Results: what we achieved

Programs

Program 1.1: Strategic Advice, Expertise and Promotion of Gender Equality

Description

As the Government of Canada’s centre of expertise on women’s equality issues, SWC helps the government meet its domestic and international obligations and commitments to gender equality. Through its communication and commemoration activities, SWC raises Canadians’ understanding and knowledge of gender equality issues and encourages them to engage in efforts to make advances in this area. SWC also plays a lead role in building the capacity of federal organizations to use GBA+ to develop and implement policies, programs and initiatives that will address gender inequalities in their areas of responsibility. SWC provides strategic policy research, analysis and advice to the Government as a whole and to other key partners and stakeholders on numerous issues aligned with its three priority areas of ending violence against women and girls, supporting the advancement and increased representation of women and girls in leadership and decision-making roles, and improving women’s and girls’ economic security and prosperity. SWC fosters the development of new data and innovative research, explores gaps and emerging issues, and encourages knowledge transfer on ways to address gender inequalities. Through its international engagement, SWC influences international outcome documents, agreements and resolutions to ensure that they contain strong commitments to gender equality and address specific issues relevant to the Canadian context.

Results

In 2017–18, SWC continued to make progress on the commitments outlined in the Minister’s mandate letter, focusing on four priorities:

Addressing Violence against Women and Girls

Gender-based violence (GBV) remains an overwhelming barrier to equality. As an advanced and prosperous country, Canada can and needs to do better to address the continued violence against women and girls. In June 2017, SWC launched It’s Time: Canada’s Strategy to Prevent and Address Gender-Based Violence (the Strategy). The Strategy:

• is the first federal strategy to address all forms of violence, through a gender and intersectional lens;
• fills gaps in knowledge and provides supports for diverse, under-represented, and often marginalized populations;
• builds on current federal efforts and seeks to align with provincial/territorial initiatives related to GBV;
• coordinates all federal actions related to GBV, through a new Knowledge Centre on GBV, housed within SWC; and
• is based on three pillars: prevention, support for survivors and their families, and the promotion of responsive legal and justice systems.

Since then, SWC has taken concrete steps towards implementing the Strategy. In particular, SWC:

• Developed, with Statistics Canada, three national surveys to collect much needed data and information on sexual harassment and GBV in public and private spaces, post-secondary environments and workplaces.
• Released a study on Violent Victimization of Women with Disabilities.
• Led outreach with academics, civil society, as well as provincial and territorial representatives to gather information on data gaps and research priorities, and inform the development of SWC’s first qualitative and policy research program.
• Launched the first call for concepts in January 2018 under SWC’s new GBV Program to invest $20 million to strengthen the GBV sector to address gaps in supports for underserved populations of survivors.
• Planned the GBV Knowledge Centre and its searchable online platform to bring together existing data and evidence from a variety of sources about GBV and ways to prevent and address it, as well as links to government funding opportunities.

In recognition of the need to further our support to survivors of GBV and their families, Budget 2018 announced an additional $86 million that will be invested over five years, starting in 2018–19, and $20 million per year ongoing, to expand the GBV Strategy. This funding will help prevent teen dating violence, support sexual assault centres, and address online child sexual exploitation.

SWC also supported the initiatives of other federal partners working to address GBV, including:

• The National Housing Strategy, which aims to direct one third of investments to support projects that target the unique needs of women and ensure that no one fleeing domestic violence is left without a place to turn.
• A review of current training policies for federal front-line law enforcement officers, using the GBA+ tool, to ensure that they respond effectively to GBV in a gender and culturally sensitive manner.
• The development of measures to ensure that Parliament and federal institutions are workplaces free from harassment and sexual violence, including proposed amendments to the Canada Labour Code to strengthen the existing framework for the prevention of harassment and violence in the workplace (Bill C-65).

The Commission of Inquiry into the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls released its interim report on November 1, 2017, outlining progress to date, challenges in establishing the Inquiry and recommendations for immediate support to assist families that want to participate in the process, including a call to extend the timelines. To support federal action to address the interim recommendations of the National Inquiry, SWC will establish a commemoration fund, providing $10 million over two years to honour the lives and legacies of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls and LGBTQ2 individuals.

SWC promoted action and social change with a number of initiatives undertaken as part of the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence. This year’s theme, #MYActionsMatter, was a call to action that asked everyone to take concrete steps to question, call out, and speak up against acts of GBV. As part of this initiative, SWC partnered with the Canadian Football League (CFL) to engage thousands of Canadians to act to end GBV. The Minister of Status of Women joined CFL players to launch the 16 Days of Activism, over the course of which 40,000 pledges to end GBV were collected.

