Even with recent gains in female representation in fields like architecture and city government, the fact remains that the city, as we know it today, has been designed and shaped primarily by men. By bringing women’s voices to the forefront of the urban discussion, the Women Led Cities Initiative aims to achieve a greater level of equity in urban planning and design - both bottom-up and top-down - and start conversations about developing feminist city policy towards greater equality for all people in our cities. 

This inaugural working conference will bring together women from a variety of urban fields - from urban planning to policy, arts to social science - to establish goals, share information and experiences, and start the conversation toward what a women-led Philly would really be. Over the course of two days, 20-30 women will deconstruct the issues faced by women working in these fields and reconstruct an action plan to bolster respresentation, power, and each other, beyond the conference itself. This will culminate in a public panel open to everyone in an effort to share the results of the prior day and to start a dialogue with the city at large.

Following the event, a sumary report will be made available for free online, and an online platform will be developed to keep track of the cohort's progress. 

Overall, we plan to: 

1. Expand the conversation through evidence-based research, thought leadership, and speaking up in print and in person.

2. Create a program of working conferences and open-source programming that can be implemented in any city to start the process of being women-led.

3. Provide a platform for women working worldwide to make our cities better by and for women and girls, in an online format and eventual international conference.

Visit https://www.womenledcities.com/ for more information on our project!