Quarterly Report: USAID Promote: Women in Government

and Afghan Governments to empower 75,000 women between the ages of 18 and 30 and help ensure they are included among a new generation of Afghan political, business, and civil society leaders. The project aims to empower women to become leaders alongside their male counterparts, and ensure they have the skills, experience, knowledge, and networks to succeed. The project has three objectives: facilitate women's entry into decision-making roles in government service, encourage a hospitable environment for female staff in government, and increase local stakeholder support for women in government. Through the advancement of these objectives, the project aims to achieve several results, including at least 3,000 female university graduates and secondary school graduates completing one-year government internships and transitioning to full-time employment, 70 percent of project participants employed by the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (GIRoA) within 24 months of finishing their internship, 75 percent of GIRoA workplace policy reforms benefiting and protecting female employees, and a 50 percent increase in local stakeholder buy-in for support of women working outside the home. During the first quarter of 2016, the project team had several meetings with key ministries and potential partners in preparation for embedding interns into the ministries. The project also held a number of in-depth meetings with the Independent Administrative Reform and Civil Service Commission (IARCSC) and other ministries to discuss their resource needs for training the next cohort of 200 interns, training curriculum updates, and the duration and timing of the internship training in Kabul and the provinces. The project team also discussed the placement of pilot interns who are going to graduate at the end of February 2016. Advertisements for internship applications for the next cohort of 200 interns were broadcasted on Tolo TV and Radio Arman in Kabul, Radio Sulh in Parwan, and Radio Nejraab in Kapisa for one week. In addition to broadcasting at the national and sub-national level, advertisements were posted on the USAID website and the Promote website. Flyers were displayed at various public places, such as the Ministry of Women's Affairs (MoWA), the Afghanistan Civil Service Institute (ACSI), and the Department of Women's Affairs (DoWA) in Parwan and Kapisa. Flyers were also disseminated among civil society organizations (CSOs) and through public and private university networks. As a result of the internship advertisement campaign, the project received 1,017 applications. The project administered written tests for 385 qualified applicants, and then interviewed the 321 candidates who passed these tests. Interviews were conducted by a three-person panel consisting of a USAID Promote: Women in Government representative, a representative from MoWA or the IARCSC, and a representative from the Afghanistan Public Protection Force (APPF). The project team participated in Promote Advisory Committee (PAC) meetings with the other Promote task orders to discuss opportunities and challenges for the Promote program. Additionally, meetings were held with USAID program partners, Rana Higher Education University, and women's small and medium enterprises (WSMEs). The project also discussed finalization of scopes of work with ATVI and Tadbeer Consulting to contribute to the project's objectives.