Gender-based analysis plus: 2023-24 Departmental Results Report, Women and Gender Equality Canada

Introduction

In 2018, Parliament passed the Canadian Gender Budgeting Act. The departmental plans and departmental results reports are being used to fulfill the President of the Treasury Board’s obligations to make public, every year, analysis on the impacts of expenditure programs on gender and diversity.

Each organization is responsible for conducting their own Gender-based Analysis Plus (GBA Plus).

The Policy on Results indicates that Program officials, as designated by Deputy Heads, are responsible for ensuring data collection for meeting policy requirements.

Applicability

All organizations must complete GBA Plus supplementary information tables in departmental plans and departmental results reports on an annual basis.

Section 1: institutional GBA Plus governance and capacity

Governance

GBA Plus is an analytical tool and process for understanding who is impacted by an issue or opportunity being addressed by an initiative and to tailor it to meet diverse needs of the people most impacted (for more detail on this intersectional tool please refer to the definition section in the DRR main body).  GBA Plus is mandatory in key decision-making processes, including Memoranda to Cabinet, Treasury Board submissions and budget proposals. Under the Management Response and Action Plan on GBA Plus tabled in November 2022, the government has committed to strengthen overall GBA Plus implementation and accountability.

The Department of Women and Gender Equality Canada (WAGE) supports governance on GBA Plus by providing leadership in bringing together federal departments and agencies to collaborate on advancing the government’s diversity and inclusion priorities. As part of this work, WAGE plays a secretariat and advisory role for several committees, working groups and other bodies to collectively enhance the integration of GBA Plus for more evidence-informed public policies.

WAGE’s GBA Plus Directorate, as a center of expertise, provides advice on integrating GBA Plus considerations into departmental initiatives and supports the Department’s GBA Plus Champion in fostering engagement in capacity-building.  Moreover, the Directorate supports several governance bodies, including:

• The GBA Plus Steering Committee of WAGE and the Central Agencies, guides and ensures the integration of GBA Plus in government decision-making processes.
• The Interdepartmental Committee of GBA Plus Focal Points, promotes coordination and collaboration among GBA Plus practitioners.
• The GBA Plus Champions’ Network, led by WAGE’s GBA Plus champion, advocates for GBA Plus across federal sectors.
• The GBA Plus Learning Advisory Committee and Capacity Working Group focus on addressing learning needs of federal public servants with respect to GBA Plus.
• The Forum of Federal-Provincial-Territorial (FPT) Ministers responsible for the Status of Women, co-chaired by Minister Ien, advances GBA Plus for gender and diversity across FPT regions.

In addition, WAGE leads in the monitoring of GBA Plus implementation across government through the GBA Plus Implementation Survey. The Survey has helped identify progress areas including increase of full-time equivalents dedicated to GBA Plus, and organizations, which monitor and track GBA Plus implementation or impacts (92% was reported for the fiscal year 2022-23, compared to 82% reported in the previous 2019-20 survey).

Capacity

As a centre of expertise for advancing gender equality and the application of GBA Plus, WAGE works to:

• Promote a greater understanding of GBA Plus as an intersectional tool for advancing fairness, equality, and inclusion;
• Provide guidance, develop tools and training, support the implementation of GBA Plus across federal departments and agencies; and,
• Contribute to evidence-based practices, including those related to policy and program development, and gender budgeting.

Results from the 2023 iteration of the GBA Plus Implementation Survey show continued progress on implementation. While there was a slight decline in the share of departments and agencies using the GBA Plus online course (93% versus 95% in 2019-20), the survey showed increased use of other WAGE tools and resources.  The WAGE departmental website tools and resources to support GBA Plus increased to 93% (up 8%); use of the WAGE GCPedia site increased to 89% (up 2%); and 85% used the GBA Plus GCConnex Community of Practice managed by WAGE (up 4%)

The 2023 GBA Plus Implementation Survey also showed improved application of GBA Plus to different phases of the policy development cycle. The percentage of departments applying GBA Plus “almost always to always” across all phases of the policy development cycle increased, with the largest increases being in the phases for “analysis and research” and “decision making” (both up 20%) and “policy or program evaluation” (up 23%).  Similarly, progress is also evident in the range of functional areas to which GBA Plus is integrated.  Out of 13 different functional areas – from research, to procurement, to consultations, to front-line services – 11 saw an increase in departments reporting that GBA Plus was integrated in that functional area, with the largest increases being seen in procurement (up 18%), human resources (up 16%), and front-line services and IM/IT (each up 13%).

