Gender-Based Analysis (GBA+)

Governance structures

The GBA+ Centre of Expertise (CoE) (located in the Corporate Planning and Management Directorate, within the Strategic and Service Policy Branch) has been the lead on GBA+ within the Department for a number of years. Within the Department, the CoE is responsible for:

• Reviewing, assessing and providing early and ongoing guidance on all Cabinet documents such as Memorandum to Cabinet, Treasury Board Submissions, and Budget proposals pertaining to ESDC;
• Developing and disseminating tools, resources and guidance documents and organizing learning events to further 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.

In Budget 2018, the Government of Canada established the first ever Gender Results Framework (GRF), which ensures GBA+ is an integral part of all future program and policy development, as well as budgetary and financial management processes. The GRF is the main whole-of-government accountability framework.

In accordance with the GBA+ Action Plan - the main accountability mechanism used for integrating GBA+ into Departmental decision-making process - the CoE intends to use this new framework to monitor and report on the implementation of GBA+ within departmental programs, policies, and initiatives.

The CoE monitors the extent to which GBA+ is embedded throughout Memorandum to Cabinet, Treasury Board Submissions and budget proposals by internal assessments. CoE activities are monitored and reported to senior executives through regular committee updates. Within CPMD, the Director General reports to the ADM of SSPB on GBA+ developments and leads departmental efforts to incorporate portfolio-wide GBA+. Within the Department, ADMs of all branches are accountable for the implementation of GBA+ within their area of responsibility. ESDC also reports to Status of Women through the yearly GBA+ Implementation survey.

Human resources

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

ESDC's GBA+ Community of Practice, which has traditionally been limited to 1 representative from each branch and region, is being restructured to allow participation of any departmental employee who is interested. These participants will work closely with the CoE to support the application of GBA+ to the work of their branch or region.

ESDC has a Director General GBA champion who plays a vital role in providing leadership as to the promotion and implementation of GBA+ in the development of effective policies, programs, services and legislation.

Planned initiatives

ESDC has made significant progress towards the goal of embedding GBA+ throughout program and policy development. For 2019 to 2020, the Department will continue to help develop strong GBA+ assessments. It will help to implement the Gender Budgeting Act, ensuring that analysis of impacts in terms of gender and diversity is an integral part of both new and existing expenditure programs. For 2019 to 2020, GBA+ will be applied and monitored in a number of areas such as:

• Providing funding to not-for-profit organizations working to achieve positive solutions to Canada's biggest social challenges
  • The creation of the Social Finance Fund will help close the capital financing gap faced by organizations that generate positive social outcomes for individuals and families in vulnerable situations or facing barriers to inclusion (e.g. at-risk youth, recent immigrants, persons with disabilities, Indigenous Peoples, persons facing housing insecurity, members of LGBTQ2+ communities, seniors), and help accelerate the growth of the existing social finance market in Canada. It is expected that the Social Finance Fund could generate up to $2 billion in economic activity, help create a self-sustaining social finance market over time that would not require ongoing government support and maintain as many as 100,000 jobs over the next decade. By supporting innovative solutions on a broad range of social challenges, the Social Finance Fund has the potential to align with a number of pillars from the Gender Results Framework, such as Economic Participation and Prosperity, Education and Skills Development or Poverty Reduction, Health and Well-Being.

• Increasing access to early learning and child care
  • The development of the Early Learning and Child Care Framework and Indigenous Early Learning and Childcare Framework, will act to increase the availability of affordable day care spaces, allowing more low- and modest-income mothers and Indigenous women to enter and remain in the labour market. This aligns with the Education and Skills Development pillar of the Gender Results Framework, as well as the Economic Participation and Prosperity pillar. The Early Learning and Child Care Framework is expected to result in the creation of up to 40,000 more affordable child care spaces.

• Ensuring seniors have income support for retirement
  • Programs such as Old Age Security, the Canada Pension Plan and the Guaranteed Income Supplement help to maintain income during retirement and contribute to fewer vulnerable seniors living in poverty. These programs contribute directly to attaining the goals set out in the Gender Results Framework's Poverty Reduction, Health and Well-Being pillar, which are critical to ensure all members of our society have a real and fair chance to succeed. Starting on January 2019, certain modifications to the CPP, such as making the death benefit a $2,500 flat rate payment for all eligible contributors, will be particularly beneficial for families of lower-income workers. The introduction of “drop-in” mechanisms to protect the enhanced component of CPP benefits for the parents of young children and disabled individuals will especially benefit women.

• Helping Canadians to participate in an inclusive and efficient labour market
  • Closely linked to the Economic Participation and Prosperity pillar of the Gender Results Framework, a number of initiatives such as the Indigenous Skills and Employment Training Program or the Youth Employment Strategy fall under this category. These initiatives aim to ensure that all Canadians have the opportunity and support to fully participate in an inclusive labour market.