Details on transfer payment programs: 2023-24 Departmental Results Report, Women and Gender Equality Canada

Ongoing

Grants and Contributions

Appropriation Annually through Estimates

2021-22

The Department's interventions facilitate the advancement of gender equality

Community Action and Innovation

The Gender-Based Violence (GBV) Program takes action under the Federal GBV Strategy "It's Time: Canada's Strategy to Prevent and Address Gender-Based Violence", which is the federal government’s contribution to the National Action Plan to End Gender-Based Violence . The GBV Program is population-specific, with the objective of supporting organizations working in the GBV sector to develop and implement promising practices ^{Footnote 1} to address gaps in supports for Indigenous and underserved groups of survivors in Canada.

Funding is provided to eligible organizations in support of projects at the local, regional and national levels, and is available for time-specific projects that address gaps in supports for specific groups of survivors, including Indigenous women and their communities, and other underserved populations, such as: racialized women; 2SLGBTQI+ persons; non-status/refugee/immigrant women; women living in northern, rural and remote communities; and women with disabilities.

In 2019, as part of the Government of Canada's National Strategy to Combat Human Trafficking (National Strategy), $10 million over 5 years, and $2 million ongoing was announced for the Department for Women and Gender Equality (WAGE) to support the development, testing and implementation of innovative and empowering promising practices for at-risk populations to reduce their risk to being trafficked, as well as trauma-informed supports for victims and survivors of human trafficking. This initiative is using the established Terms and Conditions of the GBV Program while aligning under the Performance Measurement, Reporting, and Governance structure of the National Strategy to Combat Human Trafficking.

The program does not have repayable contributions.

Implementation of projects is still under way. A description of the work, as well as short-term and medium-term results are presented for the year 2023-24.

WAGE continued to support 251 projects, providing a total of $37.6 million in 2023-24. Funding for this Program is helping service providers, organizations, governments, and others working to prevent GBV, to increase collaboration, and to support victims, survivors and their families. Based on the analysis of reports, each project had an average of 10 partners that were created, nurtured, or strengthened, facilitating the development of training on cultural safety and trauma informed service delivery, transformation care for survivors of GBV and for those at risk of experiencing it.

Projects supported in 2023-2024 included those implemented following the 2023 Call for Proposals (CFP) to Address GBV through Promising Practices and Community-based Research. The Promising Practices stream of the CFP aimed to strengthen the GBV sector through projects that develop, put in place, and evaluate promising practices - or scale a successful promising practice. As of 2023-2024, WAGE was funding 62 projects through this stream. The Community-Based Research stream aimed to support GBV organizations to collect data and undertake research that builds knowledge to help address the needs of the underserved in the GBV sector and specifically for projects that will produce knowledge to help improve services for Black and racialized women; immigrant, refugee, and newcomer women; women living with disabilities; Indigenous women; and 2SLGBTQI+ people. As of 2023-2024, WAGE was supporting 22 projects under this initiative.

The following highlight projects supported in 2023-24, that worked to develop and implement promising practices, and that will ultimately contribute to strengthening the GBV sector:

WAGE provided funding to the Calgary Immigrant Women's Association (CIWA) to develop and put in place a culturally competent, responsive, and evidence-based GBV prevention and support model to strengthen the GBV sector in supporting immigrant/refugee/newcomer women impacted by GBV. Throughout the 29-month project, they are engaging two key participant groups: women with lived experience, who will directly influence the design of the model, and men and boys from ethno-cultural communities, who will use their allyship to support the model’s GBV prevention initiatives.

WAGE provided funding to Black Buildup, in British Columbia to develop and put in place the Coaching Boys Into Men (CBIM) bystander intervention promising practice to strengthen the GBV sector. It will address the behaviours and attitudes that lead to GBV among young men and women, with a focus on Francophile Black men and boys. To do so, the project includes delivering workshops and interventions to youth in sport, and engaging the community through parents, coaches, sport administrators, and spectators to be active partners.

The following highlights projects supported in 2023-24, that worked to build knowledge to help address the needs of the underserved in the GBV sector: WAGE provided funding to the BIPOC USHR Prince Edward Island Inc. to conduct research that will help improve GBV services for immigrant/migrant women and other racialized women and gender-diverse people. It addresses their experiences on GBV, the barriers experienced by the community, and their suggestions and advice on how to improve services, supports, and prevention interventions.

WAGE provided funding to Global Alliance Against Traffic in Women Canada to conduct research to improve GBV services for Indigenous, Black, racialized, non-status, and temporary status women, who work in precarious, informal, non-standard labour sectors through community-based research with GBV service providers and women who access their services in the Yukon and Western Canada.

Through the National Strategy to Combat Human Trafficking led by Public Safety, and under its Human Trafficking Initiative, WAGE continues to deliver funding to organizations to develop and implement promising practices to enhance short-term interventions and prevention programming for at-risk populations and survivors of human trafficking. An initial investment of almost $14 million was made in 42 projects^{Footnote 2} following a 2020 call for proposals with the majority of those projects ending in March 2024. These projects were located in Ontario, British Columbia, Nova Scotia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba as well as Newfoundland and Labrador, and ranged from local to national in scope. In 2023-2024, WAGE extended or provided new funding to scale 11 projects totaling $1.4 million. Examples of work supported include the development and implementation of promising practices that focus on trauma-informed prevention training, peer support interventions models and education programs. Many underserved populations benefited from these projects, including Indigenous people and youth.

