We are at the halfway point of our FEMACT-Cities journey and we have already learned so much, both about the challenges that women and girls face in our cities and what we can do to address these topics. Whether it‘s the mother with a pram who can‘t get off of the bus without help, a woman facing multiple discrimination in accessing investment capital because of her background, or a young woman whose mobility through her city is limited by fear of street harassment - gender equality in cities is wide-ranging and also touches more lives than we might think when we‘re talking about politics and policies.
Gender equality is also complex, which can hinder implementation - exactly the point we are trying to address in FEMACT-Cities. Fear of violence or harassment, discrimination as a result of stereotypes, and norms and expectations passed on through family, society, school and work limit women and girls‘ access to education, the labour market, equal opportunities, and freedom of movement. These aspects, dealing with only the one facet of a person‘s identity - gender, are further impacted by other demographic characteristics such as migration background, skin colour, disability, socio-economic status, sexual orientation and education level to create a complex and individual experience of the city‘s spaces and services. This is the complexity we are talking about when we use the term intersectionality.
But how do we make policies that adequately address this complexity without getting too specific? Here are some key approaches we have learned in the first part of our network journey:
Plan for the most vulnerable. Chances are, if you are able-bodied and don‘t care for others with disabilities on a regular basis, you may have never noticed where there are ramps and elevators and where they are missing. But for those who are dependent on this infrastructure, missing accessibility can mean being able to participate - or not. This is equally true of other aspects of urban policy, not just the city‘s spaces. Carefully considering which hurdles different groups encounter in accessing services and offers can help us plan these in a more accessible manner.
Those you are planning for might have different needs than you do. Many of us working in policy and city administrations are similar - we are part of the labour force, we are usually between 18 and 65 and have formal education, we speak the local language, etc. The population we are planning our policies for are however much more diverse than we are. Those whose voices don‘t get counted as often are either younger or older than decision-makers, and they are more likely to have care-work responsibilities for elderly or disabled relatives or children, be women, have migration background or speak the local language as a second or even third language, or have a disability. What does this mean for who we need to consult and how we need to design these participation measures in order to make our policies more tailored to the needs of all, without making assumptions?
Gender equality is everyone‘s responsibility. Often, it is those who experience challenges that bring these to light and campaign for change. For this reason we often see women leading the charge in equality measures. However, half of the population can‘t change all of society. Men play a key role in supporting equality measures, as decision-makers, champions and ambassadors to their peers. Effective implementation of gender equality policy will therefore necessarily mean gaining men as allies and helping them understand both the holistic benefits of equality for the labour market, climate policies, and innovation, and how equality policies affect them and the women in their lives. Equality policy is, after all, not just an abstract concept - it affects real people and their chances to take part in society.
We are excited for all the further insights that will come in 2025. Stay tuned to our quarterly network reports for more details or check out the other articles on our page.
Want to learn even more? Check out the Gender Equal Cities curriculum kicking off on 5 March!
https://urbact.eu/knowledge-hub/gender-equal-cities/gender-equality-new-online-course