Strengthening Implementation of Gender-based Analysis Plus (GBA+)

Applying a gender lens to the development, implementation and assessment of legislation, policies, and other initiatives allows inequalities based on gender and other intersecting identity factors to be recognized and addressed. In 2017–18, SWC led efforts across government to strengthen GBA+ and implement the Action Plan on Gender-based Analysis (2016–2020) to address recommendations of the Fall 2015 Report of the Auditor General of Canada on Gender-based Analysis.

SWC increased the accessibility of tools and resources by expanding online and interactive GBA+ training tools, including an updated online Introduction to GBA+ course, and four new “microlearning videos” designed to demystify GBA+. As of March 31, 2018, 105,000 federal public servants, parliamentarians and parliamentary staff have completed GBA+ online training and results of the second annual GBA+ Implementation Survey indicate that an increasing number of organizations offer GBA+ training to their employees (57% in 2017 compared to 47% the previous year), with almost three quarters of organizations reporting that they use the SWC GBA+ course as mandatory or recommended training for policy analysts. These activities build GBA+ capacity across the federal government and enable other departments and agencies to systematically consider gender equality in their policies and programs.

SWC also raised awareness of the use of GBA+ across the federal government through:

• GBA+ Interdepartmental Committees: to share information on GBA+ implementation and activities, expertise, best practices and strategies.
• GBA+ Awareness Week: to showcase examples of the application of GBA+ in particular working environments (e.g. science, security, social) and creating networking opportunities on initiatives, challenges and potential synergies on the application of GBA+.

SWC collaborated with Privy Council Office, Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat and the Department of Finance Canada to ensure GBA+ is applied comprehensively to all aspects of policy development and decision making, and to strengthen the quality of GBA+. Treasury Board submissions, Budget submissions and Memoranda to Cabinet now require a GBA+ and federal organizations are required to incorporate GBA+ in Departmental Results Frameworks, Departmental Results Reports, and Departmental Plans. All measures funded through Budget 2018 were informed by GBA+. Budget 2018 also announced that the government will introduce new GBA+ legislation to enshrine gender budgeting in the federal government’s budgetary and financial management processes.

SWC supported the Gender Equality Advisory Council and the integration of GBA+ throughout all activities and events of Canada’s 2018 G7 Presidency. Applying GBA+ throughout the 2018 G7 presidency resulted in concrete outcomes for women and girls across all themes in G7 countries and beyond.

Recognizing that effective GBA+ and informed decision making depend on access to timely and reliable evidence, SWC undertook and funded research activities that fill knowledge gaps in key policy areas, including: the representation of women in leadership roles; economic well-being; gendered segmentation of education fields and occupations; labour force participation; work-life balance; and child care. In addition, SWC collaborated with the Department of Finance Canada and Global Affairs Canada to develop the Gender Results Framework, introduced in Budget 2018, which sets out Canada’s gender equality goals domestically and internationally, and key indicators to measure progress. SWC also organized and hosted a meeting of government and academic researchers on the state of knowledge on the status of women in Canada. This meeting facilitated cross-national networks and collaboration and allowed participants to build relationships as they identified knowledge gaps and research priorities for the coming years.

Increasing the Representation of Women in Leadership Roles

All Canadians benefit when women are engaged in the democratic process and in leading our nation, whether as elected officials, on public or private sector boards, or as senior executives. Promoting equality for women and their increased representation in leadership and decision-making roles is a priority for SWC and the Government of Canada.

Over the reporting period, SWC supported the federal government’s efforts to modernize Canada’s federal corporate governance laws and support the increase of women’s participation on corporate boards and in senior management positions. As a result of newly amended legislation, which received Royal Assent on May 1, 2018, publicly-traded, federally-incorporated companies will be required to disclose annually, information on the diversity makeup of their boards and senior management.

Within the public sector, SWC supported the Privy Council Office and Governor in Council (GIC) appointments to ensure they are merit-based and demonstrate gender parity, in keeping with Government of Canada priorities. Since late 2015, the representation of women serving as GIC appointees has increased by 13 percentage points and is now at 47%.

