Edition 57: September 2026

What’s New

💻 Why cities need more women in power - and how to get there. Women still make up only 5% of municipal leadership roles, yet it is often the cities led by women that are leading the charge in terms of sustainable and equitable transformations. Read the blog. 

📰 It’s back to school season. Here’s why there’s a push to get rid of cars at dropoff and pickup. Researchers say car-free zones boost safety, but making them last has been challenging. Read the article. 

📰 Canada is investing in the future. Women must help shape what comes next. When women are in the room, the decisions made are more responsive, durable, and aligned with long-term economic health. Read the op-ed. 

📄 Global gender gap report 2026. For the past two decades, the World Economic Forum has published the Global Gender Gap Index to benchmark progress towards gender parity around the world. Read the report. 

📄 How Equality Fund’s investments in women’s and feminist funds are advancing change. The report finds that investing in women’s and feminist funds ensures resources reach the most underserved communities and that fund recipients are driving real change. Read the report. 

🎙️ When driving is not an option (with Anna Zivarts). The Dwell Time podcast, guest hosted by Emily Stremel, discusses transit news in Vancouver and Edmonton and how disability and transit intersect. Listen to the podcast. 

📺 Our parks too. Make Space for Girls has published a new campaign film putting teenage girls’ voices at the heart of the conversation about parks and public spaces. Watch the video. 

📺 Why can kids in this city walk to school alone? In this video by Urban Mobility Explained, Rachel Leonardo visits Spain to explore how street design influences safety, mobility, and everyday life. Watch the video. 

🧰 A toolkit for gender-inclusive mobility planning. This toolkit provides an introduction to gender-inclusive mobility planning, created to help designers, planners, and policymakers build transportation systems that work for everyone. Use the toolkit. 

🧰 The care block implementation guide. A practical guide developed by one of the masterminds behind Bogotá’s innovation, Diana Rodríguez-Franco, is designed to help urban practitioners move from “I want a care block” to “this is how we do it here”. Use the guide.

What’s Inspiring

🪧 A plaque commemorating Annie Gale was unveiled in Calgary. The plaque recognizes Annie Gale, Calgary’s first woman city councillor, and reflects on the women who have opened doors for those who came after them. Learn about the plaque. 

🚍 The TTC is now capping the number of times you have to pay to ride. Paid monthly trips are now capped at 47, making any additional trips within the month automatically free, eliminating the need for monthly passes. Learn about fare capping. 

🤸‍♀️ Elementary school in Ottawa closes street to cars during morning drop off as part of ‘School Streets’ program. Trille des Bois elementary school in Vanier has closed a section of road in front of the school to through-traffic to support active school travel and free play. Learn about the program. 

🚌 City of Winnipeg launches the Youth Ride Free pilot. Launched this fall, students aged 11 to 21 who are attending public, independent, or home school this academic year can ride on Winnipeg Transit for free. Learn about the pilot. 

🚲 SHIFT NWT is bringing Cycling Without Age and a trishaw to town. The organization is starting a Cycling Without Age chapter in Yellowknife and bringing a trishaw, a three-wheeled passenger vehicle propelled by pedals, to the community next summer. Learn about the new chapter. 

📶 Edmonton rolling out cell phone service in underground LRT tunnels. The city started rolling out Phase 1 of its Underground Cell Service project, enabling cell service for select networks at underground stations. Learn about the project. 

What’s Coming Up

👩‍💻 Director, Marketing & Communications. This position with the Bentway provides strategic leadership for the organization’s marketing, communications, and public profile. Apply for the role before September 30, 2026. 

👩‍💻 Clean Transportation Program Manager. This position with Environmental Defence Canada focuses on clean transportation, public transit, and zero-emission vehicles. Apply for the position before September 30, 2026. 

🗓️ The Ripple Effect. City BuildHERS is bringing together women from across engineering, design, and policy for an afternoon focused on leadership and meaningful cross-sector connection. Register for the in-person event in Ottawa on October 1, 2026. 

🗓️ She Talks: Feminist Cities. Join YWCA Cambridge for an intimate evening with Dr. Leslie Kern, feminist geographer and author of Feminist City: Claiming Space in a Man-Made World. Attend the in-person event in Waterloo on October 7, 2026. 

💰 Sector grants. The Ontario Trillium Foundation has introduced a new funding stream designed to strengthen the capacity and resilience of Ontario’s non-profit sector. Apply by October 14, 2026. 

🗓️ Leadership Forum 2026: Room to Grow. Hosted by Fora: Network for Change, this full-day experience will bring together young leaders, sectoral experts, and passionate mentors in Toronto. Get your ticket for the event on October 20, 2026. 

🗓️ Canada’s Urban Design Forum. Organized by the Council for Canadian Urbanism, this in-person event in Ottawa focuses on capitalizing design. Register for the event on October 22-24, 2026. 

✍️ Youth Policy Program. The LEVEL Youth Policy Program brings together Indigenous and racialized immigrant and refugee youth from across BC to provide training on policy that addresses issues impacting their lives. Apply before October 30, 2026. 

💰 Grants for Good Places. This program administered by the Federation of Calgary Communities funds both the physical transformation of public spaces and the ongoing programming that keeps them active. Applications are open until October 30, 2026. 

✍️ Introduction to Gender Mainstreaming. This self-paced online course focuses on the institutional and policy strategy for advancing gender-equality, covering why it matters and how it works in practice. Sign-up for the course.

Becoming a member gives you the opportunity to shape the organization and welcomes you into a community of like-minded women and gender-diverse people.