Purpose

Leadership opportunities in the municipal sector are scarce for most women and the presence of systemic barriers fail to provide the conditions for women to enter or remain in politics. Women of diverse backgrounds often face these challenges to a higher degree or with compounding impacts. These systemic issues include, but are not limited to, biases, systematic discrimination, exclusionary policies or practices, and triple-burden responsibilities.  

To address these systemic issues, local governments have a responsibility to create a space in which women feel empowered and supported in their political participation, and in which more women become involved in decision-making and policy development. Gender equity and inclusion municipal strategies are one essential tool to create an inclusive space, addressing systemic issues that disempower women in their political participation.

This document highlights some of the most common themes and trends across eight municipal strategies identified in a recent FCM environmental scan, to provide a resource for other municipalities who may wish to undertake a similar process. Specifically, it guides municipal stakeholders through the process of developing a gender-responsive strategy, by outlining key considerations in the development process and content of the strategies, based on the experiences of the eight municipalities.

Process: Where to Start?

Consideration #1: Use GBA+ (an intersectional equity lens)

City of Calgary’s GBA+ Learning Initiative

As part of the city’s development of the Gender Equity, Diversity and Inclusion strategy, the City of Calgary launched a GBA+ learning initiative, which involved 7 pilot projects for 4 months across 9 business units. Overall, 20 staff participated in the initiative, to learn how best to integrate GBA+ throughout city processes. This provided lessons that are applied in the strategy.

Gender Based Analysis Plus (GBA+) is an analytical process that policymakers use to examine the potential impacts (both intended and unintended) and opportunities of a policy, plan, program or other initiative on diverse groups of people, taking into account and gender and other identity factors. The plus (+) indicates that gender-based analysis goes beyond considerations of sex and gender to include a range of intersectional identity characteristics, such as: indigenous heritage, age, education, language, religion, culture, ethnicity, etc. GBA+ challenges assumptions and puts the lived experiences of diverse peoples at the forefront of a particular issue. 

Ville de Saguenay’s commitment to GBA+

In their Equality, Equity and Inclusion Policy, the Ville de Saguenay commits to mainstreaming GBA+ in the city’s project development process.

It is therefore an important tool for local governments to develop and implement gender-responsive strategies, and has been used in various ways, including as a framework in the development of a diversity, equity and inclusion strategy.

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Conducting gender-based analyses is more like using a compass, than a roadmap. It is valuable work, and it has impact. There are many resources on GBA+ to help get started.

 

Consideration #2: Align with Other Municipal Strategies

Municipalities rarely develop gender responsive and inclusive strategies in isolation. It is important to articulate gender equity objectives within the context of other municipal objectives. This facilitates buy-in from municipal departments who may not see the relevance of gender equity for their work.  For example, Montreal’s Action Plan for Solidarity, Equity and Inclusion (2021-2025) is aligned with the overall municipal vision Montreal 2030, as well as the Montreal Charter of Rights & Responsibilities. Similarly, Calgary’s Gender Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy is aligned with the city’s strategies on Social Wellbeing, their Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Framework, and their Healthy Workplace policy.

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Getting buy-in and building consensus among decision-makers and impacted groups is crucial. Tying gender equity objectives into broader municipal objectives will help to get everyone on the same page.

 

Consideration #3: Decide whether to have an explicit gender strategy or integrate gender in a broader diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) strategy

Some municipalities developed explicit gender and gender diverse strategies, while others embedded gender within a broader DEI strategy. In the latter, gender may be identified as one of the many factors in discrimination (along with race, language, sexual preference, etc.).

City of Calgary’s Gender Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy City of Montreal’s Action Plan: Solidarity, Equity & Inclusion

The City of Calgary developed a Strategy where the primary focus is gender equity, with consideration to the impact of intersecting identities such as ethnicity, culture, race, physical or mental ability on the city’s planning and decision-making within the workforce, Council Boards, Commissions and Committees, and City service delivery. 

The City of Montreal conducted a gender and intersectional analysis as part of the development of its Solidarity, Equity and Inclusion Action Plan, which focuses on five major areas of action: 1) access to quality services, 2) meeting basic needs, 3) public spaces, 4) taking action against discrimination and 5) economic contribution.

The actions in a municipal strategy will likely vary in specificity depending on whether the strategy is explicitly gender-focused, or whether gender is one aspect of a DEI strategy. Importantly, many DEI strategies do not include a gender equity lens, and therefore would not be considered “gender-responsive”.

There are many factors to consider when deciding whether to develop an explicit gender equity strategy, including leadership awareness and commitment, whether a DEI strategy is already underway, and resources available. Ultimately, if a municipality hopes to achieve significant progress on gender equity, the effort and learning from developing and implementing an explicit gender strategy will deliver the most impact; though that should not take away from the effort required to meaningfully integrate gender into a broader DEI strategy and the value derived from it. Every small action can have impact.

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When feasible, an explicit gender equity strategy will provide the specificity needed for meaningful impact. But integrating gender within a broader equity strategy can also be valuable. Change starts somewhere - every small step is important and can snowball into something bigger.

 

Consideration #4: Gather Information: Engage Constituencies and Collect Data

City of Toronto’s Consultations on Gender Equity Strategy Development

As part of the City of Toronto’s process to develop its women and gender equity strategy, the Gender Equity unit is holding consultations to understand the diverse needs, experience and aspirations, identify challenges and opportunities, and identify short and long term priorities. To do so, they collected input via an online survey, through group discussions and by requesting stories and photos be shared digitally. Further, they provide resources to participants from the public, including a municipal literacy toolkit for women and girls’ rights, a profile of gender inequities in Toronto, and gender equity initiatives currently underway by the city.

