Building Justice Into the City

JEDIIA Strategic Plan (2026-2029)

Background

In March 2025, Women in Urbanism Canada (WiUC) engaged Inclusive Leaders Inc to to support with developing its first Justice, Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, Indigenization, and Accessibility (JEDIIA) Framework and Action Plan. This work reflects WiUC’s commitment to building a future where the organization’s internal culture, governance, and public advocacy fully mirror the diverse voices and lived experiences of the communities it serves. Although WiUC has long been grounded in strong equity-driven values, early discovery and engagement activities, which included a comprehensive survey of board and staff, revealed that its volunteer-led structure and limited capacity have constrained the consistent implementation of those values. Findings highlighted both notable strengths, such as a respectful and inclusive internal environment, and clear opportunities for growth, including the need to strengthen efforts to engage Indigenous and racialized communities, engage the unhoused population and those who advocate for them, better support transvoices, and think more intentionally about accessibility. The results also highlighted an existing challenge to redistribute decision-making power and build systems that prevent tokenism and support meaningful participation.

This Strategic Plan is WiUC’s roadmap for transformation. It is built directly from member insights and calls for action: the desire for more representative leadership, stronger alignment between internal practices and external advocacy, and tools that support accountability, learning, and measurable progress. The plan outlines a structured approach to embedding JEDIIA principles across governance, operations, membership engagement, and organizational culture. It offers a vision of WiUC as an organization where equity is not simply aspirational, but practiced, resourced, and sustained. The work ahead is both reflective and forward-looking, honouring WiUC’s values while equipping the organization with the systems, structures, and shared commitments needed to advance justice and belonging in the years to come.

Executive Commitment

WiUC envisions cities where all those who identify as women, girls, and gender-diverse people can shape and thrive within the spaces they call home.

This JEDIIA Strategic Plan (2026–2029) establishes WiUC’s organizational commitments to embedding JEDIIA across governance, programming, partnerships, and internal culture.

WiUC recognizes that justice in cities begins with justice within its own structures. This plan moves the organization from intention to operational commitment.

WiUC explicitly names anti-Black racism, anti-Indigenous racism, transphobia, ableism, sexism, xenophobia, and economic exclusion as systemic forces shaping both urban life and organizational culture. This plan commits to actively identifying and interrupting these harms within WiUC’s work.

This is a strategic statement. It outlines:

  • Clear priorities

  • A three-year roadmap

  • Defined accountability mechanisms

  • Governance oversight responsibilities

  • A commitment to measurable progress

Justice in cities begins with justice in our structures.

Strategic Context

WiUC’s Strategic Plan articulates its mission and external goals. This JEDIIA Strategic Plan strengthens the internal systems, relationships, and practices that make those goals possible.

JEDIIA is not a separate initiative. It is the organizational lens through which WiUC leads, decides, partners, hires, evaluates, and advocates.

Embedding JEDIIA requires:

  • Structural clarity

  • Shared responsibility

  • Measurable accountability

  • Ongoing reflection and redesign

How WiUC Defines JEDIIA

WiUC approaches JEDIIA as a daily practice of reflection and responsibility.

Justice

Recognizing inequities embedded in systems and committing to dismantling them with courage and care.

Equity

Distributing opportunity, voice, and influence based on need, not privilege.

Diversity

Valuing differences in lived experience, identity, and perspective.

Indigenization

Building reciprocal, accountable relationships with Indigenous communities grounded in Truth and Reconciliation.

Inclusion

Ensuring full participation without requiring conformity to dominant norms.

Accessibility

Designing for physical, digital, economic, linguistic, and cognitive access from the outset.

WiUC commits to interrupting anti-Black racism, anti-Indigenous racism, transphobia, ableism, and other systems of oppression within both its organizational practices and public advocacy.

Guiding Principles

  1. Justice is Relational

  2. Anti-Racism and Intersectionality Are Everyday Practices

  3. Power Must Be Shared

  4. Care is Collective

  5. Learning is Continuous

  6. Indigenization is Ongoing and Relational

  7. Transparency Builds Trust

These principles guide all implementation decisions.

Our 2029 Commitments

By 2029, Women in Urbanism Canada commits to the following:

1. Reflect the Communities Most Excluded from Urban Power

We will work toward governance, leadership, programming, and partnerships that meaningfully reflect the racial, gender, disability, economic, and lived-experience diversity of those historically excluded from shaping cities; particularly Black, Indigenous, immigrant, disabled, trans, and gender-diverse communities.

Representation will be accompanied by shared decision-making and real influence.

2. Practice Justice Within Our Own Structures

We will embed JEDIIA into governance policies, performance processes, partnerships, communications, and program design standards.

This includes examining how anti-Black racism, anti-Indigenous racism, transphobia, ableism, and other systemic harms show up in our systems, and redesigning them with care and accountability.

3. Build Relationships Rooted in Reciprocity and Trust

We will move from transactional engagement toward sustained, reciprocal partnerships with communities most impacted by inequitable urban systems.

Community knowledge will be treated as expertise and, where possible, compensated fairly.

