USAID Promote: Women in Government Quarterly Progress Report January – March 2019

The project's employment efforts were augmented through job readiness sessions, networking events, and intensive collaboration with key government partners. A total of 17 job readiness sessions were hosted this quarter for 1,797 interns to prepare them to apply for specific job vacancies. As a result of these efforts, 213 interns were employed this quarter, bringing the total employment to 744, which is 35 percent of the life of project target. The project also delivered tailored training sessions to current government employees in Self-Confidence, Mentorship, and Professionalism in the Workplace. These training sessions aimed to enhance the skills and confidence of government employees, particularly women, to create a more hospitable environment for female staff in government. The policy team pushed forward key policy initiatives through the policy working groups, working closely with the Ministry of Women's Affairs (MoWA) to support consultative dialogues on the National Action Plan for the Women of Afghanistan (NAPWA) in target provinces. Provincial governments, civil society, and international donor stakeholders provided essential feedback on the NAPWA assessment and laid the groundwork for the development of NAPWA II. The policy team also worked with the Independent Administrative Reform and Civil Service Commission (IARCSC) and its subsidiary, the Afghanistan Civil Service Institute (ACSI), to strengthen the Women's Career Development Center (WCDC). Conversations began to transition intellectual property to the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs (MoLSA), including the Management Information System (MIS) for interns, in alignment with WIG sustainability efforts. The project celebrated International Women's Day and Women's History Month through a series of events recognizing the champions of women's empowerment in the civil service and incentivizing government partners to hire WIG internship graduates. During the three Mentors LEAD events, 15 leaders and champions advocated for women's empowerment and equity around the international theme of "Balance for Better." The project also produced and aired six episodes of Tawandmandsazi (Empowerment) program through Rasana-member stations in Balkh and Herat. The project's monitoring and evaluation efforts were focused on tracking progress towards the project's intermediate results. The project's performance indicators targets and results are presented in Annex 1 of this report. The project also conducted a stakeholder analysis to identify potential job vacancies suitable for internship graduates, which resulted in the identification of more than 1,000 potential job vacancies. The project's employment efforts were successful in placing 213 interns in full-time positions this quarter, bringing the total employment to 744. The project's policy team worked closely with the Ministry of Women's Affairs (MoWA) to support consultative dialogues on the National Action Plan for the Women of Afghanistan (NAPWA) in target provinces. The policy team also worked with the Independent Administrative Reform and Civil Service Commission (IARCSC) and its subsidiary, the Afghanistan Civil Service Institute (ACSI), to strengthen the Women's Career Development Center (WCDC). The project's policy initiatives aimed to create a more hospitable environment for female staff in government and to increase local stakeholder support for women in the civil service.