Business Case: Cities
The world’s cities are home to more than half of the world’s population and more than 80% of global GDP. But cities have historically been designed by and for men. This can make it harder for women to use transport or other public services, safely enjoy public spaces, or combine unpaid domestic work with paid work. Gender-sensitive urban planning can help men and women to balance multiple roles or forge new ones, which is good for both them and for cities.
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Cities built for women
The Gender and Cities Business Case draws on examples from the transport, water, energy, and waste sectors to show the benefits of including women’s and men’s voices and offers strategies to make municipal services and urban development projects more gender inclusive.
KEY FINDINGS
Inclusive Cities are Improved Cities
01
Gender-sensitive municipal design creates economic and social benefits.
Gender-inclusive urban planning allows women and men to engage more equally in municipal life and share economic and domestic obligations and opportunities.
02
Addressing gender-based violence and harassment (GBVH) increases economic and social opportunities.
Reducing the risks of GBVH in urban centers improves people’s ability to work, engage socially, and meet other daily needs.
03
Increasing inclusive’s engagement in municipal management and administration can strengthen urban resilience.
Closing the gender gap in participation in municipal administration, policy planning, and decision-making can make cities more resilient.
Strategies to address gender gaps
Cities should increase equitable representation in municipal management and workforce, and design municipal services to better respond to more inclusive needs.
Include both men and women in participatory planning of urban spaces and services, and solicit their feedback for accountability and improvement.
Increase inclusive representation in municipal management and workforces.
Design municipal services to better respond to the needs of all citizens.
Design gender-inclusive public spaces.
Consider sector-specific interventions in transport, water, and power.
Develop innovations to reduce the risk of GBVH in public spaces and transport.
Include both men and women in participatory planning of urban spaces and services, and solicit their feedback for accountability and improvement.
Increase inclusive representation in municipal management and workforces.
Design municipal services to better respond to the needs of all citizens.
Design gender-inclusive public spaces.
Consider sector-specific interventions in transport, water, and power.
Develop innovations to reduce the risk of GBVH in public spaces and transport.
Fast Facts
Including women is the key to expanding infrastructure and revenue.
>50%
In Latin America and the Caribbean, more than 50% of public transport users are women; women are also often responsible for child and elder care. However, many public transport systems are not designed to accommodate travel with strollers or wheelchairs.
Source: IDB
65%
In Mexico, 65% of women public transport users reported having experienced harassment; 30% of women in Australia reported changing their behavior to avoid using public transport alone after dark.
Source: CAF, IDB, UN-Habitat
1/4
About a quarter of workplaces in Cambodia have no toilet and about 14% in the Philippines had inadequate toilets, while 74% of marketplaces in Vietnam had no toilet and 13% had inadequate toilets.
Source: World Bank
16.5%
In developing countries, lack of access to and safety of transport reduces the probability of women’s participation in the labor force by 16.5%.
10%
In Bangladesh, women who felt unsafe outside the home were 10% less likely to participate in the labor market.
Source: World Bank
183%
In Delhi, India, increasing gender equity among power bill collected, increased revenue by 183%, and active power connections rose by 40%.
Source: Bloomberg Businessweek
0.9-1.3%
Ignoring GBVH is expensive to municipal authorities and governments: A 2014 KPMG report found that GBVH cost the Republic of South Africa between 0.9 and 1.3% of GDP annually.
Source: KPMG
<5%
Globally, women represent fewer than 5% of mayors.
Source: NDI
92%
In Rabat, Morocco, 92% of women reported having experienced sexual harassment in public spaces. In Quito, Ecuador, the figure was 68%.
Source: CAF, IDB, UN-Habitat
70%
In the 2019 Indian election, which saw record numbers of female voters, one study found that 70% of Indian mothers were particularly concerned about women’s safety.
17%
Women are underrepresented in municipal and utility workforces—17% of the global water and sanitation workforce and 17.5% of urban transport sector employees in Europe.
Source: WSUP
62%
In India, the number of drinking water projects in areas with women-led councils was 62% higher than those with men-led councils, highlighting that the outcomes of governance and decision-making can be different with greater gender equality.
Source: UN Women
EXAMPLES AND CASE STUDIES
