Over 55% of the global population lives in urban areas and rapid urbanization shifts social, economic, and political dynamics, with particular impacts on women’s empowerment and gender equality. Despite the important roles and responsibilities of women as household and community decision-makers, women in cities, especially in slum areas, often face specific legal and societal restrictions that limit access to equal economic opportunities, property rights, healthcare, education, mobility, and decision making, which create significant barriers to accessing adequate urban services or benefiting from urban development interventions. Understanding the gender-related issues in urban service delivery supports successful interventions in urban planning and service delivery that can accelerate sustainable development outcomes and contribute to women’s economic empowerment and gender equality across communities, decision-making levels, and sectors.
This webinar addresses major gender-related issues in equitable and sustainable delivery and use of urban services, including lack of access to resources, infrastructure, and decision-making spheres. It will also address considerations for integrating gender into urban service delivery and highlight successful urban waste management and recycling interventions that advance gender equality, increase women’s economic empowerment, and contribute to sustainable urban development.
The webinar was moderated by Cate Owren, IUCN, and included the following presentations by:
- Emmett Boyer, Global Programme on Governance and Rights, IUCN
- Ruta Aidis and Delila Khaled, Banyan Global
- Silvia Petrova, Office of Land and Urban, USAID
Additional resources for this webinar include:
- Read Advancing Gender in the Environment: Gender and Urban Services here.
- Read the Women’s Economic Empowerment and Equality in Solid Waste Management and Recycling factsheets here.
- Access a copy of the presentations here.
You can learn more about AGENT here.
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Advancing Gender in the Environment (AGENT) is a ten-year Public International Organization (PIO) grant to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) that was established in 2014 and is managed by the Bureau for Economic Growth, Education and Environment’s (E3) Office of Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment. The purpose of the grant is to increase the effectiveness of USAID’s environment programming through the robust integration of gender considerations, improving gender equality and women’s empowerment outcomes in a broad range of environmental sectors.
AGENT provides an array of support for national, regional and global environmental activities to advance women’s empowerment and gender equality. AGENT’s support is designed to complement existing or emerging USAID environmental efforts. AGENT broadens the reach of technical support, builds evidence for gender integration throughout environmental sectors, fills critical information gaps, and develops targeted resources and tools that can be directly applied in Agency programs, training, and communications.
