more than 10 KII) to analyse employment and entrepreneurship trends, blue economy sectors analyses in the region. The analysis will apply a gender-responsive, intersectional, and participatory lens. The proposed methodology will be detailed in the inception report and will be refined in consultation with UN Women during the inception phase.

The consultant will work under the overall supervision of the Women’s Economic Empowerment Regional Policy Specialist at the UN Women East and Southern Africa Regional Office (ESARO). Regular coordination meetings will be held to discuss progress, challenges, and next steps. The consultant is expected to work closely with focal points from relevant UN Women Country Offices and liaise with key stakeholders as required.

Deliverables 

Work Schedule:  Deliverables Timelines Allocated Percentage Inception report of the situational analysis and regional trends of blue economy in East and Southern Africa; including methodology and action plan September

25%

Final report and policy brief, incorporating inputs from UN Women, and that includes recommendations (policy and programmatic, targeting public and private sector stakeholders).

This is a home -based consultancy. 

Competencies :

Core Values:

Core Competencies:

Please visit this link for more information on UN Women’s Values and Competencies Framework: 

Functional Competencies:

 Required Qualifications

Education and Certification:

Experience

Disclaimer: All products shall be subjected to a plagiarism check and must meet the global standards of below 15 per cent. The consultant shall align all text to the UN Women language style and editorial guidelines respectively including proper citations and referencing.

Languages:

Statements :

In July 2010, the United Nations General Assembly created UN Women, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. The creation of UN Women came about as part of the UN reform agenda, bringing together resources and mandates for greater impact. It merges and builds on the important work of four previously distinct parts of the UN system (DAW, OSAGI, INSTRAW and UNIFEM), which focused exclusively on gender equality and women's empowerment.

Diversity and inclusion:

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UN Women has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UN Women, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to UN Women’s policies and procedures and the standards of conduct expected of UN Women personnel and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. (Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check.)

Note: Applicants must ensure that all sections of the application form, including the sections on education and employment history, are completed. If all sections are not completed the application may be disqualified from the recruitment and selection process.