Gender-based analysis plus
Section 1: Institutional GBA Plus Capacity
Governance: Shared Services Canada (SSC), has been integrating Gender Based Analysis Plus (GBA Plus) into programs and services since 2016. Recently, SSC has worked to improve results regarding GBA Plus.
Last year SSC launched the GBA Plus Guidance Unit - a centre of expertise within the department. In addition to employees working on GBA Plus related activities outside the centre of expertise, the GBA Plus Guidance Unit has 2.25 full-time equivalents. In 2022-23, SSC has continued to improve its capacity for GBA Plus by bolstering the services provided by the GBA Plus Guidance Unit.
Capacity:
In 2022-23, the GBA Plus Guidance Unit:
- Developed the first draft of a Practical Guidance for GBA Plus at SSC.
- Worked with select project teams to test and refine the tool.
- Presented an implementation plan at internal governance committees.
- Developed a qualitative research experiment to validate the personal and professional applicability of the tool. This included:
- Conducting over 20 consultations with members from diversity communities, and functional specialist from the economic social science services community,
- Developing and coding each interaction to evaluate for common themes and ideas and preferences, and,
- Drafting a results report that outlined the changes in the content employees wanted to see as well as a What we Heard report. Both documents described the lessons learned and the way forward for change described by diversity communities and from functional specialists.
- Refined integrations of GBA Plus into Branch Business Plans as well as other areas of SSC's business, notably in the Project Management and Delivery Operating Guide.
- The Guidance Unit has supported the GBA Plus content for 10 cabinet documents.
- As a part of the Departmental Results Framework reset, the GBA Plus Guidance Unit worked to raise awareness of the requirements under the Directive on Results to consider GBA Plus in SSC's performance story.
Accessibility
SSC made significant progress on accessibility, both as an employer and as a service provider to the Government of Canada. Results include:
- On December 16, 2022, SSC published its first Accessibility Plan that set out how SSC would identify, remove and prevent barriers in SSC's workplace, policies, programs, practices and services over the next three years.
- The Accessibility, Accommodation and Adaptive Computer Technology program (AAACT) received 16,340 inquiries and 229 formal requests for advice and testing for inclusive design and accessibility, hardware, software and digital content. AAACT provided 44 presentations on various topics to 6658 participants.
- Respondents to a survey of 33 client departments gave the Lending Library Service Pilot a satisfaction score of 8.4 out of 10 and were very satisfied with needs assessments, delivery times and overall service.
- The Next Generation Human Resources and Pay system is going to be tested and assessed against the EN 301 549, the accessibility standard for hardware and software, as recommended in the Treasury Board Secretariat's Guideline on Making Information Technology Usable by All.
- SSC introduced section 14.14.3 Building an Inclusive and Accessible Workplace to the Project Management and Delivery Operating Guide. The Guide, used by SSC projects, provides information on how projects can build in accessibility.
- SSC began monitoring its procurements to identify those that included accessibility and to engage those that did not, in order to recommend and provide guidance on the inclusion of accessibility criteria.
Human Resources and Workplace
SSC has continued to work towards meeting its targets for recruitment and retention of equity deserving groups, notably in women in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) and persons with disabilities.
Human Resources and Workplace continued to support awareness raising activities by promoting relevant courses offered by the Canada School of Public Service (CSPS). SSC employees participated in three courses out of the four offered by the CSPS. The three courses were:
- Introduction to GBA Plus (INC101), which was completed by 53 out of 9793 employees between Q1 2022-23 and Q1 2023-24,
- Gender-based Analysis Plus (GBA Plus): Applying Tools and Best Practices (INC102), which was completed by 5 out of 9793 employees between Q1 2022-23 and Q1 2023-24, and,
- Inclusive by Design: Applying the GC Digital Standards and Gender-based Analysis Plus (DDN223), which was completed by 19 out of 9793 employees between Q1 2022-23 and Q1 2023-24.
The fourth course, GBA Plus Premium (FON101), is an intensive 4-day course for senior/policy/functional specialist level employees that requires approval from the HRW unit.
Section 2: Gender and Diversity Impacts, by Program
- Core Responsibility:
- Common Government of Canada Information Technology Operations
- Program Name:
- Enterprise Service Design and Delivery
- Program Goals:
- SSC's delivery of services is strategically managed and informed to meet enterprise priorities and Government of Canada departments and agencies requirements. SSC re-vamped its enterprise architecture principles to include GBA Plus considerations. In particular the "Understand Customer Needs" principle was amended to ensure that initiatives support accessibility, bilingualism and GBA Plus principles. The purpose of explicitly integrating GBA Plus considerations into SSC's Enterprise Architecture Principles is to ensure that all new projects, proposals, services or initiatives at SSC apply a GBA Plus lens by default and design. In the 2022-23 Program information Profile, SSC tracked the percentage of reviewed projects at each date from an architecture lens perspectives. This metric sunset in 2022-23.
- Target Population:
- Not Applicable. The enterprise architecture principles continue to influence project ideation and design but do not have direct or indirect impacts on Canadians, public servants or any other target population.
- Core Responsibility:
- Common Government of Canada Information Technology Operations
- Program Name:
- Security
- Program Goals:
- Security-based Information Technology (IT) Infrastructure and Services are responsive to the needs of Government of Canada departments and agencies. The secure remote access (SRA) initiative under the Security Program at SSC is one example of how SSC has been maturing its approach to GBA Plus. The SRA initiative supports the IT requirements for GC public servants to work from home or other locations within Canada. While the Government of Canada has moved to hybrid work arrangements, the continuation of the SRA services supports public servants working remotely.
- Target Population:
-
SSC provides SRA services to Government of Canada departments and the public servants that work in those institutions. The following is a break down of the Core Public Administration demographics:
Break down of the Core Public Administration demographics Average age 43.9 located outside the National Capital Region 57.8% identify French as their first language 28.4% Women 45.6% Indigenous 4.4% Persons with disability 4.7% Member of a visible minority 17.4%
Distribution of Benefits
- By gender
- The public service is broadly gender balanced.
- By income level
- SSC does not have access to any statistics which can demonstrate the average federal public service salary. However the average salary for both men ($82,118) and women ($75,383) was above the Canadian median household income ($73,000), meaning this initiative benefits higher earners
- By age group
- The average age of the federal public service is 43.3 years, whereas the average age of Canadians is 41.7 years. As such there is no significant generational impact.
Key Program Impacts Statistics: Not available
Other Key Program impacts: Not available
Supplementary Information Sources
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