SWC also promoted women’s leadership through ongoing commemorative events, including:

• an International Women’s Day initiative around the theme #MyFeminism to celebrate the feminist heroes who helped pave the way towards equality and encourage Canadians to add their voice to the conversation;
• a campaign during Women’s History Month, which includes International Day of the Girl, inviting Canadians to recognize individuals who are making a difference by taking action for equality and share the stories of inspirational women and girls using #ClaimYourPlace on social media; and
• commemoration activities for Persons Day, including the recognition of six individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the goal of equality for women and girls in Canada and who received the 2017 Governor General’s Awards in Commemoration of the Persons Case.

Promoting Women’s Economic Security and Prosperity

As a whole, women in Canada are performing well when measured against international counterparts. However, many women in Canada experience a range of barriers to economic prosperity. The Minister of Status of Women has been mandated to make meaningful progress on reducing the wage gap between men and women.

In Canada, the gap stems from a number of factors, including a greater proportion of women in low wage, temporary and part-time work, as well as in lower-paid fields, sectors and occupations. There are also a range of work, family and societal issues that contribute to this gap, such as unfair valuation of “women’s work”, discrimination in the workplace, stereotypes about gender roles, and unequal sharing of caregiving responsibilities, leading to fewer hours worked by women outside the private sphere.

SWC’s work to increase women’s economic security and prosperity recognizes that the gender wage gap and the factors that contribute to it must be addressed in order to promote greater inclusion of women in the economy. Throughout 2017–18, SWC engaged with and supported key federal government departments and agencies on initiatives intended to close the gender wage gap and better promote women’s economic inclusion and participation, specifically:

• the Multilateral Early Learning and Child Care Framework, an agreement between the federal, provincial and territorial governments, to support inclusive, accessible, affordable and high-quality child care across the country;
• the development of pay equity legislation to ensure that women working in federally regulated industries receive equal pay for equal work or work of equal value;
• Canada’s new Parental Sharing Benefit, intended to promote more equal distribution of family responsibilities between spouses;
• amendments to the Canada Labour Code to allow workers in federally regulated sectors to formally request flexible work arrangements;
• expanded eligibility criteria for Canada Student Grants for part-time students and students with dependent children; and
• the creation of learning programs to encourage women and girls to pursue interests and careers in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), such as CanCode and PromoScience.

Results

In 2017–18, SWC spent a total of $6,823,305 to carry out activities in support of this Program. The increases in actual spending and FTEs over planned resources reported in the 2017–18 Departmental Plan are mainly due to increased funding announced through Budgets 2016 and 2017, received during the reporting period, as well as the realignment of some resources from Program 1.2.

Program 1.2: Advancing Equality for Women

Description

SWC’s grant and contribution funding to non-profit and other organizations aims to create conditions of success for women’s economic security, social well-being, and participation in democratic life. Funded projects apply a variety of strategies with an emphasis on addressing the underlying systemic barriers impeding women’s progress and advancement. The Agency also facilitates collaboration, networking, partnerships and knowledge sharing amongst organizations working to advance equality for women in order to maximize the impacts of its funding.

Results

Strategic Investments and Fostering Collaboration

In 2017–18, SWC worked to advance equality for women by investing $20.8 million in some 300 new and ongoing projects at the local, regional and national levels. Funded projects worked to develop and implement concrete solutions to the systemic barriers faced by women, focusing on creating levers, maximizing collective impact through partnerships, as well as transforming institutions and systems impeding women’s progress and advancement. These investments contribute to increasing and strengthening women’s full participation in Canadian society and make a real difference in the lives of women and girls in Canada.

Over the reporting period, the Evaluation of the Women’s Program and management response action plan were finalized and approved. The evaluation concluded that the Women’s Program remains relevant and that SWC’s investments are responding to the needs of women in Canada. SWC will continue to address recommendations and implement management responses. In 2017–18, SWC announced changes to the way it supports organizations. These changes included enhancements to SWC’s funding programs to strengthen support and flexibility to funded organizations.

Promoting Women’s Economic Security and Prosperity

In 2017–18, SWC launched a call for proposals to increase the economic security of women in Canada, focusing on:

• Projects that address the root causes (e.g. pay inequity, accessibility of childcare, wage gap) limiting the economic security of women in Canada.
• Projects that work to identify opportunities for Indigenous women’s economic success and take action to implement the solutions. This call provided an open and flexible approach to meet the specific and diverse needs of Indigenous women.

