On March 1, members and allies of the Global Platform for the Right to the City (GPR2C) will join more than half of the world’s population in the biggest global campaign every year: International Women’s Day (IWD). We will take this opportunity to relaunch the Women’s Right to the City Manifesto to challenge the omission of women in city planning and recognize their fundamental role in building an inclusive and just social transformation.

We call for:

🗳️ A city that fosters the transformative participation of women

🏞️ A city that offers safe and inclusive spaces

🤍 A city that puts life and care at its centre

The Women’s Right to The City Manifesto

In 2019, we had a long international process of consultations and input from more than 29 organizations and networks from all regions to produce the Women’s Right to the City Manifesto. It was a great collective work where all the different dimensions necessary to advance towards gender equality and Women’s Right to the City were included.

The Manifesto points to the need for measures to combat discrimination against women and girls; the importance to ensure their political participation; access to adequate housing; the urgency of enjoying cities free of violence, the ability to develop their full economic, social, political and cultural capacities and to recognize and compensate care work in households and communities.

We will enjoy a better world if women could develop their full potential, are allowed to participate at all decision-making levels in the political, social, cultural, economic and public dimensions of life; feel safe and free; have affordable access to an adequate housing and public services; care work is redistributed and included in public policies; have equality in employment, dignity and income; have a voice in the process of planning, producing and using urban spaces; their diversity is recognized and respected; and are treated with gender equality.

Read the 11 central points of the Women’s Righ to the City Manifesto:

Download the manifesto in English, Español, Français, Portugues, Türk and العربية

Support the Manifesto and Join the Global Campaign

International Women’s Strike

On March 8, the GPR2C will join the women’s strike and remain silent on social networks to emphasize that women’s work is socially and economically indispensable, yet often undervalued.

Gender Equality and the Right to the City Indicators

In 2022, Observatory DESC and the GPR2C have released a guide with indicators for the monitoring of municipal policies targeted at advancing the Right to the City. The guide presents a set of 22 indicators organized around the eight Right to the City components. This effort seeks to contribute to the construction of a joint repertoire, gathering a series of public policies aligned with the principles of the Right to the City and offering some elements for their follow-up, to be applied in different cities.

For gender equality, the guide presents two indicators:

4.1.1 Attention to victims of gender-based violence

Objective: The objective of this indicator is to show the number of women attended to in municipal or public services for victims of gender-based violence.

4.1.2 Care Policy

Objective: This indicator aims to provide an overview of the type of care policies in a city and the different services offered at the municipal level, as well as the number of people who have accessed them.

Some examples of municipal policies identified with promoting gender equality are:

Bogota’s Care System – which articulates various services to meet care needs in a coresponsible manner among 13 sectors of the District Administration, with special attention to people who already perform caregiving tasks.

Policies implemented in Iztapalapa (Mexico) to prevent violence against women in domestic and public spaces (Siemprevivas Programme and Route Free of Violence against Women initiative)

Barcelona’s Gender Justice Plan – which aims to consolidate municipal policies to fight inequality and discrimination against women in all areas, acting as a transversal roadmap that incorporates the gender perspective in municipal practices.

Initiatives advancing Women’s Right to the City

Since its inception, the GPR2C has made explicit its political commitment to diversity, non-discrimination, equity and inclusion, with a particular focus on traditionally marginalized groups and communities, such as women and others.

Take a look at the following relevant materials and initiatives that are already advancing the women’s right to the city, by our members and allies: