Gender & Leadership in Market Systems Development Programs: An Analysis of Inclusivity in Job Descriptions
This new study builds off of the findings of The Canopy Lab's initial ‘gender and senior leadership in MSD/PSD programs’ survey and analyzes one of the most influential aspects of the entire recruitment process – the criteria listed for key personnel in USAID tender documents.
This new research looked at two areas:
1) The use of good practices in writing inclusive job descriptions
2) Criteria alignment with adaptive management skillsets
The criteria in tender document job descriptions sets ‘the rules’ by which all actors play. And, because the industry is so competitive, we have no incentive to deviate from the CoP/TL criteria even if we believe another candidate with a less traditional and/or more adaptive management skillset would be a better fit for the role.
Curious about what's next? The Canopy Lab plans to talk with recruiters from development contractors and NGOs for the next piece in this series to understand the system biases from their perspective. They welcome any names, suggestions, ideas and/or questions you can share.