Gender-based analysis plus

Institutional GBA+ Capacity

The NFB has a Strategic Planning and Government Relations team that assumes responsibility for the GBA+ process. Some of the members of this team have been assigned the task of ensuring GBA+ is integrated into the NFB’s decision-making processes, in addition to fulfilling an advisory role and overseeing monitoring and accountability. The NFB’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Plan, launched on February 24, 2021, articulates a series of commitments designed to eliminate systemic racism and unconscious bias, and to transform the NFB into a more open and diverse organization. The NFB also created the position of Director, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, whose responsibilities include ensuring equity and the implementation of anti-racist practices within the organization.

Highlights of GBA Plus Results Reporting Capacity by Program

Audiovisual Programming and Production

This program collects data to enable it to monitor and/or report program impacts by gender and diversity (GBA Plus). Examples include: data on gender, official-language minorities and Indigenous status collected for the NFB’s ongoing service contracts with film directors and craftspeople; the percentage of the production budget allocated to works made by these groups; and the percentage of completed works exploring topics related to gender and diversity.

This data is integrated into the NFB’s Departmental Results Framework (DRF) and performance-measurement strategy for initiatives supporting equity, diversity and inclusion.

Data-gathering for GBA+ analysis, however, remains a challenge, and the current amount of data is insufficient for conducting an in-depth analysis. To provide a fuller and more precise picture of diversity within audiovisual programming and production, the NFB intends to implement a mechanism for respectfully and confidentially collecting data from creators. Making a self-identification questionnaire part of the studios’ operations will provide an objective way to measure the results of the NFB’s equity, diversity and inclusion efforts over the past few years. At the same time, the NFB will work to establish clear targets and objectives for racial equity. The NFB is proud of its commitments to gender parity and reconciliation with Indigenous people, and remains fully committed to equity, diversity and inclusion.

In 2023–2024, the NFB will continue to consult with official-language minority communities and Black, Indigenous and racialized communities, both internally and externally, to evaluate the impact of NFB programs by gender and diversity. In partnership with the industry and communities within the creative and audiovisual sectors, it will also hold a new edition of the National Programming Forum to foster discussion with various stakeholders.

Distribution of works and audience engagement

Beyond compiling statistics on general audience numbers by market, interactions with online audiences, and participation in festivals promoting gender equity and diversity, the NFB does not collect disaggregated data in relation to GBA+ from its audiences.

It does, however, collect data pertaining to the percentage of works produced that explore topics related to gender and diversity.

With its new programming vision and the integration of production and distribution in the same Branch, in 2023–2024 the NFB will refine its approach to identifying audiences, develop closer relationships with those audiences and connect them with NFB works based on their areas of interest. These changes will flow from improvements in data-collection and data-management processes.

To ensure inclusive results when it comes to accessibility of works and interactions with audiences, the NFB will continue to distribute audiovisual works that reflect the full richness of the realities of Canadians and, in particular, those from underrepresented groups: members of the 2SLGBTQI+ community, people from racialized and diverse backgrounds, members of Indigenous communities, women, and people with disabilities.

In addition, the NFB will continue to implement presentation strategies aimed at reaching the largest possible audience, ensuring that Canadians see and hear a diversity of voices and stories coming from every part of the country.

Promotion of works and NFB outreach

Though this program collects some data to monitor impacts by gender and diversity, the scope of the data is limited. The NFB measures the percentage of awards going to women creators and their works. It also measures coverage of these works in the national and international media. With the implementation of its Strategic Plan and its Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Commitments and Objectives, the NFB will develop new tools to expand its capacity to report on impacts by gender and diversity when promoting the organization or its films.

In 2022–2023, the NFB will continue to partner with various festivals and organizations to promote audiovisual works reflecting the realities, experiences and perspectives of the people of Canada, in particular those who are underrepresented in the media landscape (Indigenous people, women, people with disabilities, racialized and diverse cultural groups, and the 2SLGBTQI+ community), to ensure these important Canadian stories are seen and heard.

Preservation, conservation and digitization of works

This program sets out to preserve, digitize and restore works in the National Film Board’s collection, in keeping with the NFB’s digitization plan for audiovisual materials, to secure the longevity and availability of these works for Canadians today and in the future. As this program is technical in nature, it does not collect sufficient data to enable it to monitor and/or report program impacts by gender and diversity.