In 2017–18, SWC also analysed project results for closed projects funded under the call for proposal: Economic Opportunities for Women – Advancing Women in Non-Traditional Occupations. The analysis found that projects had worked with industry sectors and with communities in sector-specific efforts to support: women's recruitment, retention and advancement in non-traditional sectors (e.g., construction, mining and metal production). Strategic partnerships were developed and strengthened with a range of stakeholders, including local women, communities, training institutions, unions, professional and industry associations, sector councils, local governments and employers.

Through funded projects, stakeholders worked collaboratively to identify sector-specific priorities and develop action plans, leading to increased ownership, commitment and leadership in implementing identified priorities. By bringing diverse stakeholders together, often for the first time, the projects allowed partners to learn from each other, forge a common vision and identify new opportunities for action. In particular, stakeholders broadened their understanding of the specific barriers to women entering non-traditional occupations and advancing at different stages of their careers.

Collaborative action in these sectors has resulted in opportunities for women’s advancement and some institutional change, including diversity policies and recruitment strategies focused on women, formal employment agreements between training institutions and industry employers to hire women graduates, new data collection tools for the industry to track and understand gaps in women’s representation, and tools to support industry employers in building more inclusive and respectful workplaces for women. In some cases, work is ongoing and supported by sustained partnerships. As a result, stakeholders are better equipped to promote women’s advancement in these industries.

Increasing Representation of Women in Leadership Roles

In November 2017, SWC announced investments in projects to strengthen the voices of Indigenous women on issues of importance to them and their communities. Nearly $5 million in Government of Canada funding was allocated to 12 organizations for three-year projects under the call for proposals: Empowering Indigenous Women for Stronger Communities.

In 2017–18, SWC also invested in some 50 projects to engage approximately 150 women leaders from various sectors, organizations, and communities in local projects, as well as take part in a pan-Canadian network of women leaders to advance gender equality.

Addressing Violence against Women and Girls

In January 2018, as part of the GBV Strategy, SWC launched the Gender-Based Violence Program’s first call for concepts, Promising Practices to Support Survivors and their Families, with $20 million in funding for organizations to test promising practices to address gaps in supports for Indigenous women and their communities, as well as other underserved populations.

The call for concepts is a two-stage funding process that was adopted to reduce the administrative and financial burden on community and not-for-profit organizations applying for funding and to reach out to a broader range of organizations. In the first funding stage, successful applicants are provided with up to $30,000 to develop their concepts into full project proposals. In the second stage, approved concepts receive up to $1 million for project implementation over a period of up to five years.

Through this call, concepts were submitted by organizations from all provinces and territories. Of these submissions, 80% were from organizations not previously funded by SWC. SWC will announce approved concepts in 2018–19.

In 2017–18, SWC spent a total of $26,764,597, including $20,830,000 in grants and contributions funding, to carry out activities in support of this Program. The difference between planned and actual spending and FTEs is mainly due to the realignment of some resources from this Program to Program 1.1. In addition, some planned staffing was delayed.

Information on Status of Women’s lower-level programs is available in the GC InfoBase.

Internal Services

Description

Internal Services are those groups of related activities and resources that the federal government considers to be services in support of programs and/or required to meet corporate obligations of an organization. Internal Services refers to the activities and resources of the 10 distinct service categories that support Program delivery in the organization, regardless of the Internal Services delivery model in a department. The 10 service categories are: Management and Oversight Services; Communications Services; Legal Services; Human Resources Management Services; Financial Management Services; Information Management Services; Information Technology Services; Real Property Services; Materiel Services; and Acquisition Services.

Results

Since 2016–17, SWC has received increased funding to establish a more comprehensive range of internal functions, including those associated with supporting a full Minister and Deputy Minister, and to enhance the policy supports required to deliver on Government priorities. In 2017–18, SWC continued to establish the corporate structure necessary to deliver on Government priorities: additional resources were approved by Treasury Board to enhance existing units (i.e., Communications and Public Affairs, Corporate Services, Research and Evaluation) and create new units (i.e., Ministerial Services, Cabinet and Parliamentary Affairs, Results and Delivery). Over the reporting period, SWC’s internal services functions focused on attracting, accommodating and retaining a highly qualified workforce, including by promoting a balanced and positive work environment for SWC employees.

In 2017–18, SWC spent a total of $9,716,331 to carry out activities in support of Internal Services. The increase in actual spending and FTEs over planned resources reported in the 2017–18 Departmental Plan are due to increased funding announced through Budgets 2016 and 2017, received during the reporting period.

Date modified:

2018-11-20