Human resources (full-time equivalents) dedicated to GBA Plus

In 2023-24, there were 12.5 FTE’s dedicated to supporting GBA Plus. 

Section 2: gender and diversity impacts, by program

Core responsibility: Advancing gender equality

WAGE advances gender equality, including social, economic, and political equality through leadership, support and coordination of targeted policies and programs. It undertakes research, collects, and analyzes data and raises awareness of gender equality issues through outreach and engagement. The Department provides advice to government to achieve Canada’s gender equality outcomes and goals, including advocacy for gender-based budgeting, and facilitates the advancement of gender equality among other partners and stakeholders, through its expertise, contribution to research, and funding to community initiatives. The Department serves as a central point for sharing expertise across Canada and with international partners and uses this knowledge to inform and support Canada’s gender equality priorities.

Program name: Community Action and Innovation

Program goals: Through its Community Action and Innovation program, WAGE provides grants and contributions to organizations to implement projects that are designed to strengthen the sector working to advance gender equality and bring some degree of systemic change in the underlying factors that perpetuate inequality at a local, regional, and national level.

Target population: Although all Canadians ultimately benefit from greater gender equality, certain groups facing systemic barriers that limit their access to opportunities stand to particularly benefit from the Department’s funding to equality-seeking organizations, specifically: women, girls, 2SLGBTQI+ and non-binary individuals, including those who are Indigenous, racialized, youth, non-status, refugees, immigrants or newcomers, seniors, living in a northern, remote or rural area, living on a low income, living with disabilities, living in an official language minority community.

Specific demographic group outcomes

While all projects signed in 2023-24 will benefit “all Canadians (i.e., rather than specific sub-groups)”, 58% will benefit 2SLGBTQI+ individuals, 32% will benefit Indigenous Peoples, and 23% will benefit racialized individuals.  

Key program impacts on gender and diversity

Program name: Expertise and Outreach

Program goals: Through its Expertise and Outreach program, WAGE provides tools, expertise and advice: (1) to federal organizations and central agencies on their proposals to Cabinet and the Treasury Board, (2) to further develop the federal government’s intrinsic capacity to conduct GBA Plus analyses at all stages of policy development and program delivery, including gender-based budgeting; (3) to provincial, territorial and local governments, private sector and civil society organizations that have the levers to address gender equality issues through policy, programming and organizational practices; and (4) to increase public awareness through outreach to the general public.

Target population: While all Canadians benefit from greater gender equality, certain populations are more likely to benefit from this Program, specifically: women, girls, 2SLGBTQI+ and non-binary individuals, including those who are Indigenous, racialized, youth, non-status, refugees, immigrants or newcomers, seniors, living in a northern, remote or rural area, living on a low income, living with disabilities, or living in an official language minority community.

Specific demographic group outcomes

While all projects signed in 2023-24 will benefit “all Canadians (i.e., rather than specific sub-groups)”, 58% will benefit 2SLGBTQI+ individuals, 32% will benefit Indigenous Peoples, and 23% will benefit racialized individuals.

Key program impacts on gender and diversity

Supplementary information sources

• OAG Report on GBA Plus (“Report 3—Follow-up on Gender-Based Analysis Plus”);
• Management Response and Action Plan on GBA Plus;
• Report by the Standing Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology (SOCI) “All Together - The Role of Gender-based Analysis Plus in the Policy Process: reducing barriers to an inclusive intersectional policy analysis”
• Government Response to SOCI Report

 GBA Plus data collection plan

In 2023-24, WAGE continued to develop and implement reporting tools tailored to each of the grants and contributions program for which it is responsible. The tools were designed to better collect project data to monitor indicators and allow the Department to systematically collect project data in a format that greatly improved its ability to analyze the information being collected. In addition, reporting tools were revised to collect data disaggregated by identity and social factor, to monitor outcomes for those population groups. These data are beginning to become available in 2024-25.

WAGE collects information related to the activities funded by the Department, through annual progress and final reports. Through data collection and funded research, the department focuses on intersectionality and the disaggregation of data by identity factors in order to ensure a comprehensive understanding of issues that can be experienced differently by certain groups, including: Indigenous Peoples; women and girls; men and boys; lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and non-binary individuals, queer, two-spirit (2SLGBTQI+) individuals; visible minorities; those living in northern, rural, and remote communities; people with disabilities; children and youth; people living on a low income; newcomers and immigrants to Canada; religious minorities; and seniors. These data and research inform direction of WAGE and other Government of Canada initiatives by powering more robust GBA Plus throughout the initiative lifecycle; they also allow the Department to monitor and report on the impacts of its initiatives on diverse populations.

Definitions