Engagement with constituencies, experts, people with lived experience and staff is an important aspect in developing a municipal gender strategy that is responsive, feasible and effective. Municipalities engage these groups through various consultative processes, such as surveys, in-person meetings, establishing advisory committees and even pilot projects. For example, the City of Halifax is currently developing its Women and Gender Equity Strategy (WGES) and will be holding community engagement sessions to seek guidance from the broader community on reducing barriers to inclusive municipal services.

Similarly, when municipalities develop evidence-informed strategies, it gives the strategy legitimacy and helps build consensus. Municipalities may use workforce census data, surveys, third party research and data from other organizations to inform strategic objectives. These efforts to gather information to inform the strategy are often led by a Committee or Office who oversees the gender or DEI strategy development, such as a Gender Equity Office or Women’s Committee. In the absence of such a governance body, senior leadership (eg. Deputy City Manager) will often lead the process.

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Public engagement and input from people with lived experience will help prioritize needs and identify solutions. There are many ways to do so: community engagement sessions, online surveys, panel discussions, workplace census and open-ended feedback.
 

Content: What is in a Gender-Responsive Strategy?

Consideration #5: SMART Goals and Actions

A S.M.A.R.T goal or action is one that is Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-based. Defining these parameters for the goals and actions within gender responsive strategies helps ensure that they are attainable within a certain time frame.

Municipal gender strategies may be time bound; for example, Ottawa has a five-year strategy (2021-2025) while Vancouver has a ten year strategy (2018-2028). In some cases, municipal strategies are divided into a phased approach, where phase 1 focuses on compiling data, further consultation, pilot projects or quick wins, and phase 2 focuses on longer term goals, refining strategic objectives, expanding programming and re-assessment. This allows municipalities to put a gender strategy in motion, while acknowledging that more time is needed to develop the specificity, build consensus or prioritize for long term goals.

City of Ottawa’s Women and Gender Equity Strategic Framework (2021-2022)

The City of Ottawa’s Women and Gender Equity Strategy 2021-2025 includes a detailed strategic framework for the first phase (2021-2022). It outlines five strategic priorities, and each have a list of corresponding actions, responsible department(s), key performance indicators and annual targets.

Many municipalities commit to data-driven initiatives to inform other gender responsive actions. For example, they may commit to disaggregate data based on gender, as part of workplace census or municipal forms, in order to track progress around gender representation in leadership or community programming. These data-focused objectives contribute to an evidence-informed strategy, and enable assessment of the strategy’s progress along the way.

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Define strategic goals and actions that are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-bound. Consider whether a phased approach might be useful, and how to use data to inform and report on progress.

 

Consideration #6: Internal and External Approaches

Strategies include both gender responsive actions for change within the municipal government administration (internal), and gender responsive actions in municipal services and programming (external). The following are some examples of internal and external gender responsive actions found in municipal strategies:

Internal External
  • Staff training and capacity development on gender equity
  • Gender representation in leadership positions
  • Use of GBA+ in city processes and design
  • Protocols for investigating discrimination in the workplace
  • Parental leave policies for council members
  • Community safety and prevention of gender-based violence
  • Homelessness initiatives for vulnerable women
  • Newcomer programs with a focus on women
  • Inclusive public spaces (such as universal washrooms and breastfeeding friendly buildings)
  • Childcare
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Change is possible within the municipal administration (internal) and in municipal services and programming (external). Consider actions that address both internal and external barriers simultaneously.

 

Consideration #7: Accountability & Oversight Mechanisms

City of Edmonton’s The Art of Inclusion Strategy

The Art of Inclusion is the City of Edmonton’s diversity and inclusion strategy. As part of the strategy, they are embedding GBA+ throughout the city processes, including Centers of Excellence in each department to help build capacity to use GBA+ and a GBA+ Advisory Committee of diverse employees to provide advice and feedback on how to integrate GBA+ throughout the city. These are part of a broader diversity & inclusion accountability structure.

In many cases, gender responsive strategies call for establishing a governance body responsible for overseeing its implementation, such as a Gender Equity Office or a DEI Office, or outline the responsibility of those offices that already exist. Establishing accountability mechanisms within the strategy and aligning it with other performance oversight mechanisms helps ensure the strategy is used and implemented. Many strategies also define metrics by which the strategy will be evaluated and the reporting frequency (eg. annually).

Further, financial commitments may be included in gender responsive strategies. In the eight municipalities reviewed, most included financial commitments in annual budgets, rather than in the strategy themselves. But statements within the strategy about advocating for and tracking of budgets for gender equity initiatives were included in some cases. For example, the Trans, Gender Diverse and Two Spirit Inclusion Strategy at the City of Vancouver includes a budget allocation for their strategy implementation as a “Quick Start”.

Trans, Gender Diverse and Two Spirit (TGD2S) Inclusion Strategy at the City of Vancouver

In May 2021, Vancouver’s Deputy City Manager sent a Memorandum to council and staff to update on the completion of phase 1 of the two strategies and outlined priority phase 2 actions with accountable departments for each. It outlined in detail the actions that had been taken under each of the five pillars of phase 1, including TGD2S-inclusive data collection methods, and publicly reporting on the city’s workforce composition, including positions and compensation. The TGD2S strategy also included a list of “Quick Starts” that could be achievable in the short term, such as washroom signage, staff training, developing a checklist for TGD2S inclusion during city events, and revisiting city grants priorities.

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Identify people and governance bodies who have the power to inspire and lead change. A gender-responsive strategy will have the most impact with effective oversight mechanisms.
 

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