A City Tailored to WomenThe Role of Municipal Governments in Achieving Gender Equality

2004 EDITION

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The Federation of Canadian Municipalities and the City of Montreal (Femmes et ville Program) encourage the use, transla-tion, adaptation and reproduction of this document for non-commercial purposes and if the source material is credited.

A City Tailored to Women – The Role of Municipal Governments in Achieving Gender EqualityDocument protected by copyright law © Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) and the City of Montreal (Femmes et ville Program)

All rights reserved.

La version originale en français est disponible sur demande. Version española disponible bajo pedido.

Federation of Canadian MunicipalitiesInternational Centre for Municipal Development 24 Clarence Street Ottawa, OntarioK1N 5P3

Brock CarltonDirectorInternational Centre for Municipal Development

Telephone: (613) 241-5221Fax: (613) 241-7117E-mail: international@fcm.caWeb Site: www.icmd-cidm.ca

City of Montreal’s Femmes et ville(Women in the City) ProgramService du développement culturel et de la qualité du milieu de vieDirection du développement social800, boulevard de Maisonneuve EstMontreal, QuebecH2L 4L8

Anne MichaudCoordinator E-mail: anmicho@ville.montreal.qc.caWeb site: www.ville.montreal.qc.ca/femmesetville

This publication is available online at:www.icmd-cidm.ca/www.ville.montreal.qc.ca/femmesetville

FCM Liaison: Renée GirouxConcept and Coordination: Anne Michaud

Research (First Edition): Sophie PaquinWriter (First Edition): Danielle StantonCollaboration: Joyce Brown, Francine Gagnon,Gloria Gallant

Research and Writing (2004 Edition): Anne Michaud

Research Assistants: Sophie Dupiech, Kim Cornellissen,Marie-Pierre MartinetEnglish Translation: Sarah BinderEnglish Editing: Susie Lamarche

June 2004 (Second Edition, revised and expanded)ISBN: O-919080-69-3 FCM Publication: 1030E

The Federation gratefully acknowledges the support of theCanadian International Development Agency for its publica-tions and international programmes.

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It has become increasingly clear that action to improvethe daily lives of citizens is at its most effective at thelocal government (municipal) level.

But while both women and men are affected by theactions of municipal governments, they experiencethem differently. Women are not as actively involved inmunicipal politics, even though they are specificallyaffected by decisions that concern their socio-eco-nomic condition, including housing, the balancebetween work and family responsibilities, safety, trans-portation, health and education..

By ensuring the civic participation of women and byresponding to their specific needs, municipal govern-ments can play a leading role in helping to achieve theequality of men and women. This is the challenge weinvite you to take up.

This publication is a cooperative effort between theCity of Montreal’s Femmes et ville (Women in the City)Program and the International Centre for MunicipalDevelopment of the Federation of CanadianMunicipalities. The first edition, published in 1997,was widely distributed in both French and English andwas well received throughout the world.

In the past seven years, and especially after theIstanbul Cities Summit (Habitat II), there has been aworldwide proliferation in gender-equality initiativesand in networks that facilitate the exchange of goodpractices and expertise relevant to municipalities andtheir residents.

The 2004 revised and expanded edition of this docu-ment provides references to organizations, events andpublications that are available on the Internet. Theelectronic version of this document will be updatedperiodically with the help of an online questionnaire.We invite you to fill out this questionnaire and shareyour experience at www.ville.montreal.qc.ca/femmesetville

We hope municipal governments will use this docu-ment to assess the impact of all their decisions onthe quality of life of women, and adjust their actionsaccordingly. By sharing the ongoing international brain-storming on this issue and presenting actual achieve-ments, we want to contribute to a social environmentwhere women can participate fully in city life for thebenefit of all our communities.

An Invitation to Municipalities in Canada and Abroad

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AN INVITATION TO MUNICIPALITIES IN CANADA AND ABROAD .................................................................... III

LIVING TOGETHER IN THE CITY ................................................................................................................ 1A Local and Worldwide Issue ............................................................................................................ 2

Networks for Sharing Information, Creating Awareness, Setting Examples and Providing Tools ............ 4

WOMEN TAKING THEIR RIGHTFUL PLACE .................................................................................................. 71. Elected Representatives and Managers: Women on an Equal Footing ............................................ 8

2. Women as Full-Fledged Citizens .................................................................................................. 13

3. The “Ideal” Women-Friendly City ................................................................................................ 17Making a Commitment ................................................................................................................ 17Creating Helpful Structures and Mechanisms ................................................................................ 18

4. A Gender Perspective for the City: .............................................................................................. 22The Women-Friendly City .............................................................................................................. 22Four Steps Toward Better Understanding and More Effective Action ................................................ 23Methods and Tools for Gender Mainstreaming in Local Management .............................................. 30

5. Achievements ............................................................................................................................ 33

6. Questionnaire: How Women-Friendly Is Your City? ........................................................................ 50

Contents

VI

Living Together in the City

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Cities are primarily environments for living. The archi-tecture and design of our cities and neighbourhoods,as well as the various urban functions, reflect our cul-ture, values, lifestyle and relationships – in short, ourway of living together.

Cities belong to the women and men who live in themand citizenship begins primarily at the neighbourhoodand city levels. The design of urban infrastructure andactivities must permit both women and men to fullyexercise their citizenship.

Long confined to domestic activities, women have grad-ually moved into the public arena. The urban settingmust adapt to this cultural and social change, andcities must now deal with the realities of women.

In the mid-seventies, North American researchersbegan to examine the relationship between womenand the urban environment. By the eighties andnineties, municipal action started to include thisdimension thanks to the involvement of women’sgroups. Many cities responded to their requests byinstitutionalizing mechanisms such as the Safe CityCommittee in Toronto, the Femmes et ville (Women inthe City) Program in Montreal, and the Femmes et villeCommission in Quebec City.

The implementation of regional and local developmentpolicies and the debate over municipal mergers haveled to a new mobilization of women’s and gender-equality groups. Montreal, Ottawa and Quebec Cityhave ratified the IULA Worldwide Declaration onWomen in Local Government among their strategies tosolidify the commitment of the new municipal entitiesto gender equality. As well, Femmes et ville consulta-tive bodies have been requested and created in anumber of municipalities.

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A Local and Worldwide IssueImproving the quality of life for women quickly becamean international concern. In 1994, the Organization forEconomic Co-operation and Development (OECD)brought together for the first time delegations from 27countries to examine the theme, Women in the City:Housing, Services, and the Urban Environment. Thisconference allowed participants to share experiencesand practices and to compare national policiesdesigned to bolster the participation of women inmunicipal development.

The United Nations’ Conference on Human Settlements(Habitat II), held in Istanbul in June 1996, marked animportant watershed by giving a prominent place towomen’s concerns. Following closely after the WorldConference on Women (Beijing, 1995), Habitat IIprompted member states to make commitments to acommon goal in the framework of its Habitat Agenda:achieving equality between men and women in themanagement of human institutions within cities andcommunities (see box).

The first World Assembly of Cities and LocalAuthorities, a Habitat II side event that broughttogether over 500 mayors, issued a final declarationurging members of municipal associations to imple-ment the Habitat Agenda at the local level; the signa-tories specifically resolved to “accord every opportunity forfull access and participation by women in municipal deci-sion-making by ensuring necessary provisions for an equi-table distribution of power and authority.”

Habitat II also established the importance of partner-ships and the sharing of experiences and resources,and called on governments, local authorities and theirpartners to carry out five-year plans.

In 1998, the International Union of Local Authorities(IULA), meeting in Harare, Zimbabwe, passed itsWorldwide Declaration on Women in Local Governmentcalling on local authorities to echo the gender-equalitycommitments made by their respective governments.

By the time of the review meeting in New York in June2001 (Istanbul+5), there was already a body of exam-ples of progress towards gender equality, among othergoals in human settlements, due to local partnershipsbetween women’s groups, civil society and localauthorities.

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The Organization for Economic Co-operation andDevelopment www.oecd.org

The Worldwide Declaration on Women in LocalGovernment www.cities-localgovernments.org

Habitat Agenda – Gender Equality:Source: www.un.org/ga/Istanbul+5/

Paragraph 46 – “We commit ourselves to the goal ofgender equality in human settlements development.We further commit ourselves to:

• Integrating gender perspectives in human settle-ments related legislation, policies, programs and projects through the application of gender-sen-sitive analysis;

• Developing conceptual and practical methodologiesfor incorporating gender perspectives in human set-tlements planning, development and evaluation,including the development of indicators;

• Collecting, analyzing and disseminating gender-dis-aggregated data and information on human settle-ments issues, including statistical means thatrecognize and make visible the unremuneratedwork of women, for use in policy and program plan-ning and implementation;

• Integrating a gender perspective in the design andimplementation of environmentally sound and sus-tainable resource management mechanisms, pro-duction techniques and infrastructure developmentin rural and urban areas;

• Formulating and strengthening policies and prac-tices to promote the full and equal participation ofwomen in human settlements planning and deci-sion-making.”

www.unchs.org/unchs/english/hagenda/ch-3d.htm

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Networks for Sharing Information,Creating Awareness, SettingExamples and Providing ToolsTo move the gender equality issue forward and build upcommon reference points, numerous networks havesprung up in recent years in many parts of the world atthe local, regional and national levels. These networksaim to connect local authorities, elected women, grass-roots women’s groups and researchers, as well as non-governmental organizations.

These mechanisms for the exchange of informationand experience raise awareness among municipalauthorities, so that they create the conditions neededfor women to fully exercise their citizenship and thuscontribute to ensuring that women and men inhabitthe city together equally.

Many subsequent international conferences haveencouraged the sharing of practices and producedstrategic alliances between networks of grassrootswomen’s organizations and networks of municipalitiesand national associations of local authorities. Thelaunch of contests to recognize good practices in gen-der equality and women’s participation in local deci-sion-making, as well as the inclusion of these criteriain several other contests on good urban practices,have validated the actions and publicized them in othermunicipalities and communities.

The adoption of policies and perspectives that pro-mote women’s participation and gender equality bygovernments, international bodies, national associa-tions of municipalities and local authorities has finallymade clear their importance to good urban gover-nance.

Networks

The Huairou Commission is a coalition of networks ofgrassroots women’s organizations throughout theworld dedicated to following up the commitmentsundertaken at Habitat II through such campaigns asWomen and Local Governance. www.huairou.org

The Commission sponsors a contest on best prac-tices and has organized several sessions of theGrassroots Women’s International Academy. It worksin close partnership with local authorities, the UnitedNations and many other organizations.

