1. Background and purpose The construction sector in Thailand is one of the country’s largest employers of migrant workers, particularly from neighbouring Myanmar, Cambodia and the Lao People’s Democratic Republic. Despite their central role in sustaining Thailand’s economic growth and infrastructure development, women migrant workers in construction remain largely invisible in data and policy discussions. Existing statistics on the sector rarely provide gender-disaggregated information—including on employment relationships (direct employment or subcontracting), wage levels, job tasks, working hours, and living conditions. The ILO's earlier study on the experiences of migrant women in the Thai construction sector[1]  is now nearly a decade old, and new evidence is sorely needed on new trends and emerging challenges – including the impact of heat stress and other climate-related health risks, which disproportionately affects outdoor workers such as construction labourers, and where data remains sparse. The proposed gender-disaggregated research will help to understand the realities of women migrant workers in construction: their roles, conditions of work, access to protection, and resilience to occupational and environmental risks. Such information will be crucial for designing evidence-based policies and programmes that promote gender equality, fair recruitment, and decent work in this rapidly changing sector. This study is undertaken within the framework of two ILO projects: The TRIANGLE in ASEAN programme creates policies, tools and services that enhance the contribution of labour migration to equitable and just societies. The programme operates in six countries (Cambodia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand and Viet Nam) and engages at the regional level through ASEAN institutions and other regional partnerships. It has three main objectives. Protection: All migrant workers are better protected by labour migration governance frameworks; Development: Policies and programmes enable all migrant workers to contribute to and benefit from economic and social development; Mobility: Labour mobility systems are gender transformative and increase the efficiency of labour markets. TRIANGLE has a Gender Equality, Disability and Social Inclusion Strategy directing its work to include diverse groups of migrant workers, including migrant women, LGBTQI+ migrants, and migrants with disabilities. The PROTECT project (Ensuring Decent Work and Reducing Vulnerabilities for Women and Children in the Context of Labour Migration in Southeast Asia) is three-year (2024-2026) project implemented by the International Labour Organization (ILO), UN Women, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), led by the ILO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, and funded by the European Union. The PROTECT Project addresses legal, policy and institutional gaps and barriers faced by women migrant workers and children in the context of labour migration, including in the protection of fundamental principles and rights at work, and enhances their access to safe, orderly, and regular migration by addressing violence, exploitation, forced labour, trafficking and migrant smuggling. 2. Objectives and key research questions The overall objective of this consultancy is to carry out data collection with/relating to women construction workers in Thailand that focuses on the following research questions: Employment relationships What are the employment relationships that women migrant construction workers are hired under – direct hire or subcontracting? What are the conditions of work for subcontracted vis-a-vis directly hired workers? What issues directly impact on women migrant workers’ employment – for example, the practice of hiring married women workers only (spouses of male construction workers), and dismissing women workers if their spouses lose their jobs? Wages and working conditions  What are migrant women workers' wages; working hours, occupations, access to social security, etc vis-a-vis national workers and male migrant workers? Living conditions What are the living arrangements for workers particularly women migrant workers? What are experiences of migrant workers including ability to leave workplace including during time off, possession of passport and/or other ID documents; experiences of harassment, violence? Impact of heat stress What is the impact of heat stress on women workers in construction including differences (if any) with male migrant construction workers. Thailand-Cambodia border crisis What changes have Cambodian construction workers who are still in Thailand experienced since the start of the border crisis with Thailand? 3. Methodology This mixed method research will comprise an analysis of existing quantitative analysis and new qualitative data collection with women migrant workers in construction. Quantitative analysis: Survey data from Risks, rewards and new realities: Labour migration outcomes in South-East Asia, which included 206 construction workers in Thailand; Data from a SERC survey of 300 construction workers (conducted in March 2025 – raw data to be shared in Excel). Survey data from ILO/World Bank study Narrowing Skills Gaps: Labour Mobility from Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar to Thailand (2025). Qualitative analysis: At least 30 in-depth interviews (IDIs) with women migrant construction workers in Bangkok and Mae Sot in the migrant workers language(s). At least 10 key informant interviews with selected stakeholders in government, trade unions, employers, subcontractors and recruitment agencies. The Contractor can leverage contacts in construction through the PROTECT partnership with World Vision Foundation Thailand, which is working with a number of subcontractors in the construction sector. With respect to both qualitative and quantitative data analysis, the data should be disaggregated by sex and nationality to highlight specific vulnerabilities of women migrant workers. 4. Expected deliverables The Contractor is expected to deliver the following: 1) Inception Report o    Analysis of the existing quantitative data based on the sources listed above through cross-tabulations agreed with ILO; and o    Proposed methodology for qualitative data collection including interview guides, recruitment framework and CVs of interviewers. 2) Draft research analysis o    Consolidated research product which includes both the quantitative (cross tabulations followed by brief narrative interpretations of the data) and qualitative analysis; with key findings with respect to the research questions; and o    Transcripts or detailed summaries (including quotes) from the in-depth interviews. 3) Final research analysis o    Final research product following ILO feedback.   5. Timeline The consultancy will run from 10 December 2025 – 15 March 2026.               Activity                                                           Timeline Inception report                                               10 January 2026 Data collection (IDIs, stakeholder interviews) 30 January 2026 Draft research analysis submitted                   20 February 2026 Final research analysis submitted                   15 March 2026 6.  ILO responsibilities Provide survey data from the research undertaken by SERC; Support the contractor – if necessary – to connect with key informants in the construction sector, including subcontractors; Provide inputs and feedback to the design of the research methodology, and analytical strategies for the study; Provide timely feedback and guidance throughout the process, particularly in refining the analysis for the final submission. Required qualifications Strong expertise in qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis. Demonstrated experience in conducting in-depth interviews of vulnerable workers, including through multilingual enumerators or interpreters. Demonstrated experience in carrying out gender-responsive data collection and analysis. Demonstrated capacity to produce high-quality policy briefs and analytical reports. Familiarity with Thai labour law, labour migration and/or the construction sectors would be desirable. Application details Interested organizations institutes should submit an application with the following documents no later than 17.00 Bangkok time on 25 November 2025 to [email protected] copying Sophia Kagan ([email protected]): a technical proposal outlining their understanding of the assignment, proposed methodology, work plan, timeline, and team roles, as well as research capacity, data management systems, and quality assurance processes; a financial proposal with a detailed, itemised budget that clearly justifies all costs; and If possible, examples of previous research of similar scope, preferably within the last five years, demonstrating experience in labour, migration, gender, social policy, or related thematic areas. Proposals will be assessed against the following selection criteria: Relevance and quality of the proposed methodology;   The contractor's track record in delivering comparable studies; and Value for money of the financial proposal.