4. Measure What We Value and Share What We Learn

We will track representation, participation, accessibility, and belonging. We will publish annual reflections on progress and challenges. In 2029, we will commission an independent external review to assess structural progress and guide renewal. Accountability will be relational, transparent, and continuous.

Strategic Priorities (2026-2029)

Priority 1: Leadership and Governance

Goal:Governance structures reflect the communities WiIUC serves and operate through transparent, equitable decision-making.

Strategic Commitments

  1. Intentionally recruit, mentor, and retain leaders from racialized, Indigenous, gender-diverse, immigrant, disabled, and low-income communities by removing structural barriers to participation and ensuring meaningful decision-making authority.

  2. Review, revise, and implement governance and personnel policies to align with equity, accessibility, and shared power standards, and conduct annual reviews to ensure ongoing alignment.

  3. Establish clear structures that ensure lived experience meaningfully shapes and influences strategic decisions, including participation in governance roles and defined decision-making processes.

  4. Strengthen governance sustainability by distributing responsibilities and reducing over-reliance on any single individual.

Accountability looks like:

  • Annual voluntary demographic snapshot of Board composition, with internal summary of representation gaps.

  • Documented roles, responsibilities, and time expectations for all Board members, reviewed annually for workload equity.

  • Clear and consistent decision-making process used across Board meetings.

  • Annual belonging and psychological safety survey of Board Members and Staff.

  • 12-month retention tracking for new Board members.

  • Annual governance equity review that examines representation, participation, workload distribution, and retention, resulting in documented structural adjustments for the following year.

Priority 2: Programs and Advocacy

Goal:Programming actively addresses anti-Black racism, anti-Indigenous racism, transphobia, ableism, and systemic urban inequities.

Strategic Commitments

  1. Establish a clear structure for applying an explicit anti-racist, anti-Indigenous, anti-transphobic, and accessibility lens to all program design, delivery, and advocacy efforts.

  2. Co-design programs with communities most impacted by urban inequities to ensure relevance, safety, and shared ownership.

  3. Ensure diverse lived experience meaningfully shapes program topics, speakers, and advocacy positions through relationship-centered partnerships.

  4. Commit to accessible, inclusive, and culturally responsive program delivery, and evaluate programs annually for representation, belonging, and impact.

Accountability looks like:

  • Annual accessibility review of all programs and events

  • Representation tracking for all speakers, facilitators, panelists, and contributors

  • At least one co-designed initiative annually beginning in 2027

  • Annual participant feedback survey that includes questions on belonging, representation, and perceived safety.

  • Transparent documentation of advocacy positions, ensuring alignment with anti-racist and accessibility commitments.

  • Publicly available annual overview of programming themes, partner relationships, and equity-focused impact.

Priority 3: Partnerships and Community Engagement

Goal: Partnerships are reciprocal, equitable, and relationship-centred.

Strategic Commitments

  1. Build and maintain partnerships grounded in trust, reciprocity, and shared purpose.

  2. Formalize partnership practices so expectations, communication, and decision-making are clear for all parties.

  3. Expand outreach and engagement with Black, Indigenous, immigrant, disabled, gender-diverse, and low-income communities underrepresented in urban discourse.

  4. Compensate lived experience and community expertise fairly where resources allow.

  5. Strengthen long-term relationships rather than transactional partnerships.

Accountability looks like:

  • A partnership tracking tool that is maintained and updated annually

  • Annual partner feedback collected

  • Documentation and review of compensation practices

  • Representation gaps identified and addressed each year

  • Partnership agreements or shared expectations documented for all recurring collaborations

  • Annual review of partnership impact and relationship health

Priority 4: Internal Culture and Learning

Goal: Internal systems reflect fairness, clarity, and collective care.

Strategic Commitments

  1. Establish clear norms around communication, decision-making, and conflict resolution.

  2. Standardize performance review and feedback processes to support growth and fairness.

  3. Provide ongoing learning in anti-racism, accessibility, trauma-informed practice, and power-sharing to those in leadership, staff and/volunteer positions.

  4. Create systems that support wellbeing, burnout prevention, and sustainable participation.

Accountability Looks Like:

  • 100% completion of annual performance reviews using a standardized template that includes space for self-assessment by the employee

  • Annual belonging and psychological safety survey to assess internal culture and identify areas for improvement.

  • At least one structured JEDIIA learning session per year for Board, staff, and volunteers

  • Clear internal norms for communication, decision-making, and conflict resolution are documented and shared.

  • Annual review of workload distribution and burnout risks to ensure participation is sustainable and equitable.

Please consult the Three-Year Roadmap (2026-2029) for more information on how each priority aligns with phased implementation, defined indicators, and governance oversight.

The Board holds ultimate oversight responsibility for this Strategic Plan.

The Board will:

  • Review progress annually

  • Integrate JEDIIA indicators into strategic planning

  • Ensure alignment with financial and governance structures

  • Commission an external review every three years

JEDIIA is a shared responsibility across all leadership and operational functions.

Conclusion

Justice in cities requires justice in structure.

Through this Strategic Plan, WiUC commits to measurable, accountable, and relational transformation.

This is not symbolic work. It is structural work.

By 2029, WiUC will be positioned not only as an advocate for equitable cities, but as a model for equitable organizational practice.