Pledge 32 – Nantes

On 23 March 2020, following the city’s previous pledge on housing and homelessness, the mayor Johanna Rolland signed a new pledge to the European Pillar of Social Rights dedicated to principle 2 on gender equality.

With this new pledge, Nantes is determined to promote gender equality by:

• Strengthening the public policy co-drafted with all local actors in 2014 and aligned with the European Charter for Equality of Woman and Men in Local Life.
• Creating a Gender Equality Council, in 2015, which is composed of 600 members (among them inhabitants, associations, companies, institutions) and chaired by the Mayor.
• Developing actions plan for 2014-2020 promoting gender equality in all policies, services and the building environment of the city.

Since then, concrete measures have been taken in multiple fields such as for:

• Children and young people: educational actions at school or cultural activities to combat stereotypes.
• Health: multiprofessional health centers in some specific neighbourhoods as well as preventive care and help for sex workers.
• Employment: support a Project helping women to gain confidence and negotiate salary, actions to assist women in their employment pathways, to develop business, to find solutions for childcare.
• Culture: feminization of the Nantes street names.
• Sport: reflection on public space for women and host of major women’s international sporting events.

Nantes is also committed to combat violence against women by opening a post-trauma consultation center for women victims of violence with a budget of around €1 million euros. The center called Citad’elles is providing medical, psychologic and material assistance for women victims of violence and children who can be collateral victims. The center is also intended to become a resource and coordination place for professionals and associations in the city. It was opened in autumn 2019, immediately after the city pledge was made public.

With this pledge, Nantes expresses its will to work for the promotion of real equality between gender and build awareness as well as assist women victims of violence.