Our Work
Our network convenes and supports city members committed to a shared goal, but operating in distinct local contexts. Together, we are transforming government systems and services for more than 50 million women, girls, and people with non-binary gender identities living in CHANGE cities. We focus on three thematic areas:
Care
Caregiving, from raising children to supporting elders and individuals with disabilities, is essential for social reproduction and a healthy economy. We view care as an interconnected ecosystem where both formal (paid) and informal (unpaid) labor complement each other. Care is a gender issue, as women and girls disproportionately bear this responsibility. Weak or absent care systems force women to fill infrastructure and service gaps, limiting their opportunities in the labor market and hampering their health and well-being. In urban contexts, care sustains dense populations, economies, and cultural life, but is increasingly strained by austerity, inequality, and climate change.
CHANGE is on a mission to advance the “Caring City” concept, a feminist urban planning approach that recognizes the care work of women and girls; reduces this burden by sharing it across public, private, and civic sectors (known as “the co-responsibility of care”); and redistributes resources to support the development and wellbeing of caregivers, most often women and girls.
CHANGE works with municipal governments to strengthen care systems, advocating for policy change, improved infrastructure, and better service delivery to enhance community well-being.
Read the
Caring Cities Full Report
Gender-Based Violence
Everyone should be free to access essential services, participate in civic life, and move safely through their communities. Yet, in every region in the world, pervasive genderbased violence prevents women and gender non-binary individuals from enjoying these freedoms. In response, CHANGE cities are working together to create safer, more inclusive public, private, and digital spaces.
More than one in three women worldwide has experienced physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence or non-partner sexual violence in their lifetime. That statistic increases when accounting for individuals with non-binary gender identities. This alarming reality demands our collective action.
We work with governments to reduce gender-based violence by focusing on:
Gender-based violence is a symptom of a range of societal norms and inequalities that mayors and municipalities have the power and responsibility to address. CHANGE cities are taking action to reduce violence in their public spaces, and they are sharing their learnings with one another as part of a global movement. CHANGE works with members to keep public attention on this issue. Now, the network is also exploring new approaches to understanding women’s perceptions of safety, and piloting innovative tactics to increase their sense of belonging in the public realm.
Gender Data
Gender data is critical to understanding how gender identity and expression affect access to resources, services, and opportunities. It sheds light on gender inequality and aids governments and service providers in designing intervention strategies to bridge gaps. Localized data is particularly valuable for tailoring policies and programs in cities, but municipalities often lack granular data. Recognizing that you “cannot manage what you cannot measure,” CHANGE assists cities in gathering and interpreting data against specific indicators that gauge women’s experiences in areas such as the built environment, local governance, economic opportunity, and physical autonomy.
CHANGE has worked to develop and refine a city-focused gender data framework since 2021. In collaboration with member cities and academic partners, CHANGE created an index of indicators, quantitative and qualitative, to measure gendered outcomes and experiences in urban environments. We work with cities to understand women’s experience of the built environment, economic opportunity, local governance and physical autonomy.
CHANGE, alongside Data-Pop Alliance and Open Data Watch, built a framework that helps city leaders and planners to rethink traditional approaches to urban design and governance, putting gender equity at the forefront.
Quezon city was one of the five pilot cities where this framework was developed.
READ OUR BLUEPRINT FOR THE FEMINIST CITY
From Thought Leadership to Action
CHANGE has served as a platform for knowledge exchange, advocacy, and trust-building among cities on gender equity issues through regular working group meetings and participation in major global events. As the network continues to evolve, CHANGE is expanding our offerings to members, becoming a practical tool for cities to develop solutions and access valuable resources to enhance programs and policies that impact women-identifying residents.
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