GBA+ Awareness Week: Myths vs. Facts about GBA+
Video / November 3, 2020
Transcript
From the unceded territory of the Algonquin Anishinabeg people, welcome to GBA+ Awareness Week. We'd like to thank you for clicking the link and spending some time with us to help raise awareness about Gender-Based Analysis Plus and improving our understanding of what it can do.
Now, it's time to bust some myths about GBA+.
Myth number 1: GBA+ is only about pushing women's issues.
The reality is GBA+ is not about advocacy. It's an analytical process designed to help us ask questions, challenge assumptions and identify the potential impact of our decisions when taking into account the diversity of Canadians. In addition to sex and gender, GBA+ also consider other identity factors such as race, ethnicity, religion, age, and mental and physical ability.
Myth number 2: women and men are already equal in Canada, so GBA+ is not needed.
While many advances have been made, significant equality gaps remain. Women who work full-time in Canada earn on average only 87 cents to every dollar earned by men, and black, indigenous, women of colour earn even less than that. Women also continue to be underrepresented in leadership and executive positions, occupying just 23% of board positions in Canada's top 500 corporations.
Myth number 3: GBA+ is just another box to tick.
Of course not. The use of GBA+ as a tool is a Treasury Board mandated requirement. It is used to assess how diverse groups of women, men and non-binary people may experience policies, programs and initiatives differently. This tool is used to influence how millions of dollars are spent every day.
Myth number 4: GBA+ only apply to social sectors of government.
While gender and diversity issues may be more obvious in some areas such as education and health, and less obvious in others such as defence, this does not necessarily mean that gender is not relevant. GBA+ can and has been used to assess large-scale procurement projects which help to ensure that equipment and products meet diverse needs. It can also help to ensure that strong hiring strategies are implemented within the Defence Team to ensure workplace diversity.
Thank you for spending a couple of minutes with us to learn more about GBA+. And even though there's no way to like or subscribe, please share this video with friends and colleagues to help raise awareness during GBA+ Awareness Week. Over the next few days, we really hope you take the time to learn more about GBA+ on your own and use the tool every chance you get. It's one thing to exist, another to be welcomed, but ultimately, people want to belong. That sense of belonging does not happens overnight, but the process can start with you. And your application of GBA+ will help us reach that goal. Thanks again and be safe.
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