The Women in Cities International network held theFirst International Seminar on Women’s Safety,Making the Links, in Montreal in 2002 and launchedthe Women’s Safety Awards in 2004. www.femmesetvilles.org

The International Union of Local Authorities (IULA),together with the national associations of its mem-bers, has played a key role through its WorldwideDeclaration on Women in Local Government, its gen-der-equality committee and its implementation of aGlobal Program on Women in Local Decision-Making.

United Cities and Local Governments, the new inter-national organization resulting from the fusion of IULAand UTO (United Towns Organization), is committed tocarrying on this work as a priority and to becoming themain source of information on women’s participationin local decision-making. www.cities-localgovernments.org/uclg/

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The United Nations agency UN-Habitat published a pol-icy document on women and urban governance in2001 and has included the issue in its GlobalCampaign on Urban Governance. www.unhabitat.org/campaigns/governance/

UN-Habitat also has a policy on gender equality.www.unhabitat.org/pubs/genderpolicy/

The periodical Habitat Debate published a specialissue, Towards Woman-Friendly Cities (Vol. 8, No. 4,2002). www.unhabitat.org/hd/hd.asp

UNIFEM (United Nations Development Fund forWomen) has started working with projects regardingwomen’s participation in local decision-making inregions of Latin America, including several Andeancommunities. www.unifem.undp.org

Best Practices Contests

Contests were organized in 2003 and 2004 to recog-nize good practices in promoting gender equality andwomen’s participation by cities and local governmentsin the Latin America/Caribbean region.www.pgualc.org (Spanish only) and in the Asia/Pacific regionwww.fukuoka.unhabitat.org

A number of actions have been documented as aresult (see Section 5). The good practices contests,through their questionnaires and entry forms, draw theattention of cities to municipal policies and structuresthey need to set up.

A questionnaire drawn up by the City of Montreal(available in French, English and Spanish) will helpdevelop case studies of “women-friendly cities.” Citiesare invited to fill it out online at the site of the Femmeset ville program. www.ville.montreal.qc.ca/femmesetville

UN-Habitat’s Best Practices contest includes GenderEquality and Women’s Empowerment among its cate-gories. Some 200 nominated case studies can beconsulted in the database. www.bestpractices.org

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7

Women Taking their Rightful Place

Gender equality has long been recognized as a basicprinciple by many societies. Now it is time to apply itto everyday life by responding to the different needs ofwomen and men in the very organization of the urbanenvironment.

Cities have long held the leading role in social life.They continue to play an increasingly important part inorganizing and providing services to their citizens,both men and women, especially in the context ofurbanization, decentralization and globalization. Butwomen experience city life differently from men,because established norms and traditions have giventhem different roles and responsibilities.

Similar treatment, therefore, does not necessarily endup being equal treatment. The approach that “what-ever is good for men is automatically good for women”must be dropped because its apparent neutrality ismisleading: it conceals the specific needs of men andwomen and prevents us from detecting and rectifyingpersistent inequalities.

Women are experts in day-to-day living, a large major-ity of them having to juggle jobs and domestic duties.They have less time than men for political involvementor participation in consultations or decision-making.Thus, they have little say in the planning of municipalservices, installations and design and are often poorlyserved as citizens: inadequate day-care services, rigidoperating hours of municipal services, poorly adaptedpublic transportation, unsafe public places, etc. Thelack of access to services and resources also createsan obstacle to men’s equal sharing in household andfamily tasks.

Cities must now diversify, adapt to modern lifestyles,and support the changes needed to achieve genderequality at each stage of life. It is time for cities togive women a far bigger role and for women to taketheir rightful place as equal citizens.

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1. Women Elected Representativesand Managers on an Equal FootingEven though women make up more than 50 per centof the population, they do not come close to makingeven half of the political and administrative decisionsin cities.

There are many hurdles to women’s participation inmunicipal government, the main one being the need tobalance work and family responsibilities, particularlyfor women with young children. An organizationalstructure that perpetuates a division of labour basedon gender is another hurdle. Thus, while women mustbe made aware of the importance of taking their right-ful place, it is equally essential that men be educated,since they can – and must – be women’s greatestallies in achieving gender equality.

Municipal governments have a role to play in helpingwomen enter the decision-making process. Municipaldecision-makers must understand the stakes andeliminate the systemic obstacles facing women.

Equal representation is certainly one way to ensure thatthe needs of men and women will be addressed inmunicipal planning and management. But aiming tostrike a balance in the number of elected men andwomen will not be enough if the elected women remainpigeonholed in certain sectors. Transportation, financialmanagement, highway maintenance and urban designalso concern women. Equality also applies to manage-ment and throughout the municipal public service itself.

Elected RepresentativesLocal and international gender-equality actions havefocused on raising the number of women elected tomayoralty and council posts. Despite these efforts, in2004, women accounted for only 4.6 per cent of may-ors (34 countries surveyed) and 15 per cent of coun-cillors (52 countries.)1

With rare exceptions – such as in Sweden, wherewomen make up 42 per cent of elected municipalcouncillors – progress in this area has been duemostly to national laws which impose quotas or parity.For example, in India, more than one million womengained access to municipal councils after a 1992 con-stitutional amendment assured them 30 per cent ofseats in local administrations. France’s law on paritypushed the proportion of women councillors from 21%to 47% in the 2001 election. It seems, then, that affir-mative-action measures are the best way to countersystemic discrimination, the cause of the stagnationseen across the world.

Various additional measures can be taken, including arequirement by municipal political parties that at least50 per cent of candidates for election be women – pro-viding they are not made to run in districts where theystand little chance of being elected.

1. Worldwide Program on Women and Local Decision-Making www.cities-localgovernments.org

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When a political party comes to power, it can bolsterequal representation on the executive committee byreserving a number of seats for women. The sameapplies to nominations on various municipal commis-sions or regional and internal committees. In fact, thegoal of gender parity should guide every aspect ofmunicipal politics.

Women’s access to power can be facilitated by condi-tions such as the commitment and support of politicalparties, the building of a local and countrywide net-work of elected women, a mentorship system, train-ing, the promotion of leadership among girls andwomen and, of course, financial support by govern-ments and municipalities.

National governments can play a part in this by pass-ing gender-equality laws – including measures thathelp to end violence against women and to reconcilework and family life – and by financing programs thatencourage women to take part in local decision-mak-ing.

While it is a prerequisite for gender equality, the equalrepresentation of women in local administrations doesnot necessarily guarantee that the municipal manage-ment will take women’s specific needs into account.To achieve this end, women representatives must notbe confined to traditionally “feminine” portfolios (i.e.,social or cultural ones).

They must also become real advocates for genderequality among their colleagues and in the localadministration. The development of training programsin gender perspective for women and men elected offi-cials, as well as the building of partnerships with localwomen’s groups, are some of the strong trends notedworldwide.

In many regions of the world, the national and inter-national associations of local authorities support thedevelopment of networks of local elected women.These networks make it easier to organize trainingworkshops for women elected officials and politicalcandidates, to research and draw up local policieswith a gender perspective, to gather data, etc.

A breakdown by province is available at: www.icmd-cidm.ca

Canada (2004)F M

Mayors 419 3,309% 11.2% 88.8%Councillors 4,534 16,314% 21.7% 78.3%City Managers 1,926 1,802% 51.7% 48.3%

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See

Updated figures on the proportion of women in localauthorities by region and country are available on theWeb site of the United Cities and Local Governments(“Women” or “Gender” sections) at: www.cities-local-governments.org

The Summit of Women Mayors and Local Officials inAsia/Pacific took place in June 2001 (24 participantcountries) with the backing of the United Nations. Formore on the situation of women in local urbangovernments in the region, see the UNESCAP studyWomen in Local Government in Asia and the Pacific: Acomparative analysis of thirteen countries at: www.unescap.org/publications/detail.asp?id=502

In Latin America and the Caribbean, the preferredmechanisms for the promotion and support of womenpoliticians and for the advancement of gender equalityhave included the creation of the Federation of ElectedMunicipal Women (Federación de MujeresMunicipalistas de América Latina y El Caribe), the con-solidation of national associations of elected womenand the creation of “women” commissions withinmunicipal associations. For more on this subject, seeGénero y gobierno local (Gender and LocalGovernment) on the site of the Federation of LatinAmerican Cities and Municipal Associations at: www.iula.net/

In Africa, the emphasis has been on devising strate-gies to achieve gender equality and on the creation ofa women’s caucus within national associations oflocal authorities. The World Program of the UnitedCities and Local Governments supports such initia-tives in four countries (Kenya, Namibia, Uganda andZimbabwe) as well as the establishment of a women’s

caucus and platform within the Africa Union of LocalAuthorities.www.locgovinfo.co.zw/

The study Genre et gestion locale du changementdans sept pays de l’Union européenne (Gender andthe Local Management of Change), conductedbetween 2000 and 2003, set out to measure theimpact elected women officials have made in Belgium,France, Greece, Finland, Italy, Portugal and Sweden. Italso identifies the manner in which gender affectspublic policy in urbanism, city design, safety, and thecare of dependent persons.www.sh.se/genreetlocal

In December 2003, the Council of EuropeanMunicipalities and Regions and its Committee ofWomen Elected Representatives of Local and RegionalAuthorities launched the “Is Your Municipality at theVanguard of Equality?” project, which aims to docu-ment good practices, publish case studies and drawup a “model egalitarian city” to inspire cities in Europeand elsewhere.www.ccre.org/

The European Commission’s Community Programme onGender Equality (2001-2005) funds these activities.europa.eu.int/comm/employment_social/equ_opp/fund_en.html

In Canada, the creation by the Federation of CanadianMunicipalities of the Committee on Canadian Womenin Municipal Government led to the organization ofactivities of exchange and support among electedwomen and to the creation of the Increasing Women’sParticipation in Municipal Consultation Processes proj-ect.www.icmd-cidm.ca

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Municipal Employees To participate more fully in municipal planning andmanagement, women must take their rightful placewithin municipal services, where they have tradition-ally occupied mostly low-ranking positions.Municipalities can use various means to raise thenumber of women in management, including:

• Employment equity programs designed to increasethe number of women managers, professionalsand specialized workers. However, to maintain thegains achieved, municipal governments and tradeunions must assess the impact of job cuts since,being the last in, women run a higher risk of beingthe first out. Similarly, since hiring is currentlyrestricted, the rules governing appointments andpromotions should be reassessed to favour theaccess of women to senior positions;

• Affirmative action for access to non-traditionaltrades through activities such as training, pairing ofemployees and mentoring female university stu-dents;

• Measures to help women and men balance workand family obligations, such as flexible or part-timeworking hours and workplace day-care;

• Measures to provide employees with a safe andnon-discriminatory workplace, including policiesagainst sexual harassment and a safety-orientedworkplace design.

