Different and diverse girls and women, from the entire spectrum of the Israeli society, are born, play, have fun, create, mature, study, work, start families, travel, live and also grow old in the city of Tel Aviv-Yafo. For about two years, we have been developing a unique strategic plan β Fair Shared City: A Plan for Advancing Women and Gender Equality in Tel Aviv-Yafo β because even in , inequality between women and men still characterizes Israeli society.
At the Municipality, we see you, women of the city. Formulating the Plan The Municipal Resilience and Social Equality Authority has led the development of the plan and various municipal stakeholders have taken part. Following extensive local, national and global research and consultations with the public, experts, NGOs, the private sector, and different municipal representatives, we chose to focus on eight areas: personal safety, education, public space and community institutions, transportation, sports, culture and art, economic opportunities, and the promotion of women employees at the Municipality and at municipally-owned corporations.
With regard to each one of these areas, we examined the municipal processes, decisions, programs and activities through a gender lens and asked the following questions: Who sits around the table when decisions are made? Who benefits from municipal services? How are resources allocated? What adjustments and changes need to be made in order to remove barriers and promote gender equality in the city?
The variety of these eight areas reflects our understanding that gender inequality encompasses all spheres of life. Hence, holistic and comprehensive action is needed to tackle it: ranging from municipal policy that makes it harder for strip clubs to operate, to using gender-inclusive language in municipal publications; from planning programs of public buildings that take into consideration women's experiences and needs, to advancing gender equality in the city education system; from providing sexual harassment trainings for businesses in the city, to equal representation of women artists and performers.
Gender Equality β A Key to City Resilience Achieving gender equality is not only a "women's issue" as is often claimed; rather, it is an interest for all of us, women and men alike. It is essential so that Tel Aviv-Yafo will be a safer, more inclusive and better city. A city for all. A fair shared city. The nonstop city is not waiting for changes to occur at the national level or for market forces to do the job β instead, it is actively changing the reality.
