UN Women: Consultant on Institutional Support to the development of Viet Nam’s National Action Plan on Gender Equality in Digital Transformation and the Fourth Industry for 2027–2030, Home-based, National Consultant

Organisation: UN Women
Location: Ha Noi, Viet Nam
Deadline: 10 November 2026

The consultant will work under the overall guidance of the UN Women National Management Specialist and direct supervision of the WPS Programme Analyst. A Programme Associate will be the point of contact on the contract and payment issues. UN Women will facilitate access to relevant internal materials and, where feasible, introductions to priority stakeholders.

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.

Viet Nam is accelerating its transition towards a digital, innovation-driven economy, with science, technology, innovation and digital transformation increasingly shaping public administration, education, employment, entrepreneurship and access to essential services. Government action programmes implementing Resolution No. 57-NQ/TW have reinforced this national priority. At the same time, Viet Nam has an established legal and policy framework on gender equality and international gender equality commitments such as the CEDAW [1] , the UN Pact for the Future [2] that include also the Global Digital Compact [3] , and the Hanoi Convention on Cybercrime [4] that should inform the design and implementation of sectoral policies and programmes.

While this transition offers significant opportunities for inclusive and sustainable development, women and girls may face persistent and emerging barriers in accessing digital skills, participating in STEM education and technology-related employment, leading innovation, securing research and investment resources, benefiting from commercialization, and influencing decisions on the design and use of technology. Digitalization, artificial intelligence and automation may also create differentiated risks, including occupational displacement, algorithmic bias, exclusion from digital services, misuse of personal data and technology-facilitated violence.

The Government of Viet Nam has established important national frameworks for advancing gender equality and accelerating science, technology, innovation and digital transformation. In this context, the development of the first National Action Plan on Gender Equality in Digital Transformation and the Fourth Industry for 2027–2030 (NAP) provides an opportunity to translate these commitments into coordinated, measurable and adequately resourced actions. The proposed Action Plan is expected to promote the systematic integration of gender equality into policy design, public resource allocation, technology development and application, institutional accountability, data systems and monitoring arrangements. It will also seek to strengthen women’s capabilities, participation, leadership, ownership and economic benefits across the technology ecosystem, while addressing the adverse and unequal impacts of technological change.

The draft Action Plan envisages a whole-of-government approach covering STEM education and careers; research and innovation; artificial intelligence, data, automation, semiconductors and emerging technologies; digital government; the digital economy; and the digital society. Its substantive areas include gender-responsive governance and financing; sex-disaggregated data and gender tagging; women’s STEM skills and technology leadership; research commercialization and intellectual property; workforce transition and digital entrepreneurship; inclusive digital public services; responsible AI and online safety; and meaningful participation by women and underrepresented groups. The draft also emphasizes measurable results, clearly assigned institutional responsibilities, verified sources of financing, protection of personal data, and the use of existing national programmes and institutional mechanisms wherever feasible.

The Ministry of Home Affairs is expected to serve as the central coordinating body for the Action Plan, including providing guidance on gender equality, managing the results framework, coordinating implementation, consolidating progress reports and addressing cross-sectoral issues. The Ministry of Science and Technology and other relevant ministries, provincial authorities, research and education institutions, enterprises, civil society organizations and development partners are expected to contribute within their respective mandates. The draft further identifies UN Women and development partners as providers of technical assistance, while policy approval, public financing decisions and technical appraisal remain the responsibility of the competent Vietnamese authorities.

Against this backdrop, the Ministry of Home Affairs has requested UN Women’s technical support for the preparation of the Action Plan. Given the cross-sectoral nature of the assignment and the proposed completion timeline, specialized national expertise is required to support the responsible drafting team in reviewing relevant policies and evidence, identifying gender gaps and strategic entry points, strengthening the results and monitoring framework, consolidating stakeholder inputs, and translating agreed policy priorities into coherent, measurable and implementable provisions.

To support the Ministry of Home Affairs (MOHA) in developing the National Programme on Gender Equality in Digital Transformation and Industry 4.0, UN Women will mobilize a complementary team of two (02) experts working under its technical guidance and in close coordination with MOHA’s Research and Drafting Team. A national gender equality and legal expert will provide targeted legal and policy analysis to strengthen alignment with Viet Nam’s gender equality framework and international commitments. A national institutional support and drafting expert will provide continuous support to the drafting process, facilitate input from relevant ministries and agencies, and consolidate technical recommendations and consultation findings into successive drafts, with clear objectives, measurable indicators, institutional responsibilities and feasible implementation arrangements.

UN Women will facilitate consultations with non-state actors and relevant UN entities, bringing relevant international experience and expertise and ensuring that the perspectives of women and groups facing intersecting barriers to digital inclusion meaningfully inform the Programme. Together, the two assignments are expected to support an inclusive, evidence-informed, legally coherent and implementable Programme, while MOHA retains leadership of the drafting process and the competent Vietnamese authorities retain responsibility for policy decisions and approval.

UN Women will therefore engage a national consultant ( Institutional Support and Drafting ) to lead analytical, consultation and drafting support to the Ministry of Home Affairs in developing and finalizing the proposed Action Plan, while working together with a Gender Equality and Legal Consultant , to provide robust gender analysis and international best practice to inform strategy and targets for gender equality outcomes in Vietnam’s digital transformation and 4 th industry.

Description of Responsibilities/ Scope of Work

Objective: The purpose of this assignment is to provide technical support to strengthen and finalize the draft National Action Plan (NAP), including: (i) conducting a technical review of the draft NAP and providing actionable recommendations for its improvement; (ii) supporting the facilitation of national inter-ministerial consultations and the systematic consolidation of consultation inputs; and (iii) supporting the revision of the draft NAP and conducting a final technical review to enhance its coherence, feasibility and readiness for consideration by relevant authorities.

In close coordination with the MOHA drafting committee, the consultant will serve as the principal technical focal point and coordinate with the Gender Equality and Legal Consultant to provide technical support to strengthen and finalize the draft National Action Plan. S/He will be responsible for draft consolidation and for strengthening the technical quality, coherence to Vietnam’s international commitments on gender equality and women’s empowerment, and practicality of the draft NAP through a structured process of technical review of available national and international tools and frameworks, synthesis of inputs from inter-ministerial consultations, and finalization. Specifically, the consultant will provide technical recommendations on the draft NAP; support the facilitation of national inter-ministerial consultations and consolidation of stakeholder inputs; strengthen the results framework, institutional responsibilities, coordination, financing and monitoring arrangements and support the preparation of a revised draft reflecting relevant consultation feedback; and undertake a final technical review to support its readiness for consideration by the relevant authorities.