Government policies on equal access to jobs, wageequity, and attracting women to non-traditional tradesprovide an invaluable support for the implementationof such measures at the municipal level.

Breaking through the Glass Ceiling

Rennes (France)In response to the very low proportion of women in theupper echelons of the municipal administration,Rennes carried out a study to identify the obstaclesand blocks to women’s careers and to shed light onthe inequality between men and women in recruit-ment, job hierarchy and assigned responsibilities.Through interviews with women, the study found thattheir failure to advance professionally was due to theirdifficulty in adapting to a work schedule based on amale model of time use.

The study prompted the city administration to set upthe Group for Equal Opportunities for Men and Womenand, given the extent of the problems, to create in1995 a position unique in France of “EqualOpportunities Delegate”. The delegate was given themandate to act as the interface between city employ-ees and the executive. The delegate coordinates thegroup’s work, synthesizes its recommendations andpresents them to the executive. The group later splitinto four thematic subgroups: ProfessionalEquality/Parity, Time Use, Health And WorkingConditions and Communications. TheCommunications sub-group reports internally on theinitiative and keep women’s work on the agenda.

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Rennes has also developed training programs to raisethe qualifications and status of jobs traditionally heldby women. It has committed to making working condi-tions more ergonomic. Training in injury-preventingworking positions and movements has especially ben-efited women working with children and the elderly.Equipment and furniture have also been re-evaluatedalong those lines and replaced as needed.

The city has taken on the problem of work schedulesand the difficult issue of balancing work and privatelife. This is the main cause of inequalities betweenworking men and women, as women executives in theoriginal study pointed out. More attention has alsobeen paid to the problem of sexual and psychologicalharassment. Parallel to the administration’s group,elected women representatives have set up their owntask force, which, among other actions, has produceda white paper analyzing political practices (such as thetime and duration of meetings, delayed transmissionof files, an old guard of male colleagues monopolizingspeaking turns) and recommending changes.

That was how the majority party’s women elected rep-resentatives were able to create a common culture,build solidarity – for example, in how they handledossiers in council – raise awareness of sexist behav-iour and denounce stereotyping.

Making the top municipal administrators sensitive togender equality has been a prerequisite throughoutthis effort. Networking was also a productive strategyand the “Femmes dans la ville” (Women in the City)consultative committee was a key element in linkingthe gender-responsive forces. Gender parity on coun-cil, and especially in the executive, contributes to elim-inating sexist planning and gender stereotypes.Source: Michelle Kergoat www.ville-rennes.fr (Frenchonly)

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2. Full-Fledged CitizensDirectly affected by housing conditions, transporta-tion, public services and the urban environment,women have always been very involved in communitylife.

But primarily concentrated in traditionally femaleareas such as school committees and communitygroups, women did not go for political power and stilltoday have few means of advocating for their issuesand influencing public policy.

Yet women have developed a specific expertise,namely an alternative vision of city life, and their expe-rience represents an added value for municipalities.

Women’s contribution to urban life should be acknowl-edged for its true worth, so that they may finallyassume an integral role in their community’s politicaland administrative decision-making.

One way to bring this balance about is to favour andsupport the participation of women in public consulta-tions and to help them take up key positions on con-sultative committees and councils where citizens sit.

“Women do not have a linear and compartmentalizedapproach; instead, they tend to be universal and areused to devising solutions to complex problems. Thisapproach may be useful to municipal partners, whomust solve multifaceted and sectoral problems.Therefore, involving women in municipal partnership ismore of a useful undertaking than a form of altruism.”2

Municipal governments can encourage the participa-tion of women by making it easier for them to attendvarious public consultations: providing childcare orcovering the cost of childcare to allow mothers to takepart in consultation meetings, etc. Moreover, munici-palities can reach women who are not mobile wherethey live (i.e., in low-cost housing or residences for theelderly) by creating travelling consultation units.

Finally, they must provide financial and technical sup-port to women’s groups who participate regularly inthose activities. In all cases, municipal authoritiesshould ensure that clear and accessible information isavailable. That is a premise and a basic requirementof democratic life.

2. Women in the City: Housing, Services, and the Urban Environment. OECD (1993), Paris.

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Increasing Women’s Participation in Municipal Consultation Processes

Increasing Women’s Participation in MunicipalConsultation Processes is an FCM project sponsoredby Status of Women Canada. The purpose of the one-year project, started in 2003, is to contribute tochanging municipal consultation practices and poli-cies so that the full diversity of Canadian women havea meaningful voice in the decisions that affect theirdaily lives.

Objectives• To equip municipal governments with information,

tools and strategies that will assist them todevelop and implement public participationprocesses that involve the diversity of women intheir communities.

• To make recommendations to FCM, and to partici-pating local municipalities, for action to strengthenwomen’s involvement in public participationprocesses.

• To develop national and local partnerships that willstrengthen the capacity of municipal governmentsto involve women, and the capacity of women’sorganizations to participate in municipal consulta-tion and decision-making processes.

A report will be produced, documenting to what extentcurrent participation processes reflect the full diver-sity of women and identifying the factors that inhibit orfacilitate their participation. There will also be a toolkitof gender-inclusive participation tools and strategiesfor municipal governments and women’s and commu-nity groups.

MethodologyThe project will use five main strategies:

• Building and strengthening partnerships• Surveying gender-inclusive participatory practices at

a municipal level• Participatory action research in local communities• Developing action plans• Creating tools

Building and strengthening partnerships will be a keystrategy at all stages of this project. Building partner-ships involves identifying and strengthening existingnetworks, as well as developing new connections.

Research into the gender-inclusive public participationprocesses in Canadian municipalities will provide thecontext for local projects and the final report. A surveywill be undertaken to assess where Canadian munici-palities stand in relation to how they involve the pub-lic in a meaningful way, use participatory practicesthat facilitate public involvement, and provide accessto these processes for diverse groups of women. Thiswill help to develop research strategies for local proj-ects, inform and substantiate a national action planand suggest the type of tools needed to supportmunicipalities to effectively involve diverse women.

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Six municipalities have been selected to participate inparticipatory action research: Cowichan Valley (BritishColumbia), Halifax (Nova Scotia), Iqaluit (Nunavut),Montreal (Quebec), Saskatoon (Saskatchewan) andThunder Bay (Ontario).

Although the local projects are based on a nationalframework, each local community tailors the researchapproach to its circumstances and priorities.

Local women, women’s organizations and municipalrepresentatives take part in adapting the researchstrategy, implementing the activities, analyzing thefindings and developing a local action plan. Theresearch includes activities to reach and involvediverse groups of women who are generally notinvolved in that municipality’s participation processesdue to various factors (Aboriginal status, race, class,ability, sexual orientation, refugee or immigrant status,age, language or geographical isolation).

The findings of the survey of public participationprocesses in Canadian municipalities and the localprojects will be applied to create a toolkit of public par-ticipation methods that can effectively involve diversewomen in municipal processes and decisions. Thetoolkit will be useful for non-governmental organiza-tions and community organizations as well as munici-pal governments.

The project’s results will be available on the Web siteof FCM’s International Centre for MunicipalDevelopment at:www.icmd-cidm.ca

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Norway

A Woman’s Perspective in Municipal PlanningThe Norwegian government, in cooperation withmunicipal authorities, has carried out a pilot projectdesigned to improve the integration of women intomunicipal life by including their point of view in suchareas as urban planning and design. Although generalguidelines were provided, the implementation variedaccording to participating municipalities. The projectdealt with the design or re-evaluation of the municipalmaster plan.

First, a Steering Committee was created, comprising 6to 8 members: the Mayor and heads of municipalservices, a municipal staff representative, preferablyan urban planner or designer, and representativesfrom interest groups. A balance in the number of maleand female members was sought. The SteeringCommittee oversaw various task forces, at least halfof whose members were women.

The draft of an urban plan was prepared and submit-ted for consultation. From the outset, additional activ-ities were organized to encourage the participation ofwomen: information about urban planning, promotionof women’s participation in municipal consultation,training on how to develop an urban plan and onmunicipal life in general. Municipal governments rec-ognized that use of gender-disaggregated data wasimportant in carrying out the operation. Guides werealso published, including A Cookbook for GrassrootsPlanning.

The project produced a number of changes, such as the acceptance by municipalities of the active par-ticipation of women’s groups and the implementationof a “bottom-up process” that led to a better under-standing of women’s specific needs and, conse-quently, to more project funding.See: Norway in the 1996 database at: www.bestpractices.org

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3. The “Ideal” Women-Friendly City Making a CommitmentThe first step often taken by municipalities is to makea formal commitment to gender equality through theadoption of a declaration or charter in council. Since 1999, a number of cities around the world have done this by using IULA’s WorldwideDeclaration on Women in Local Government. A munici-pality ratifying the declaration commits itself to, amongother things:

• Strengthening efforts to make equal the number ofwomen and men in decision-making bodies at alllevels and in all policy areas;

• Applying the mainstreaming principle by integratinga gender perspective into all policies, programsand service-delivery activities in individual localgovernments and their representative associationsat national, regional and international levels, and todeveloping methods for monitoring and measuringthis mainstreaming work;

• Strengthening international and national coopera-tion among territorial groupings in order to furtherthe exchange of experiences, as well as to deviseand develop methods, policies and strategies thathelp offset barriers to women’s participation inlocal decision-making.

Having a common platform facilitates the monitoringof commitments and the exchange of good practicesamong municipalities at the national and internationallevel.See Declaration: www.cities-localgovernments.org/uclg

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Creating Helpful Structures and Mechanisms

To carry out gender equality commitments, new structures and mechanisms, together with adequate staffing andfunding, are required. These make up an overall system within which the various components interact. The“ideal” women-friendly and gender-equal municipality ensures that all the elements of this system are put intoplace.

