About
The City Hub and Network for Gender Equity is an international network of cities dedicated to advancing the rights of women, girls and people with non-binary gender identities. We are a hub for municipal governments to exchange and build on strategies that make cities safer and more inclusive for all.
CHANGE’s vision is to achieve gender equality in this generation by making gender-focused leadership and policymaking standard practice in local governments worldwide. The network focuses on fortifying care systems, tackling gender-based violence, and improving gender data for policy making. CHANGE was founded in November 2020 by the mayors of six cities – Los Angeles, Barcelona, Freetown, Mexico City, London, and Tokyo. Since then, CHANGE has more than doubled our membership and staff, and received more than $1.5 million in philanthropic investment
Our network is now made up of 16 cities across six continents.
how we work
CHANGE is a learning hub for local governments to exchange and iterate on strategies that advance gender equity in their communities. In doing so, our network fosters trust and collaboration between policy makers to create feminist societies.
The day-to-day operations of CHANGE are led by a Secretariat that works closely with policy leads from our member cities and partners. CHANGE’s city representatives include its elected leaders and experts from across city departments and agencies, bringing together a range of perspectives into the network. We leverage the expertise from among our member cities by assembling working groups of city personnel with topical knowledge relevant to each project. The network positions key issues at major events and uses these platforms to showcase model practices.
CHANGE also convenes gender experts from around the world to advise on pressing issues, design and roll out qualitative urban research, and collect and analyze gender data using our data indicator system.
Our network is supported by a fiscal sponsor, the Global Philanthropy Partnership, a Chicago-based non-profit organization that promotes strategic global philanthropy, awareness of global development issues, and sustainability initiatives
why cities?
City leaders work closer to their residents than any other level of government. They understand their local contexts and are essential in building equitable communities.
Traditionally known for providing essential services to residents, municipal governments have increasingly become leaders in combating global challenges, from climate change to immigration, public health, and racial and wealth inequalities. This is because the localized work of mayors and municipalities reverberates globally, and international shocks land on their doorsteps.
Member Cities
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