Gender-based analysis plus (GBA+)

Governance

The ESDC GBA+ Centre of Expertise (CoE) has been established for a number of years and is actively embedding GBA+ throughout the Department. Some of the roles and responsibilities of the CoE include:

• Reviewing, assessing and providing guidance on all Cabinet documents such as Memorandum to Cabinet, Treasury Board Submissions, and Budget proposals
• Developing and disseminating tools, resources and guidance documents and organizing learning events to develop GBA+ capacity within the Department; and
• Working collaboratively with internal and external stakeholders to contribute to the broader agenda of advancing GBA+ across the public service and gender equality initiatives

Recent GBA+ efforts have been guided by an Action Plan. The Action Plan is the main accountability mechanism used for integrating GBA+ into Departmental decision-making processes. Additional resources have been brought into the CoE to aid in the implementation of the Action Plan. ESDC management and senior executives are responsible for the integration of GBA+ within the Department. The first iteration of the Action Plan was approved at the June 29, 2017 Portfolio Management Board meeting by senior executives.

Currently, the CoE monitors the extent to which GBA+ is embedded throughout Memorandum to Cabinet and Treasury Board Submissions by internal assessments. CoE activities are monitored and reported to senior executives through regular Action Plan updates while ESDC reports to Status of Women through the yearly GBA+ Implementation survey.

Human resources

The CoE has three FTE’s who are dedicated to the implementation of GBA+ within the Department.

A GBA+ Community of Practice is being renewed and will be comprised of 1 representative from each branch and region who will work closely with the CoE, as part of their responsibilities, on the components of the CoE Action Plan and ESDC GBA+ strategy.

ESDC also has two Directors General GBA+ co-champions who play a vital role in providing leadership in the promotion and implementation of GBA+ in the development of effective policies, programs, services and legislation.

In addition to the CoE and Community of Practice a number of branches have dedicated resources with specific accountability for supporting GBA+.

Planned initiatives

The CoE has made progress towards the goal of embedding GBA+ throughout the Department. This year the CoE provided support for Budget 2018 and has been working with ESDC staff to increase their capacity to include GBA+ at the early stages and throughout the development of policies and programs.

Planned initiatives include:

• Address barriers to GBA+
  • Conduct a session with the Innovation Lab to assess the current state of GBA+ within the Department and contribute to the development of strategies and concrete actions to address priorities
  • Consult with Finance on lessons learned for Budget 2018, the approach for Budget 2019 and update existing resources
  • Budget 2018 introduced a new Gender Results Framework based on six pillars with indicators to track success and failure to guide future budgets. Four of the six pillars of the Gender Results Framework (Education and Skills Development; Economic Participation and Prosperity; Gender-Based Violence and Access to Justice; Poverty Reduction, Health and Well-Being) have a direct link to the Department
• Strengthen GBA+ capacity across the organization
  • Continue developing accessible and informative guidance documents ESDC that will be distributed during kick-off meetings, knowledge events and consultations
• Monitor and report GBA+ results
  • Collaborate with partners in performance measurement, evaluation and risk to embed GBA+ as required in the TBS Policy on Results; and
  • Develop an ESDC GBA+ strategy to guide priorities for the next 1-3 years
  • Budget 2018 announced a new GBA+ legislation to enshrine gender budgeting in the federal government's budgetary and financial management processes. The Government has committed to publish GBA+ assessments of all measures included in Budget 2019. ESDC will work to implement these Budget commitments

The CoE will support medium-term planning work undertaken to advance governmental and departmental priorities on gender equality.

GBA+ is an integral component of initiatives across the Department. Some examples include:

• Client Services - The department conducts client experience surveys to assess service design results for clients. Results are made available for all activities regarding departmental service policy implementation and service management
• Respecting Gender Diversity in Service - ESDC now has implemented a third option for gender designation (“X”) for both the Social Insurance Number Program (Not male/female), and passports, which are delivered by Service Canada. Building on this work, ESDC is currently undertaking a review of gender, honorifics and gender-related information (e.g., mother/father, maiden name, etc.) on its forms and applications. This review will serve to inform the Department’s approach to making its service delivery more inclusive