ADMINISTRATIVE STRUCTURESAND MECHANISMS

CONSULTATIVE ANDPARTICIPATORY STRUCTURES

POLITICAL STRUCTURES AND MECHANISMS

Municipal Council

1 representative/city 1 representative/borough

Gender EqualityPolicy

Annual Action Plan

“Women“ or “GenderEquality“ Office

D

Inter-BoroughCoordinatingCommittee

D

G

Time OfficeD

Tools for Equality

Advisory CouncilA

B

ConsultativeCommission

A

ThematicPartnershipCommittees

E PublicConsultationMechanisms

E

FMechanisms forWomen'sParticipation

E Communication and InformationMechanismsC

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A CONSULTATIVE STRUCTURE

The Women’s/Gender EqualityCommission or Advisory Council Some cities set up a commission made up of electedwomen representatives that is mandated to consultwomen’s and citizen groups and make recommenda-tions to council. Others establish an all-women advi-sory council comprising elected representatives,delegates from women’s groups, public servants andcitizens to encourage dialogue between citizens andthe municipal apparatus. These commissions or coun-cils are a useful tool for determining the priorities of agender policy and carrying out an annual action plan.They report either to the municipal council or to themayor. Within council, a woman councillor is givenpolitical responsibility for the gender issue. At the bor-ough level, the portfolio is also handled by a memberof the borough council.

A MUNICIPAL GENDER EQUALITY POLICY

A commitment to the principle of gender equality is fol-lowed by the development, adoption and implementa-tion of a Municipal Policy on Gender Equality. Thispolicy sets out the goals, means and resourcesneeded, as well as the municipal structure that will beresponsible for carrying out an annual gender equalityaction plan. The policy is cross-sectoral by definitionand will apply to all areas of municipal activity, includ-ing the urban plan, housing, transportation and publicsafety. It may include specific targets such as fighting

poverty, violence against women, women’s safety,access to housing and homeownership, or access torecreation. Since the municipality is also an employer,the policy will provide for equal access to jobs andsalaries, as well as measures for work-family reconcil-iation to promote gender equality among municipalemployees.

AN ANNUAL GENDER EQUALITY ACTION PLAN

The gender policy is concretized in an annual actionplan adopted by council or the municipality’s executivestructures. The plan lays out actions and goals, budg-ets and resources to be allocated, partners involved,a timetable and the expected results. It is executed bythe municipal administrative structure in charge ofgender equality, in conjunction with women’s groups,local community and public organizations, and womencitizens. A mechanism that coordinates the variousservices, boroughs or districts ensures coherence inthe work throughout the territory and encourages theflow of information and the sharing of good practices.A regular review of the actions helps determine new pri-orities and any needed adjustments.

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AN ADMINISTRATIVE STRUCTURE

The Women in the City or GenderEquality Office This permanent structure is placed under the jurisdic-tion of the municipality’s City Manager to ensure thatit makes a real impact on all municipal services. Ateam of professionals, assisted by a secretariat, isresponsible for carrying out the annual action plan. Itcoordinates a committee of representatives from thevarious departments, boroughs or districts. Everydepartment and borough appoints a Gender Officer.The action plan is drawn up in close consultation withwomen’s groups and with community and public part-ners. Various task forces are created to carry out proj-ects. The annual budget covers recurring operatingexpenses such as salaries (including those of the sec-retariat), funding for research, evaluations, trainingand awareness programs, as well as a funding pro-gram for initiatives by women’s groups and communityorganizations that are focused on women’s empower-ment. The allocation of adequate human and financialresources is a sine qua non condition for bringing tolife the commitments made by the municipal council.

The Gender Equality Office is connected to an officecalled the Bureau des temps, or the Time Office. ThisOffice has been created to ensure that the businesshours of public and private municipal services dovetailwith the population’s various life schedules, such aswork, travel, recreation, family activities, studies andshopping. The interconnectedness of the two officesimproves service delivery by recognizing the differ-ences in time use by women and men. This reducesgender inequality and enhances the quality of life ofboth groups.

PARTICIPATORY STRUCTURES

Partnership Committees Thematic task forces may be set up to ensure theinvolvement of women’s groups, community organiza-tions and other public and private institutions (such asgovernment agencies, researchers, trade unions andbusinesses) in common-interest initiatives. The taskforces, which receive financial and technical supportfrom the municipality, can tackle such issues aswomen’s safety, housing or transportation. Thesestructures open an ongoing dialogue between themunicipality and women’s groups and lead to a betterunderstanding of the realities and needs of women cit-izens.

Mechanisms for Public Consultation andthe Promotion of Women’s Participationin Municipal LifeMechanisms for citizen consultation and participationlie at the core of the basic principles of good urbangovernance. However, for these mechanisms to betruly accessible, hurdles to women’s participationmust be removed. To ensure that women attend pub-lic consultations and that their voices are heard, themunicipality takes specific measures related to theschedule of hearings, their location (i.e., access bypublic transit and safety) and complementary servicessuch as child care. An understanding of women’s real-ities and needs calls for the use of other means tosolicit their views, including qualitative research, focusgroups, surveys and walking safety audits.

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COMMUNICATION AND INFORMATIONMECHANISMS

The municipality makes sure that women receive dis-tributed information about municipal services andurban development projects that have an impact onthe quality of life in neighbourhoods and throughoutthe city. Women’s groups and local partners can helpreach women, especially those who are isolated byilliteracy, language or handicaps.

TOOLS FOR EQUALITY

A Gender Perspective in MunicipalManagement, or Gender Mainstreaming Applying a gender perspective to municipal manage-ment, or gender mainstreaming, ensures that the dif-ferent realities and needs of women and men aretaken into account with a view to reducing inequalitiesand optimizing services to the population. Activitiesthat raise awareness and training in gender perspec-tive are therefore regularly offered to employees ofmunicipal services and boroughs, as well as to allelected representatives and the municipality’s part-ners. Gender-disaggregated data is used systemati-cally to identify citizens’ needs and to evaluate thedelivery of services. This approach is central to thegender equality policy. It must be applied during thepreparation of the municipal budget to ensure thatspending and investments contribute to the reductionof inequalities while at the same time facilitatingwomen’s ability to improve their living conditions (suchas access to housing, transportation, employment,safety and leisure).

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4. A Gender PerspectiveThe Women-Friendly City“Equality does not mean treating all groups the sameway: policies and programs must often treat differentpeople and groups differently. However, the goal andeffect of a policy should be gender equality.”3

The experiences of men and women differ socially,politically and economically. These differences mustbe recognized to achieve genuine equality. With this inmind, several countries have recently agreed to use acommon measuring instrument: the gender-basedanalysis, also called gender perspective or gendermainstreaming.

Taking a perspective on reality that breaks with the tra-ditional, supposedly gender neutral, one allows for thegathering and interpretation of comparative quantita-tive and qualitative data concerning the distinct reali-ties and needs of women and men. This approachprovides an accurate picture of a situation. The goal ofthe gender perspective is clear: identifying and elimi-nating the causes and manifestations of inequalitybetween men and women.

Municipal governments and their partners stand tobenefit from integrating a gender perspective into theplanning and execution of their activities. On the onehand, the diagnostic tool allows them to fine-tune theiractivities to the particular needs of men and women;on the other, they can ensure that each of their deci-sions has a positive effect on the life of every citizen.

In that way, the gender perspective guarantees a moreeffective management of overall human and financialresources because it provides for a targeted responseto specific needs of the population. An even more accu-rate response to a diverse population can be achievedby adding indicators such as age, origin, family situa-tion or income level.

3. Gender-based Analysis: A Guide for policy making, Status of Women Canada (1996), Ottawa.

Athéna Polias (The City-Dweller)Pablo Van Momo, April 2004

Four Steps

to Better Understanding and More Effective Action

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• What are the specific needs of women and men invarious areas of activity ?

• How many women and men head single-parent fam-ilies within the boundaries of the municipality?

• How many women own houses, rent apartments orlive in subsidized housing?

• What percentage of men and women use municipalservices (such as public transit and recreationalactivities)?

• What proportion of women and men feel unsafe?

Gender-based analysis helps to answer such ques-tions. It provides municipal governments with a moreprecise picture of the situation. Municipal govern-ments must take the time to ask the right questions.A simple four-step method has been devised to guidethe process.

Assessing the Situation

1Developing an Action Plan

2

4Periodic Reviews

3Evaluating

the Plan

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To carry out effective work, a clear picture of the situ-ation is required. It should be possible to make anevaluation by sorting quantitative and qualitative databy gender. This method of gathering and analyzinginformation can reveal the gaps between men andwomen for a given situation.

The municipality must first determine whether relevantstudies or surveys are available, or whether new infor-mation should be gathered. In other words, the mostefficient means of collecting relevant information mustbe assessed in each case. If nothing is available, themunicipal government can gather information in vari-ous ways, including requests for data from statisticsagencies, research, task forces, public consultationand interviews.

In some cases, it might also consider using internaltools, for example, enquiring about the number of menand women who participate in recreational activities.Whether the data is to be gathered or already exists,one thing should be kept in mind: the informationmust cover all aspects of the issue.

Municipal governments must have specific informationthat sets out the different realities of men andwomen, since this is the only way of tailoring programsand measures to the specific needs of each group.The use of gender-disaggregated data ensures, amongother things, that inaccurate interpretations areavoided. When taken out of context, figures can bemisleading. For example, an equal number of womenand men may work in a particular sector; but if thewomen are restricted to low-level positions then theyhave minor roles in decision-making and cannot fullyengage in genuine leadership. For this reason, theassessment should go beyond the simply quantitativeand examine the place of women in leadership anddecision-making positions.

Step 1Assessing the Situation

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When gathering the facts, the municipal governmentmay involve partners, such as the research sector,community groups or the police service, as these part-nerships may prove useful in obtaining a more com-plete picture of the situation. However, there is onepartnership that is absolutely essential. Municipalitiesmust ensure that the main participants concerned areinvolved; women themselves. Their various responsi-bilities provide them with an excellent ground levelunderstanding of all dimensions of the city (environ-mental, functional, economic and social.) Womenmust be involved from the outset. Effective andsmooth-running consultation mechanisms, as well asan alliance with women’s groups and local organiza-tions, will allow municipal governments to reach thegreatest possible number of women. This new way ofputting women’s expertise to work may require someadjustments, but is well worth the effort!

Once the municipal government has an accurate pic-ture of the situation, it can interpret the data to under-stand the causes underlying the gaps and move toremedy them. However, solutions do not always liewithin municipal jurisdiction. In such cases, the rele-vant authority must be identified and urged to imple-ment strategies that improve the living conditions ofwomen in the city. For example, while the effects ofpoverty are visible at the neighbourhood level, solu-tions must emanate from all orders of government andfrom public policies in effect.

