North America, Women and Urban SDGs: An Urban Paradigm Shift Towards Gender Equality

Urban Thinkers Campus (The City We Need NOW!)

"Gender equality today for a sustainable tomorrow" is the United Nations theme for this year’s International Women’s Day. UN Women, The UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, also brings to our attention that the 2022 theme is about "recognising the contribution of women and girls around the world, who are leading the charge on climate change adaptation, mitigation, and response, to build a more sustainable future for all. UEF endorses the UN body’s recognition that women are both disproportionately affected by Climate Change and are also "effective and powerful leaders and change-makers" in the fight to protect the planet. Women and men in cities and towns in developing countries are especially vulnerable when they are highly dependent on local resources for their livelihood. Women bear the main responsibility to secure water, food, and fuel for cooking and heating, and they face untold challenges. This in addition to unequal access to resources, decision-making and limited mobility places women in informal settlements and slum areas disproportionately vulnerable to climate change. The urgency now is to identify and implement gender-sensitive strategies to respond to the environmental and humanitarian crises caused by climate change. 

However, we must also recognize that women, while vulnerable to climate change, are also effective actors or agents of change in relation to both mitigation and adaptation. Women, indigenous women in particular have a strong knowledge base, wisdom and expertise that can be used in climate change mitigation, disaster reduction and adaptation efforts. Studies also point out that women’s responsibilities in households and communities, as leaders of managing natural and household resources, position them well to contribute to livelihood strategies adapted to changing environmental realities. Despite the growing visibility of the intersections between climate change, human insecurity, political instability, and urban environments, gender-responsive policies are yet to become the norm. 

This year’s theme “Gender equality today for a sustainable tomorrow “also addresses the need for a paradigm change in infrastructure, systems and frameworks that have been constructed largely in line with a male-defined culture. We need to find innovative ways of reimagining and rebuilding our world so that it works for everyone. Women decision-makers in areas like urban design, transport and public services can hasten women’s access, prevent harassment and violence, and improve everyone’s quality of life. This is an occasion to rededicate ourselves on International Women’s Day. 

On occasions such as this we celebrate the economic, political, and social achievements of women and renew our commitment to removing the many obstacles that hinder full and equal participation by women and girls at many levels. This year’s theme also reminds us that women and girls continue to be subjected to grievous vulnerabilities - vulnerabilities imposed by climate and conflicts - and that they are also endowed with remarkable reserves of knowledge, resilience, and resourcefulness. The advancement of women’s rights and the education of girls are critical preconditions for effective and sustainable development. Let us also express our deep concern to the dehumanising use of sexual violence in armed conflicts and as a weapon of war. In addition to the long term personal physical and psychological trauma, it undermines the social and economic wellbeing, development, peace and stability of communities and countries and reverses the gains achieved so far in sustainable development. 

Since women are key drivers of change, as consumers and as decision-makers, integrating gender equality is essential for the successful implementation of a circular economy initiatives.

We should also strengthen women’s and girls’ voices and representation in decision making bodies to change the shape of the discussion for equity and equality in cities and towns. I agree with many in saying that International Women’s Day is many things – a cause for celebration, a reason to pause and re-evaluate, a remembrance, an inspiration, a time to honour loved and admired ones in an urbanizing world. 

A Global Secretariat for the programme, Women and the Urban SDGs is being set up by UEF, working in collaboration with UN-Habitat, the Ministry of Women, Gender Equality and Youth of Canada, and Canada Mortgage Housing Corporation (CMHC). This programme of the World Urban Pavilion being open to all urban stakeholders will delve into the links between SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities), SDG 5 (Gender Equality) and SDG17 ( partnerships for sustainable development) to foster partnerships between women’s organizations, local governments, and civil society. 

On this Day, let us pay a grand tribute to some of remarkable women environmentalists such as Nobel Laureate Wangari Maathai (Green belt Movement) ,Rachel Carson (conservationist, Author of the book Silent Spring ), Gaura Devi (Chipko Movement) who were trail blazers, and our-day role models such as the urban environmentalist Kotchakorn Voraakhom, Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim and Bertha Zuñiga Indigenous Activists and Sunita Narain, advocacy pioneer who are making huge efforts to save the planet and eradicate poverty.

While we celebrate the achievements, this day all over the world, we also need to reflect and consider both the steps that have been taken towards better lives for women and girls and progress still required to be made. Our shared task, as men and women and people of all genders, is to keep building until we've opened enough avenues broad enough to transform the very horizons of the earth. Women’s empowerment is about collective well-being. Gender equality means harmony and coexistence between women and men, not a competition. Men need to be part of the equation since gender equality is not purely a female issue and it’s a social, economic, and cultural obligation for the whole of humanity. 

 Have a great International Women’s Day.

Anantha Krishnan