Deadline: 20-Oct-2025
The Pakistan Women Leaders (PWL) Project (2024–2029), funded by the European Union and jointly implemented by UN Women and UNDP, is set to advance systemic reforms and build the capacity of women leaders across Pakistan.
As part of Outcome 2—focused on strengthening women’s agency and leadership—UN Women is launching the flagship Mentorship Programme for Aspiring Women Leaders (2026–2029). This initiative is designed to prepare a critical mass of women leaders capable of contesting elections, shaping policy agendas, challenging discriminatory norms, and fostering inclusive governance.
UN Women is inviting proposals from qualified Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) with expertise in women’s political participation, leadership development, and mentorship programming. The selected CSO will act as the Responsible Party for the design and full implementation of the mentorship programme from January 2026 to October 2028.
The programme will feature structured outreach and mobilization at federal, provincial, and district levels, ensuring the inclusion of women from political parties, civil society, professional associations, the business community, and marginalized groups. A series of leadership bootcamps will train at least 1,700 women participants, complemented by a structured mentorship programme supporting 170 mentees over a 20-month period. These initiatives will combine academic and experiential learning, exposure visits, and applied leadership projects.
An alumnae network will be established for all bootcamp participants, providing ongoing advocacy, visibility, and networking opportunities. Special attention will be given to ensuring inclusivity under the Leave No One Behind (LNOB) principle, with proactive efforts to involve women with disabilities, women from diverse religious, ethnic, and cultural backgrounds, transgender women, and young women.
The programme will be implemented across the Federal Capital Territory, Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab, and Sindh, with priority districts including Islamabad, Quetta, Jaffarabad, Pishin, Lasbela, Peshawar, Shangla, Swat, Khyber, Battagram, Lahore, Multan, Karachi West, Sanghar, Mirpur Khas, Ghotki, and Khairpur.
The budget range for proposals is set between PKR 185,000,000 and PKR 198,000,000 for the 35-month implementation period. Eligible CSOs must demonstrate strong technical and functional competencies, including at least five years of relevant experience, proven capacity to manage large-scale political training programmes, provincial presence across Pakistan, and robust financial systems capable of managing contracts above USD 250,000 annually. Organizations must also have valid agreements with relevant authorities, curriculum design expertise, and established prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse policies in line with UN Women standards.
While not mandatory, additional strengths such as the ability to deliver training in local languages, experience working with UN agencies, strong data protection measures, and engagement with parliaments, political parties, media, and academia will be considered assets.
Through this ambitious mentorship programme, UN Women aims to foster inclusive leadership in Pakistan, empower women to take on influential roles, and contribute to more democratic and representative governance.
For more information, visit UN Women.