The gender perspective dispels a number of myths andprejudices about women and men and may run counterto the opinions of those collecting the data. The mainprejudice, which might become a major obstacle, lies inthinking that services are equitable and accessible towomen because they are delivered to all citizens withoutdistinction. This assumption masks the reality of sys-temic discrimination against women.

Training and awareness-raising programs are neededso that municipal employees support the approachand use it as a management tool to improve the qual-ity of services delivered to the population. Ongoingconsultation with partners (including women in variousroles such as citizens, employees or elected repre-sentatives) and women’s groups is an asset in raisingthe awareness of city employees, both women andmen, and in analyzing the causes of gender gaps.

Summary• Obtain gender-disaggregated data• Using the information obtained, prepare an assess-

ment of the situation as it applies to men and women

• Identify the gaps between men and women• Pinpoint the causes of these gaps to be able

to remedy them

Who should be consulted?Women, women’s groups, community and institutionalpartners (such as central government departments andagencies, universities)

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Once properly informed, municipal authorities setbroad objectives that are then broken down into morespecific goals. At this stage, it is important to identifyany positive or negative factors that may affect theexercise.

For example, a municipal government decides toencourage women’s access to non-traditional jobs byhiring them in its Public Works department. The munic-ipality can readily identify sexual harassment as anelement that may undermine the success of the oper-ation. Not only can sexual harassment affect womenin their job, it can also drive them out of a givenemployment sector and back into one that causesless commotion in their life. If the municipal govern-ment does not take adequate measures from the startto prevent sexual harassment, the entire operationcould be jeopardized. In other words, the sooner anypositive and negative influences on the process areidentified, the better.

The desired results and the indicators needed tomeasure them must also be defined as accurately aspossible at this stage. Authorities then plan the con-crete steps that need to be taken in consultation withwomen and the different partners involved. The actionwill be tailored to the target clientele and takes intoconsideration not only gender specificity but also thespecific needs of the various subgroups (including sen-iors, the disabled and women from ethnic minorities).If needed, indicators that are specific to gender andsubgroup membership may be used.

The financial and human resources required to com-plete the project must also be allocated and respon-sibilities and degrees of accountability assigned toeach participant (e.g., municipal services and supportnetworks). The municipal government must alsoestablish a timetable, ensure that the action plan isimplemented within its scope, and coordinate actionsto be taken with its partners.

Remember: putting together an action plan requiresthe full and complete participation of women andgroups representing them. Municipal governmentshave everything to gain by working with women. It willhelp them properly understand women’s life situa-tions, expectations and needs, and consequently bet-ter target their actions.

Step 2Developing anAction Plan

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Summary• Formulate an overall objective to achieve gender

equality• Identify specific goals• Specify the results expected• Define the indicators for measuring results• List the actions to be taken• Determine human and financial resources• Assign responsibilities to each intervening party• Agree on a timetable• Ensure the coordination of activities

Who should be consulted?Women, women’s groups, institutional partners (e.g.,central government departments and agencies, univer-sities, etc.), community partners, national and localWomen in the City networks

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How did the process unfold? Were the objectives met?At this stage, the city and its partners assess theresults and analyze why some steps were not com-pleted. This evaluation must be as precise as possible,both in qualitative and quantitative terms. It will help determine whether to maintain, slightlymodify or completely overhaul future objectives andactions in order to reach the overall objective.

Consultation with women and various partnersremains very important at the evaluation stage; every-one provides a different perspective and this will helpguide the municipal government towards more effec-tive decision-making.

Summary:• Analyze the progress of actions taken and follow up

on the timetable• List the steps completed in relation to the specific

objectives, using indicators• Assess any modifications that were made along the

way• Maintain or re-evaluate specific objectives in accor-

dance with the overall assessment

Who should be consulted?All partners involved at the planning stage

Step 3Evaluating the Plan

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The municipal government re-evaluates the operationat predetermined intervals to ensure it is still on track,recognizing that in some cases it might take years tobring about the desired changes and tangible results.

Summary• Periodically reassess the situation by using gender-

disaggregated data• Periodically review specific goals and actions

to ensure they still correspond to the original needsand overall objective, (i.e., gender equality withinmunicipal boundaries)

Who should be consulted?Women, women’s groups, and other partners asneeded

Step 4Periodic Reviews

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Methods and Tools to Implement GenderMainstreaming

In recent years, a variety of methods have been devel-oped to apply the gender perspective to municipalmanagement and urban planning. Used as diagnostic,awareness-raising and training tools for municipalstaff, these methods are the subject of growing inter-est in exchanges among networks and at internationalconferences.

MethodsIn Montreal in 1999, the Femmes et développementrégional (Women in Regional Development) committeepublished a guide for municipalities and regionalstructures that allows local authorities to test them-selves on a grid of the following criteria:

• Social participation: Do traditional social rolesmean that women and men hold different jobs thatmight influence their ability to participate in a development program or project?

• Access to resources and benefits of development:Do women and men enjoy the same access toresources and do they draw equal economic, socialand cultural benefits from a development programor project?

• Decision-making, power, control: Do women andmen exert equal influence on the development of policies, programs and projects?

Source: Pour un développement égalitaire sur l’île deMontréal : l’analyse différenciée selon les sexes. www.femmesdemontreal.org/publications (French only)

The 3 R MethodIn 2000, the City of Gothenburg, in conjunction withthe Swedish Association of Local Authorities, began agender-training program for its municipal staff. TheProcess Management Training Programme in GenderMainstreaming is based on the 3 R Method, whichstands for:

• Equality and parity in Representation;• The allocation and division of Resources;• Realia (analysis of the norms and values behind

policies and the delivery of municipal services).

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In Seville, in October 2003, the International Seminarof the Equality and Gender Unit (Las JordanasInternacionales de l’Unidad de Egualidad de generò)presented the principles of various methodologies andtheir practical applications. Methodologies availableonline include:

• SMART (Simplified Method to Assess theRelevance of Politics to Gender) www.unidadgenero.com/en/default.cfm

• GEM (Gender Evaluation Methodology), applicableto systems of management and to new technologies.www.apcwomen.org/gem/index.htm

ToolsFollowing the first International Conference on Womenin Local and Regional Development in 1998, EuroFEMpublished a toolkit to encourage women’s entry intolocal and regional development.www.eurofem.net/ToolkitNet/toolk.html

In Britain, a major study was undertaken into GenderMainstreaming and Gender Auditing in local planning.Five case studies and several pilot projects were car-ried out with the aim of building a toolkit to integratethose perspectives into urban planning and design.The absence of gender-disaggregated data and weakpolitical support from local elected representativeswere identified as the main problems to

overcome locally. Training and awareness-raising ses-sions for municipal staff were strongly recommendedto counter the persistent stereotyping that hindersprogress at the district, borough and local servicelevel.See: The Gender Mainstreaming Toolkit www.rtpi.org.uk/resources/panels/equal-w/toolkit.html

In Gatineau (Quebec), The Observatoire sur ledéveloppement régional et l’analyse différenciéeselon les sexes (OREGAND) has created and regularlyupdates a Web site on activities and resources: www.oregand.ca (French only).

In Brussels (Belgium), Amazone, a national resourcecentre for equality, has developed a Database ofInstruments for Gender Mainstreaming (DIGMA) and in2003 helped organize seminars on Municipal EqualityPolicies for men and women elected representatives,public servants and women’s groups in the Brusselsregion.Info desk section: www.amazone.be

In Madrid (Spain), Generourban, a Spanish languageWeb site and discussion forum has been set up on thesubject of women in the city, gender and urban plan-ning: www.generourban.org/

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Making a Commitment

Montreal (Quebec, Canada)The new City of Montreal was created in January 2002by the merger of the 28 municipalities on the Island of Montreal. On February 26, 2002, the newmunicipal council unanimously adopted the IULAWorldwide Declaration on Women in Local Governmentand made a commitment to build on the accomplish-ments of the Femmes et ville (Women in the City)Program of the former City of Montreal.

The commitment to gender equality was reiterated atthe June 2002 Montreal Summit that established thenew city’s priorities according to proposals brought bythe various local stakeholders. Those brought by the“women’s” delegation were approved by all the part-ners and led to several specific commitments by thecity:

• To create an advisory council on gender equality,the Conseil des Montréalaises;

• To create a Femmes et ville Office; • To draw up and implement a municipal gender

equality policy; • To apply gender mainstreaming;• To draw up and implement a policy on safety plan-

ning.

A committee made up of representatives of women’sgroups and women municipal public servants ensuresthat these commitments are honoured. On December12, 2003, the Montreal Women Working for Gender

Equality forum (Montréalaises en action pour l’égalitéfemmes/hommes) was held to review the status ofthe work and to maintain the mobilization of women’sgroups and other partners. The advisory council ongender equality, the Conseil des Montréalaises, is tobe set up in 2004.

Source: Sommet de Montréal section on the City ofMontreal’s Web site: www2.ville.montreal.qc.ca/portail_VME/accusoma.shtm and on the site of the City of Montreal’s Femmes etville Program:www.ville.montreal.qc.ca/femmesetville

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The Montreal Declaration on Women’s SafetyMunicipal councils may also make commitments byratifying declarations on specific subjects, such aswomen’s safety.

The Montreal Declaration on Women’s Safety makesspecific appeals to cities and municipalities to:

• Put in place local safety policy, planning, and prac-tices that integrate a gender approach,and which support women’s safety initiatives;

• Provide greater opportunities for women’s involve-ment (for example, safety audits), including formalmechanisms to ensure adequate resources torespond to recommendations and sustain initia-tives;

• Create formal mechanisms to increase theparticipation of women in decision-making in localgovernance (elected officials, managers and citi-zens);

• Allocate municipal funds to gender equality, com-munity development and poverty reduction pro-grams;

• Ensure transparency and accountability inmunicipal administration;

• Develop international cooperation at the municipallevel including the exchange of good practices and experiences.

Following the first International Seminar of Women’sSafety, Making the Links, held in Montreal in May2002, the Federation of Canadian Municipalitiescalled on its members to ratify and implement theDeclaration.

