Location: Ottawa, Canada

Organization: Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM)

This toolkit explores how municipalities across Canada can work to reduce, and eventually eliminate, the leadership gap.

About the Wise Practice

The toolkit strives to support local government in learning about intersectional gender tools that municipalities use to advance gender equality and equity. As well, the toolkit also strives to highlight the benefits of having women across all diversities elected in equal numbers. Lastly, the toolkit provides insight into the systemic barriers faced by women candidates and elected officials. 

Category

Governance & Leadership

Goals

Goal 1: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls, ensuring women’s full and effective participation and equal rights in all fields and in leadership at all levels of decision-making (NUA 13c, 90, 148, 155; SDG 5.5, 5.c; CEDAW article 3, 7).

Measurement

Practices, such as outcome mapping, that are designed, implemented and evaluated using participatory and collaborative approaches, and foster the active participation of women and allies across diverse stakeholder groups, are effective and empowering methods of evaluation. The outcome mapping methodology helped develop a gender equity and diversity action plan for two of Diverse Voices’ participating municipalities, Halifax Regional Municipality and the City of Montréal. A workshop was conducted in each respective municipality, involving community and municipal actors to develop a “road map” towards greater leadership from women from diverse community in municipal governance. The road map addressed many of the barriers to women’s civic engagement that were identified throughout the project.”

Monitoring

The toolkit outlines a number of sample indicators to monitor progress over time.

Lessons Learned

Women are consistently underrepresented in leadership positions across the political and professional spheres, filling only 26 per cent of the seats in the House of Commons, Provincial and Municipal governments. Diverse Voices: Tools and Practices to Support all Women explores how municipalities across Canada can work to reduce, and eventually eliminate, the leadership gap. Using examples from select municipalities, it provides resources and tools for local action to support women as leaders and agents of change.

Resources and More Information

Diverse Voices: Tools and Practices to Support all Women