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Policy and Plan for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women in Urban Development

Version 1.1 by Emily West on 2021/11/25 08:43

Entry No 

ECOWISE - 4 

Strategic area(s) 

GDE&I (Gender, diversity, equality and inclusion)  

Citizen Science, Cultural and Creative 

Name of partner 

EcoWise (Emre Yontem, Seda Yontem) 

Resource / link 

Location, Description of intervention/project 

Global Initiative 

Geographical scale of the project 

Urban Development level guidance for a global audience 

Background information  

The GEAP is a six year global action plan that backs UN-Habitat’s public 

commitment to improve gender equality and advance women’s rights 

and empowerment across all policies programs and projects. 

This Policy and Plan for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women for 2014-19 (PPG) sets out UN-Habitat’s commitment and strategy to ensure that all its activities reflect and advance the global consensus on non-discrimination and equality between men and women. 

It provides the means by which UN-Habitat will collaborate with 
national and city authorities, and civil society, so that the knowledge, skill and experience of both men and women are included in all aspects of urban development, both as a matter of equality and equity, and so that no resources are overlooked in the quest for inclusive and sustainable urban governance, planning, economic management and basic service delivery 

 

Objectives defined 

The GEAP’s three main objectives are: 

1. Programme: Technical and normative assistance provided to 

national, regional and local authorities and other stakeholders, 

so that their policies, plans and programmes achieve clearly 

articulated, time-bound and measurable gender equality and 

women’s empowerment results in the areas of UN-Habitat’s 

strategic priorities, identified on the basis of gender analysis, 

assessed against clearly defined baseline data disaggregated by 

sex and age. 

2. Progress towards internal gender parity at all levels, and 

particularly at the P5 levels and above clearly demonstrated, 

according to the defined United Nations formula, as an objective 

indicator of organizational commitment to gender equality and 

women’s rights, and of an organizational culture with the capacity 

to advance them. 

3. Internal institutional arrangements that are fully conducive to the 

above two outputs increasingly in place, in progressive compliance 

with the performance standards set out in the System-Wide 

Action Plan for Gender Equality and The Empowerment of Women 

(SWAP). 

 

Metrics used 

The GEAP 2014-2019 has seven thematic areas. In each thematic area of urban human settlement there are specific objectives and actions: 

1. Urban Legislation, Land and Governance:  To increase access to urban land, adoption of enabling urban legislation and establishment of decentralized governance that foster equitable sustainable urban development, including urban safety. 

2. Urban Planning and Design Branch: To improve policies, plans and designs for more compact, socially inclusive, better integrated and connected cities that foster sustainable urban development and are resilient to climate change, at the city, regional and national levels. 

3. Urban Economy: To improve urban strategies and policies that is supportive of inclusive economic development, creation of decent jobs and livelihoods and enhanced municipal finance. 

4. Urban Basic Services: To increase equitable access to urban basic services and the standard of living of the urban poor. 

5. Housing and Slum Upgrading: To increase access to adequate housing, improve the standard of living in existing slums and curb the growth of new slums in an inclusive manner. 

6. Research and Capacity Development: To improve knowledge on sustainable urbanization issues and capacity for formulation and implementation of evidence-based policies and programmes at national, local and global levels. 

7. Risk Reduction and Rehabilitation: To increase the resilience of cities to the impacts of natural and human-made crises and undertake rehabilitation in ways that advance sustainable urban development 

GEAP 2014-2019 has a Results Based Management (RBM) Framework for the monitoring of these thematic areas. 

 

Diversity dimension and findings 

 

The programme is aimed at improving gender equality and advancing women’s rights and empowerment across all policies programs and projects 

 

Result summary 

 

The GEAP is an inspiring guidance towards gender equality in the Urban Development planning. 

Although some aspects may appear to be structured and worded to support the deprived nations/geographies globally, it completely fits in the EU context in advancing women’s rights and empowering them in a holistic approach. 

The Results Based Management (RBM) Framework provided is a well defined way of monitoring the progress in the defined thematic areas, which would be a guidance to WP2 actions. 

 

Input for DivAirCity and action items 

  • The Results Based Management (RBM) Framework (Annex 1 of the GEAP) can be analysed and utilised as a guideline for DivAirCity (DAC) and inclusion framework. The relevant identified accomplishments and indicators can be ingested into the framework of DAC.  
  • Example thematic indicators : 
  • Sub-programme 1: Urban Legislation, Land and Governance 
  • Expected Accomplishment:  
  • Urban legislation and legal tools implemented that enable urban contexts to develop in an inclusive, socially and economically vibrant manner and facilitates equal access to urban resources by both men and women, and by youth 
  • Indicators: 
  • Evidence of urban legislation reform processes commenced to develop inclusive socially and economically vibrant manner 
  • Availability of urban legislation tools developed that enhance inclusive socially and economically vibrant manner and facilitates equal access to urban resources by both men and women, and by youth 
  • Sub-programme 2: Urban Planning and Design Branch 
  • Expected Accomplishment:  
  • Improved policies and frameworks for planning and design of gender-responsive compact, integrated and connected cities adopted by partner city, regional and national authorities 
  • Indicators: 
  • Number of formal policy dialogue meetings, held with engagement of key players, organized by counterparts with evidence of sex disaggregated data 
  • Action item: Identify which thematic accomplishments and indicators are relevant to DAC and can be implemented in the DAC Cities 

 

Notes