The Declaration is available in English, French andSpanish on the Women in Cities International site: www.femmesetvilles.org

Liège (Belgium)The City of Liège has adopted a Charter on GenderEquality following its work in partnership with theLiège Coalition for the World March of Women. TheCharter commits the city to drawing up a gender equal-ity plan of action:

“The Communal Council, holding the principle ofequality between women and men

• Considers that a balanced participation of womenand men in the decision-making process isachieved through equal parity in representation inall sectors;

• Commits itself to integrating a gender perspectiveinto all policies, from concept to completion;

• Commits itself to eliminating all forms of discrim-ination by using appropriate structures and instru-ments and by adopting a global and integratedstrategy to promote the equal participation ofwomen and men;

• Commits itself to raising public awareness by dis-seminating images of women and men that breakwith discriminatory stereotypes;

• Commits itself to drawing up a communal plan of action for the equality of women and menresidents of Liège.”

In 2004, Liège established a Femmes et villeCommission.www.liege.be

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Consultative Structures

Barcelona (Spain) The City of Barcelona has set up a citywide Council ofWomen under the jurisdiction of the SocialDevelopment Commission, as well as “women” coun-cils in city districts.

These consultative structures are meant to ensure theinvolvement of women’s groups in the implementationof the Municipal Program for Women, the women com-ponent of the municipal action plan, and the actionplan to fight violence against women.

Their main goals are:

• To integrate women into all the activities of urbanlife, taking their diversity into account;

• To adapt the city to the needs of citizens’ daily life,recognizing and promoting the contributions andwishes of women’s groups;

• To reduce the incidence of gender violence and pro-mote a non-violent city;

• To take women’s specific needs into account in allmunicipal policies.www.cird.bcn.es/catala/cbcndon/cbcndon1.htm(Spanish only)

Amadora – Greater Lisbon (Portugal)Council Standing Committee on Equal OpportunitiesThis consultative committee includes representativesof women’s groups, NGOs and local councillor-advi-sors and makes recommendations to the municipalcouncil. It assesses equal opportunities programsand women’s rights policies and watches local gov-ernment action regarding women’s issues.

The city has set up a network of equal opportunitiescouncillor-advisors in every department and con-ducted studies into women’s specific needs in publicservices.

The mayors and councillors in the municipalities ofGreater Lisbon have taken part in various projects,including the publication of a Guide to Women’sParticipation in Local Power, based on a Luxemburg ini-tiative and setting out “12 Objectives for a MunicipalPolicy on Equal Opportunities.”

Source: Guide to the Women’s Participation in LocalPower (in French, English and Portuguese):www.noticiasdaamadora.com.pt/nad/dossieraut.php?codaut=GPLocal

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Gender Equality Policy

San Salvador (El Salvador)The City of San Salvador’s Gender Equality Policy inte-grates a gender perspective into all the plans, pro-grams and projects of its Master Plan for LocalDevelopment.

In 1998, a council motion created the Gender EqualityTask Force and made public a Proposed Plan forEquality. The task force, with a woman councillor ascoordinator, was supported operationally by theHuman Development Directorate. One of the mostinteresting results of the process set in motion by thetask force was its own transformation into aConsultative Commission on Gender Equality, allowingit to organize district forums under the theme BuildingCitizenship with Women. The forums were planned asa way of involving women in an assessment ofwomen’s needs in San Salvador, which then served asthe basis for the Municipal Policy on Gender Equalityadopted in 1999. The policy recognizes the underpin-nings of inequality in gender relations, and states:

“Gender roles have been socially defined and evalu-ated according to the activity of each sex in humanreproduction. The role of reproduction encompassesall the responsibilities and tasks related to the gesta-tion and education of children as well as all thoseassociated with the maintenance and reproduction ofcurrent and future labour power. This role, directlyidentified with women and confined to the private ordomestic space, is hierarchically lower than the role ofproduction and is not recognized as having any ‘value’.”

These are the main aims of the Policy:

• To raise the levelof knowledgeand awarenessof gender rela-tions among CityHall manage-ment and otherstaff;

• To reformm u n i c i p a lbylaws so as topromote equal access to all the services and ben-efits of municipal management;

• To strengthen the influence of the municipality ofSan Salvador on the promotion of a democratic andegalitarian “municipalism”;

• To improve the condition of women by promotingtheir right to property and to access the municipal-ity’s productive and communal resources;

• To set up educational and cultural processes thatwill raise women’s self-esteem and promotewomen’s leadership along with egalitarian valuesand non-discriminatory attitudes as basic stan-dards for coexistence in families, neighbourhoodsand communities;

• To strengthen the role of the municipality and insti-tutional interaction in citizen safety by prioritizingthe fight against sexual and domestic violence.

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The municipality has a number of institutional strate-gies at its disposal to concretize these goals, includ-ing:

• Pinpointing gender constraints that prevent orthreaten women’s equal opportunities to enter orbe promoted to leadership positions at City Hall;

• Sensitizing and training City Hall staff in gendermainstreaming and in the specific methodologyrequired for an effective, cross-sectoral implemen-tation of the Gender Equality Policy;

• Assigning qualified human resources to key posi-tions in the institutional structure to ensure thecity’s action on gender equality is effective and effi-cient;

• Systematically monitoring the implementation of the Policy;

• Establishing partnership with central governmentauthorities and NGOs so as to mobilize institu-tional, human and material resources for the pro-motion of gender equality in the municipality;

• Encouraging targeted personnel to generate a mul-tiplier effect in advocating for the values of equalityand for changes in gender attitudes;

• Encouraging women’s participation and leadershipin City Hall responsibilities – undertaking analysesof women’s needs, prioritizing those needs accord-ing to City Hall’s powers – as well as in the policies,plans and execution of programs, projects andactions;

• Making City Hall’s official communications, internaland external, a catalyst for gender equality in themunicipality.

The Gender Equality Policy is based on seven areas ofaction:

• Citizen participation• Education and culture• Work• Health promotion• Safety• Infrastructures• Municipal public services

Each area of action has its own strategic goal andseries of specific actions.

The Gender Equality Policy is executed by the GenderUnit, under the jurisdiction of the Human DevelopmentDirectorate. The Unit works closely with members ofthe Gender Equality Consultative Commission, includ-ing several women elected representatives and dis-trict gender officers, women and men. Women’scentres have also been set up in the districts to mon-itor activities intended to encourage the mobilizationand participation of women citizens. www.amss.gob.sv/pages/index.html (Spanish only)

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Gender Equality Action Plans

Buenos Aires (Argentina)Women’s Right to Live in the CityThe General Directorate for Women is a municipal struc-ture in the Secretariat for Social Promotion, fallingunder the General Directorate. Its action plan, El dere-cho de las Mujeres a vivir en la ciudad, aims to:

• Ensure cohesion and coherence in the various pro-grams created by previous municipal administra-tions;

• Identify new concerns of Buenos Aires women;• Adapt and increase services for women by adding

a gender perspective to them;• Advance the integration of an equal opportunities

plan into all areas of action by the City’s gover-nance, including: - Reforms to several laws to benefit women;- Fighting domestic violence (telephone help line

service against domestic violence, two 24-hourtelephone hotlines, shelters and centres forwomen victims of violence);

- Promotion of women’s health;- Programs for women’s rights;- Training programs;- Research and studies into women’s life

situations.

The results have been tangible and reflect a clearimprovement in the quality of life of the women ofBuenos Aires. www.pgualc.org (Spanish only)

Berlin (Germany) The City of Berlin has adopted a specific programwithin the framework of equal gender rights to elimi-nate discrimination against women in all socialdomains. The Bureau for the Economy, Work andWomen monitors its implementation. Among itsaccomplishments:

• Availability of childcare;• Advancement of women in municipal public

services;• Higher status for women’s traditional professions;• Education subsidies for women and girls;• Prevention of violence and assistance to women

victims;• Improved social conditions for immigrant women;• Improved job opportunities and training for girls;• Assistance to women and girls with handicaps.

The Bureau’s responsibilities are reviewed annuallyduring revision of the action plan. www.berlin.de/SenWiArbFrau/frauen/index.html(German only)

Santo Andre, Sao Paulo Metropolitan Region(Brazil)As a result of an economic crisis that shook thisformerly industrial city, a Citizenship and GenderProgram was launched by the municipality of SantoAndre in partnership with the Centre for Studies inHealth (CES). The program, aimed at encouragingwomen’s participation in the city’s decision-makingprocesses, drew more than 6,000 participantsthrough its more than 112 discussion groups, aware-ness-raising courses on gender problems and cam-paigns to fight violence against women. bestpractices.org/bpbriefs/women.html

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An Administrative Structure

Paris (France)The Observatoire de l’égalité femmes/hommes,created in 2001, falls under the authority of the Cityof Paris’s Secretary General and within the purview ofAnne Hidalgo, first assistant to the Mayor of Paris incharge of gender equality and the Bureau des temps(Time Office). The Observatoire implements thegender policy, taking stock of the needs of womencitizens and monitoring equality in employment withinthe city administration.

A team of eight people handles the responsibilitieswith the help of a network of some 20 gender officersin the boroughs. It also maintains relations with all theadministrative authorities and builds partnershipswith civil society and institutional stakeholders tocarry out projects.

To fulfil its mandate, the Observatoire has set thesegoals:

• Conduct studies and analyses to determine themain areas of inequality;

• Suggest ways and means of reducing theseinequalities;

• Evaluate the actions undertaken.

An early study turned up major work-related disparities(such as salaries, working conditions and unemploy-ment) and prompted an action plan for this area. Aplan for professional equality is also in the works fol-lowing a gender analysis of the division of jobs withinthe city administration. Other priority areas include vio-lence against women, prostitution and new forms ofslavery. A fund set up to provide financial assistanceto community groups working for women’s rights andequality also helps carry out projects in the field.www.paris.fr/fr/citoyennete/observatoire_egalite(French only)

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Time Offices (Bureaux des temps):The Paris Observatoire works with the Time Office,which falls under the same political and administrativejurisdiction. Studies and analyses have shown thatthe women of Paris do not have the same rhythms,constraints or needs in their use of time as the men.The Office has the task of improving the way people’slifestyles, work and family schedules fit together, withthe aim of reducing inequalities between women andmen as well as among the various demographicgroups (such as children, teens and the elderly).

The Time Office concentrates on:

• Improving access to installations; • Providing easier access to public services and to

help with administrative procedures;• Integrating the time perspective into urban

projects;• Encouraging businesses to adapt their hours to the

schedules of their clientele, women and men.www.paris.fr/fr/citoyennete/bureau_des_temps/(French only)

Cities must be careful to ensure that time-related ini-tiatives integrate the gender perspective so that theydo not end up actually reinforcing gender roles andrelated inequalities.

