How the City of Melbourne is bringing Gender Equity to life.

Considered one of the most livable cities in the world, Melbourne is celebrated for its restaurants, culture, sports and universities. In order to deliver its promise of “endless possibilities” to all residents, city officials created a number of policies and plans that seek to make Melbourne equitable for all, especially women, girls, and gender diverse people.

Through the city’s Inclusive Melbourne Strategy, Gender Equality Action Plan and Women’s Safety and Empowerment Action Plan, the City of Melbourne is working with communities and cross-sector stakeholders to advance and localize the Gender Equality Act of 2020.

For example, under Theme 1 of the Women’s Safety and Empowerment Action Plan, “Advancing Women and Gender Diverse People’s Leadership and Participation in the Economic, Social and Civic Life Across the Municipality”, local officials are creating place names to celebrate notable women who have impacted Melbourne, piloting free period care products in public facilities and working with the private sector to question and address toxic gender norms in different sectors.

In another theme “Promoting the Safety of Women and Gender Diverse People in our Communities and Public Spaces”, the city is working to address safety concerns in different places around town. The “women who walk” project brings walking groups to parks to discuss how these green spaces can be more accessible and welcoming for female residents. And “Project Night Justice” is a campaign to help make Melbourne’s streets safer after dark.

The action plan also aims to “Engage Men and Boys to Shift Unhealthy Norms of Masculinity and Condoning of Violence”, by educating boys and men to treat others with respect and care. The City of Melbourne also brings in other actors under its final theme “Achieving Sustainable Primary Prevention for our Municipality” by working with local community groups to develop their own gender equity programs.

Listen in as Nancy Pierorazio, Senior Policy Officer Diversity and Equality in Melbourne, introduces her city’s Inclusive Strategy and Women’s Empowerment Plan at the 2022 CHANGE Annual Summit.

Nancy Pierorazio, Senior Policy Officer Diversity and Equality in Melbourne, introduces her city’s Inclusive Strategy and Women’s Empowerment Plan

Zero Tolerance & Zero Impunity in Mexico City

Upon taking office in 2018, Mayor Sheinbaum inaugurated a new role, the Secretary for Women, and also set up a parity cabinet. With this seismic shift in place, her team then set off to tackle a serious and growing problem in the city: gender-based violence (GBV). In fact, the Mayor went on to declare a State of Emergency for Violence Against Women in 2019. With that, the Mayor and her cabinet set off to prevent, address, and penalize violence, with a single goal: Zero Tolerance and Zero Impunity.

Chief of Government in Mexico City, Claudia Sheinbaum, and her cabinet

Since then, Mexico City has taken a holistic approach to addressing this issue: from classifying online violence as a form of GBV, to passing legislation that forces aggressors to leave their home instead of victims. Streets have been equipped with better lighting and panic buttons for women to feel safer, and women’s only areas have been installed in public transportation. A new emergency hotline has been created, and new care centers have been set up to deliver psycho-emotional, financial, legal, and social support for victims of abuse… Only to name a few projects rolled out by the city.

During her presentation at the 2022 CHANGE annual summit, Diana Alarcón González, Chief Advisor and International Affairs Coordinator in Mexico City, talks about the policies and programs that have helped the city reduce cases of gender-based violence by more than 15% in three years.

Diana Alarcón González, Chief Advisor and International Affairs Coordinator in Mexico City, presents policies and programs in the city to end gender-based violence.