Ministère de la Ville/Dossier temps des villes(French only): www.ville.gouv.fr/infos/dossiers/index.html

French Economic and Social Council, ReconcilingTime Management and City Life, by JP Bailly (Frenchonly):www.conseil-economique-et-social.fr

DATAR – Délégation à l’aménagement du territoire età l’action régionale (French only):www.datar.gouv.fr/Datar_Site/DATAR_Temps.nsf/wSommaire?openview

Maison du temps et de la mobilité de Belfort (Frenchonly):www.maisondutemps.asso.fr/plugin.htm

Groupe Chronos, Observatoire de la chronomobilité(French only):www.groupechronos.org andwww.groupechronos.org/chronomobilite.php

City on the Move (Institut pour la ville en mouvement):www.ville-en-mouvement.com

Femmes et enfants : au coeur des nouveaux rythmes.Women and children were the first subjects of jointstudies carried out by the City of Rennes’ Time Officebecause they are the most affected by new workschedules. (French only).www.rennes.fr/index.php?rub=598

Prato (Italy)The Time Laboratory, which is part of the municipalEQUAL project that promotes gender equality, aims tointegrate time organization, service management andthe division of work and family tasks to allow womento enter and progress in the job market. The munici-pality of Prato, the Women’s Cooperative (Cooperativadelle Donne), the University of Florence and theConser-Macrolotto Association are partners in theLaboratory, which seeks to involve women in the proj-ect.www.laboratoriodeltempo.org/laboratorio/ (Italian only)

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Participation and Partnership Structures

Local-to-Local DialoguesLocal-to-Local Dialogues were set up in many coun-tries with help from the Huairou Commission toestablish ongoing dialogues between grassrootswomen’s organizations and their local authorities onsignificant local issues. They aim to:

• Build the capacity of grassroots women groups toadvocate for themselves;

• Build the capacity of other organizations andinstitutions to work effectively with grassrootswomen’s groups;

• Create the best possible models for grassrootswomen’s long-term participation in communitydecision-making;

• Strengthen the quality of local communitiesthrough more inclusive democratic practices.

Because each local group operates in a particularcommunity, Local-to-Local Dialogues differ in con-tent and process according to their country and par-ticular situation. Each experience provides anotherexperiment in governance and can be used for com-parison, analysis, and sharing.

The first round of dialogues was completed inDecember 2002. The second set will be organizedaround subject instead of process.

Examples of Local Dialogues:

Cosquin (Cordoba Metropolitan Region,Argentina)The project aimed to initiate a dialogue that wouldlead to a partnership between civil society groupsand municipal authorities. Specifically, it aimed toinclude recommendations brought by women’s andsocial groups into the urban master plan.

Prague (Czech Republic)The project was designed to encourage the settingup of structures where local and municipal authori-ties could work with the network of Czech MotherCentres.

The dialogue deals with issues such as:

• Family policies; • Equal opportunities; • Part-time work;• Urban safety, in conjunction with crime-prevention

organizations;• Unemployment;• Community cooperation;• Participation in public life.

Saratov (Russian Federation)With a view to local self-governance, the projectpromoted local dialogue and a process of citizenconsultation on safety, social problems, unemploy-ment, poverty and women’s housing. The dialogue is a partnership of local women’s organizations,municipal politicians, the Information Centre of theIndependent Women’s Forum and self-governancecommittees.

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Stuttgart (Germany)The project set out to promote local exchanges(partnerships, associations and conferences) amongwomen and men residents, community groups andlocal authorities. It aimed to create a process ofparticipation in municipal decision-making in suchareas as architecture and urban planning, as well asservices to children, mothers, professional women,single parents, the elderly and immigrant women. Source: Campaigns – local-to-local dialogues at:www.huairou.org

Mechanisms for Public Consultation and Women’s Participation in Municipal Affairs

Quetzaltenango (Guatemala)Strengthening Women’s Participation in LocalAuthority to Achieve Gender EqualityHistorically kept out of power, women came in forspecial attention under the current municipal gov-ernment, which has set up the Municipal Women’sCommittee to encourage and strengthen women’snetworks within local groups and in the many activi-ties in which they are involved. To enhance women’sparticipation in municipal development, a space hasbeen created for women-led actions. This plays a rolein various areas, such as:

• Training and education strategies in local politicalparticipation;

• Integrating a gender perspective into municipalgovernance;

• Literacy campaigns;• Reproductive health;• Promoting self-governance;• A documentation centre.

Among other outcomes, the steady involvement ofmunicipal structures gave much credibility to the dif-ferent women leaders in their dealings with variouspartners and with the entire community.www.pgualc.org (Spanish only)

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Projects to Adapt Municipal Services to Women’s Needs

PUBLIC TRANSIT:

“Between Two Stops” Bus Drop-offMany women rely on public transit to get around thecity and any decision to change or reduce servicemust take this essential fact into account.

Several gender-responsive municipalities havemoved to increase women’s safety and their feelingof safety. Fear is one of the main obstacles towomen’s free circulation in the city. In fact, statis-tics show that women use public transit much lessfrequently at night.

In 1989, the Toronto Transit Authority conducted amassive study of safety from the point of view ofwomen at 65 subway and bus stops. The findings ledit to set up an evening drop-off service between busstops that brings women closer to their destination.Other transit authorities in Canada have followedsuit. In Montreal, where women make up 60 per centof transit passengers, the service was brought in ona six-month experimental basis at the demand ofwomen’s groups. Following a very positive evaluation,the Montreal Urban Community Transit Commission(MUCTC) and its partner members from a women’surban safety group, CAFSU (Comité d’action femmeset sécurité urbaine), announced in December 1996that the service would become permanent. The Cityof Laval instituted the service in 1999 and the Cityof Lévis in 2003. Quebec City’s Femmes et villeCommission has studied the possibility of introduc-ing the service in 2004.

The partnership process between women’s groupsand local Montreal authorities that resulted in theBetween Two Stops service was chosen as one ofthe Habitat Best Practices for the year 2000.Source: Integrating a Gender Perspective into PublicTransit, Montreal. www.bestpractices.org

Bangkok (Thailand)Buses for Women Only In May 2000, the Bangkok Mass Transit Authority(BMTA) began running a service for women only. TheLady Bus was introduced in response to numerouscomplaints by women about safety, particularly dur-ing rush hours. Only women and accompanying sonsunder the age of 15 can use the service. Bus driversand fare collectors are male because the BMTAwants them to protect passengers, women and boys,in case of emergencies. The Lady Bus runs as everythird bus on ten routes on the 30th, 31st and 1st ofeach month, between 4 p.m. and 9 p.m., namely theevening hours on pay days. The service may beexpanded if the project works.

Japan Economic Newswire; Kyodo News Service, 30 May 2001 (Global Report on Human Settlement2001): bestpractices.org/bpbriefs/women.html

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WOMEN’S SAFETY

Montreal (Quebec, Canada)For the Safety of Montreal WomenSince the right to a safe city is a key corollary ofequality between women and men, it is no wonderthat gender mainstreaming is most often currentlyapplied to urban safety.

During the 1988 public hearings on the master planfor Montreal’s Central District, women’s groupshighlighted the need for a safe city. They also under-lined the need for better housing, day-care andaccessibility, and called for urban planning that wasmore attentive to the problems of balancing workand family responsibilities.

The City of Montreal responded by creating theFemmes et ville ( Women in the City) Program in1990. The safety of women quickly became a priority.The city began by taking stock of the situation.Important differences were found: four times as manywomen (60%) as men (15%) admitted to being scaredof walking alone in their neighbourhoods at night. In1992, the J’accuse la peur (I accuse fear) conferencebrought together women’s groups, public institu-tions, professional men and women and provided acontext to this gap and women’s feeling of fear in thecity. As a result, the city made commitments toimprove women’s safety on its territory. An actionplan was devised, inspired among other things by theToronto experience (METRAC, Safe City Committee).

Several goals were set, including:

• Improving safety for women in city installations;• Devising tools to increase the safety of women

and their feeling of safety;• Developing criteria to ensure a safety-conscious

design of public spaces and buildings;• Facilitating cooperation between municipal

organizations and women’s groups.

Various actions followed:

• Production of a women’s safety audit guide(Guide d’enquête sur la sécurité des femmes enville) to identify the corrective actions needed to increase women’s feeling of safety within theurban environment;

• Organizing safety audits in certain recreationalinstallations (sports and community centres)with women: citizens, city employees, electedofficials, urban planners and journalists;

• Publication of three guidebooks on safety-conscious design and planning: for parking lots,for residential units and for different types ofurban sites;

• Broadening the mandate of the Tandem UrbanSafety Program to include a section on women’ssafety;

• Carrying out an information campaign aimed at men;

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• Taking part in setting up a women’s urban safetygroup, the Comité d’action femmes et sécuritéurbaine (CAFSU), which brings together women’sgroups, community organizations and public insti-tutions such as the police service, the transitauthority, and health services;

• Helping the CAFSU carry out its annual actionplan.

Since 1992, the City-CAFSU partnership has under-taken many actions, including:

• Information campaigns• Forums• Creation of a Women’s Safety Award promoting

local and regional initiatives• Introduction of the MUCTC’s Between Two Stops

bus drop-off service• Development of institutional policies• Production of an activities guide• Evaluation of self-defence courses• Development of training programs and reference

tools such as the Toolkit for Women’s Safety:from Dependence to Autonomy

Worldwide interest in Montreal’s initiatives has beengrowing since the 1990s, and thanks to information-sharing and knowledge-transfer activities, theMontreal strategies have been adapted to munici-palities in Europe, Africa and South America.

These exchanges culminated in the firstInternational Seminar on Women’s Safety, Makingthe Links, held in Montreal in May 2002. The new

City of Montreal used the occasion to launch itsGuide for planning a safe urban environment, theGuide d’aménagement pour un environnement urbainsécuritaire. It also committed itself to honouring theformer city’s initiatives by continuing to improve thesafety of women citizens and to implement a safetyplanning policy throughout the new territory.www.ville.montreal.qc.ca/femmesetville andwww.femmesetvilles.org

HOUSING:

Vienna (Austria)A Housing Project By and For Women in Vienna(Frauen-Werk-Stadt)To meet the everyday needs of women, a section ofthe city was designed by women architects and plan-ners as part of Vienna’s urban expansion program.The project, started in 1993, was a first step in inte-grating the requirements of women into the develop-ment of the city. Since then, the city has workedhard at integrating the gender perspective intomunicipal governance, guided by the Women’s Officeand the Department of Everyday and Women-FriendlyPlanning and Building.bestpractices.org/bpbriefs/women.html andwww.wien.gv.at/english/

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Quebec initiatives

A number of initiatives have been launched in theprovince of Quebec in recent years to increasewomen’s participation in local and municipal struc-tures.

Le Réseau des élues municipales de la Montérégie(RÉMM)A network of Montérégie elected women representa-tives, the Réseau des élues municipales de laMontérégie or RÉMM, was founded in 2000 as a resultof an action plan by the Montérégie Committee onthe Status of Women in Regional Development(Comité condition féminine en développementrégional de la Montérégie). It is the only network inthe province that brings together all the women may-ors and councillors of an administrative region.

RÉMM’s many actions include: • Strategic and legal training for women candidates

and women interested in municipal politics (inpartnership with the provincial ministry for munic-ipal affairs, sports and leisure);

• Strategic support for elected women representa-tives;

• Working with associations of municipalities toraise the number of women in municipal politicsand support those already there;

• Advocating for issues of collective interest suchas reimbursement of the child care costs of rep-resentatives who are parents, and women’s rep-resentation on the administrative boards ofmunicipal associations;

• Organizing colloquiums and training sessions;• Support for the creation of Femmes et ville

( Women in the City) committees;• Writing guides to reform municipal structures;• Statistical analysis of women’s presence in

municipal politics in Montérégie;• Awareness-raising and training; • Networking abroad (France, Sweden).

www.eluesmonteregie.qc.ca (French only)

The Equal Access to Decision-making Funding ProgramThis program, administered by the provincial govern-ment’s Status of Women Office (Secrétariat à la condition féminine), has a budget allocation of$1 million a year for five years and funds projectsthat prepare women to play a bigger role in localdecision-making, including municipal councils. A listof tools created by local and regional women’sgroups and other community organizations is avail-able online at: www.scf.gouv.qc.ca/index_an.asp

One of these tools is the Women’s Summer School,which is for women who want to stand for municipalelection in 2005. This initiative of the Femmes, poli-tique et démocratie group, in conjunction with l’Écolenationale d’administration publique and a private foun-dation, aims at mentoring 45 potential candidates.www.femmes-politique-et-democratie.com/ (French only)

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Femmes et ville (Women in the City) Commissionsand CommitteesIn 1993, Quebec City became the first municipality inthe province to set up a Femmes et ville Commission.In 2002, the new Quebec City that resulted frommunicipal mergers also created a similar Commissionthat works on:

• Public housing;• Summertime childcare• Safety (including a reissue of the guide to

Walking Safety Audits);• Communication between the city administration

and citizens; • A “between stops” bus drop-off service on request

after 8 p.m.

The City of Rouyn-Noranda created a Femmes et villeCommission in June 2003 and the City of Lévis inFebruary 2004. The Lévis commission is made upsolely of elected representatives, women and men,

while in other cities citizens and community repre-sentatives are also members. Sorel-Tracy andSalaberry-de-Valleyfield have set up Femmes et villecommittees.

Best Practices Contests

Best Practices Contests are among the most effectivestrategies for publicizing various efforts by cities toimprove gender equality and women’s participation inurban governance. Such contests for women-friendlycities have been taking place in the LatinAmerica/Caribbean and the Asia/Pacific regions.

The idea for the contests emerged from a UN-Habitatinternational gender expert meeting that also pro-moted sharing of expertise and the development of aprospective for this area of municipal action.

The First Contest of Gender Responsive LocalGovernments Asia-Pacific (2004) The contest was designed to assess the perform-ance of cities along these criteria:

• Legislative commitments towards gender equality(such as Municipal Codes and Acts);

• Institutionalization of mechanisms which integratewomen’s views into the urban governance systemand contribute to policy recommendationstowards women-friendly cities;

• Systems for promoting affirmative actions forequal representation;

• Specific budgetary allocations and genderperspective budgets;

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• Training of city staff in gender mainstreaming;• Partnership with various stakeholders;• Participation of women, especially the poor;• Project innovation, sustainability, and replicability;• Monitoring and evaluation methods.

The awards to the three women-friendly winningcities were presented on March 8, 2004 at a cere-mony in Fukuoka, Japan.

Cebu (Philippines)Cebu City’s Support for Community Initiatives toRespond to Domestic Violence Program demonstratedthe importance of partnership and women’s involve-ment in resolving this problem. The city’s role inmobilizing partners, developing training programsand promoting cooperation was a key factor in thesuccess of the program, which has been replicatedin 70 other Philippines municipalities and has helpedmore than 15,000 women. Cebu won also becauseof its Institutionalizing Gender in City GovernanceProgram. The city earmarks five per cent of its totalbudget to gender-related issues and runs a fundingProgram for local women’s groups.UN-Habitat Fukuoka Office: www.fukuoka.unhabitat.org and bestpractices.org/bpbriefs/women.html

Visakhapatnam (India)Visakhapatnam was selected for its program thatencouraged illiterate women to take part in a literacyprogram. The program demonstrated the important

coordinating rolelocal governmentsplay in supportingwomen’s efforts toattain their goals.In 2002, 11,000women from 208slums enrolled inthe program with a90 per cent successrate.UN-HABITATFukuoka Office: www.fukuoka.unhabitat.org

Naga (Philippines)Naga showed the importance of legislative actionwith its Women’s Development Code, a collaborativeinitiative between the city government and variouswomen’s groups aimed at creating an environmentthat allows women the fullest opportunity to realizetheir potential. Measures include earmarking budgetheadings for gender concerns, allocating seats forelected women representatives and the creation of atask force to implement the Code. The initiative hasled to greater awareness of the important rolewomen play in the development of the communityand given women a greater voice in the local deci-sion-making process.UN-HABITAT Fukuoka Office: www.fukuoka.unhabitat.org

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Contest on Affirmative Actions Promoting Women’sParticipation in Local Governance – Latin Americaand the CaribbeanContests were held in 1998, 1999 and 2003 in LatinAmerica and the Caribbean. Organized within theframework of the Global Campaigns of the UnitedNations for the Human Rights of Women and Girlsand for Good Urban Governance, they are supportedby UNIFEM, the Urban Management Program forLatin America and the Caribbean (UMP-LAC), andthe Latin American and Caribbean Federation ofWomen in Local Government (FEMUM-LAC). The win-ners’ projects are available, in Spanish, online at theUMP-LAC site.www.pgualc.org (Spanish only)

Women’s Safety Awards 2004Women and Cities International launched theWomen’s Safety Awards following the firstInternational Seminar on Women’s Safety, Makingthe Links, held in Montreal in May 2002. They aredesigned to promote good practices and municipalpolicies on women’s safety and the improvement ofwomen’s sense of safety. They focus on institutionalchange at the municipal level by showcasing goodpractices and policies and disseminating informationon “what works”.

Specifically, the Awards objectives are to:

• Elicit and disseminate information on practicesrelating to women’s safety and municipal gender-based policies in crime prevention;

• Promote local initiatives that include significantelements relating to women’s safety and theimprovement of women’s sense of safety;

• Build capacity of local groups to develop projectsand practices relating to women’s safety and theimprovement of women’s sense of safety.

Two Canadian and two international initiatives willbe awarded in each of the following categories:

• Advocacy, networking and community mobilization;• Capacity-building and training;• Educational programs and public awareness;• Safety planning and design for public spaces;• Municipal gender-based policies in crime preven-

tion and community safety.

The contest drew around 94 applications. Winninginitiatives, announced in May 2004, will be pre-sented at various Canadian and international confer-ences and documented in a publication. They willalso be available online in September 2004 at www.femmesetvilles.org.

The proceedings of the seminar (in French, Englishand Spanish) as well as the Montreal Declaration onWomen’s Safety are also available on this site.

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How Women-Friendly Is Your City?

How advanced is your city in terms of gender equality?

What remains to be done to achieve women’s full andequal participation and their access to services andresources?

Judge your city’s performance – and what you stillneed to do.

To how many of the following items can you checkYES?

Do a self-evaluation!

In ____________________________________________ (your city’s name)

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Political Structures, Mechanisms and Resources YES NO

National laws on women’s rights and gender equality

National laws on gender quotas or parity at the municipal level

Affirmative action policies in municipal political parties

Parity in committees, commissions and para-municipal enterprises

Network of elected women representatives

Council-adopted policy on gender equality (developed through public consultation and carried out via annual municipal plan of action)

Public consultation policies with mechanisms to encourage women’s participation

Policies and commitments to fight violence against women and increase their safety

Gender perspective in all programs (including annual municipal budget and sectoral budgets)

Support of national and international municipal associations (training, networking, etc.)

Administrative Structures, Mechanisms and ResourcesYES NO

Gender Equality/Women’s Office (with adequate human resources and budget), within central administration, in charge of gender mainstreaming

Annual gender equality action plan (with specific goals, indicators, budget)

Training in gender mainstreaming (for elected officials and staff, men and women)

Access to gender-disaggregated data on all urban issues

Gender impact assessment of urban policies, programs and service delivery

Equal opportunity program for hiring (with specific targets for different types of jobs)

Information service in boroughs, neighbourhoods or districts

Process to handle citizen requests and complaints from women and men

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Participation and Partnership Structures and MechanismsYES NO

Women’s advisory council, commission or committee within council to monitor implementation of gender equality policy

Thematic council commissions (with public hearings)

Public consultation process in boroughs, neighbourhoods or districts

Public consultation process with specific mechanisms to encourage women’s participation

“Women” advisory councils in the boroughs, neighbourhoods or districts

City-wide civic education campaigns

Projects and activities improving women’s access to services and resources (e.g., walking safety audits, Local-to-Local Dialogues between men and women elected officials and women’s groups)

Permanent partnership committees on specific issues (safety, transportation, housing) bringing together women’s groups, community organizations and other public stakeholders, men and women

Regular city-wide public assemblies, as well as at the borough, neighbourhood and district level

Total

Results of Your City’s Evaluation How many of these 27 optimal gender-equality andgood-governance measures are already in place inyour municipality?

If you checked YES to between 0 and 7 items, youneed to get cracking and study what other cities aredoing.

You’re on the right road if YES was your answer tobetween 8 and 16 items. Keep up the good work.

YES was your answer to between 17 and 27 items?Congratulations! But please don’t rest on your laurels.

If you think your city would make a good case study,please fill out the online questionnaire at the City ofMontreal’s Femmes et ville site (in French, Englishor Spanish) at: www.ville.montreal.qc.ca/femmesetville

Thanks for your input!

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