The following highlight projects that concluded in 2023-24, related to human trafficking:

WAGE provided funding to the Association for New Canadians (ANC) to develop and implement promising intervention practices to advance knowledge and enhance empowerment supports for at-risk populations and survivors of human trafficking in Newfoundland and Labrador. In February 2023, ANC hosted its debut anti human trafficking summit, to commemorate National Human Trafficking Day. It was the first of its kind in NL, bringing together different stakeholders from the province and experts outside the province, to educate service providers on human trafficking, ways of identification, best practices in supporting survivors and cultural competency as they pertain to newcomers. The summit was pivotal in creating awareness and was the bedrock of support for the project.

WAGE provided funding to Victim Services Toronto for its Human Trafficking Prevention: Building Awareness in School Leaders project where they developed and implemented a replicable human trafficking professional learning model for school leaders. This was done to advance the knowledge of school leaders and to enhance empowerment supports for at-risk youth and survivors of human trafficking.

The project demonstrated that school leaders are aware of resources that can be utilized to support students who report incidents of human trafficking. The information gained from this project, and the resources created, which were survivor led and informed, have the potential to reach large audiences (approximately 8,100 school leaders) and are publicly available in both official languages. Responses from the webinar surveys and positive feedback from participants indicates that the model is a sustainable framework that could potentially be used Canada-wide, to educate and empower principals and vice-principals in combating human trafficking.

Expected Result 1: Service providers access promising practices

Performance Indicator 1.1: % of organizations that applied for funding through the GBV Funding Program but were not funded 0%

Performance Indicator 1.2: Annual expenditures to organizations funded through the GBV Funding Program $37,562,231

Performance Indicator 1.3: # of organizations that received funding through the GBV Funding Program 229

Performance Indicator 1.4: # of targeted programs, resources or supports delivered by funded organizations through the GBV Funding Program 158

Performance Indicator 1.5: # of service providers reached by funded activities 107

Performance Indicator 1.6: # of service providers unable to access promising practices NA

Performance Indicator 2.1: % of service providers reporting that they apply (use) or intend to apply (use) the promising practices products in their work or lives 100%

There was no audit completed in this fiscal year.

There was no evaluation completed in 2023-24.

WAGE continued to support organizations working in the GBV sector in developing tools and supports to better connect and engage recipients. Regional offices also worked closely with recipients to connect and support organizations’ capacity building in various ways, such as facilitating partnerships and knowledge sharing.

Ongoing

Grants and Contributions

Appropriation annually through Estimates

2021-22

The Department's interventions facilitate the advancement of gender equality

Community Action and Innovation

The purpose of the Women's Program is to advance equality for women in Canada by working to address or remove systemic barriers to their progress and advancement. The Program’s objective is to support action to achieve the full participation of women in the economic, social and democratic life of Canada through systemic change. Grant and contribution funding is provided to eligible Canadian organizations in support of projects at the local, regional and national levels that address the following three priority areas:

• Encouraging women and girls in leadership and decision-making roles
• Improving women's and girls' economic security and prosperity.
• Ending violence against women and girls.

The Program: facilitates collaboration and networking; develops partnerships to address horizontal issues impacting women and girls; shares knowledge; and assists organizations working to advance women's equality to gain access to expertise, resources, and tools.

The Program does not have repayable contributions.

In 2023–24, the Women’s Program worked to advance the economic, social and democratic life for women in Canada by investing a total of more than $16.6 million in 46 new projects at the local, regional and national levels. The projects took place across Canada, in nearly every province and territory, with projects in urban, rural, and remote locations.

Funded Projects Overview

Over the reporting period, 73 final reports were submitted and analyzed. These included projects towards or directed to:

• Priority 1 - Encouraging women and girls in leadership and decision-making roles: 18 projects.
• Priority 2 - Improving women’s and girl’s economic security and prosperity: 21 projects.
• Priority 3 - Ending violence against women and girls: 34 projects.

Analysis of Projects Completed in 2023-24

The 73 completed projects with available final reports that were included in the 2023-24 analysis resulted in more than 830 resources and tools created and shared, including toolkits, models, guides, strategies, and communication tools. These completed projects also established or nurtured more than 460 partnerships and collaborations with stakeholders.

Priority 1: Encouraging women and girls in leadership and decision-making roles

Based on final reports submitted in 2023-24, the 18 projects related to encouraging leadership and democratic participation created and disseminated more than 261 different tools or resources to increase awareness of what services and supports were available and how to access them, and maintained or established 129 partnerships. As a result of these 18 projects, over 10,564 individuals gained access to services and supports that resulted in better opportunities in education, employment, health, and social services.

Priority 2: Improving women’s and girl’s economic security and prosperity

Based on final reports submitted in 2023-24, the 21 projects related to increasing women’s economic security and prosperity developed and disseminated 219 tools and resources designed to support or increase the economic security and prosperity of women, and maintained or established 169 partnerships. As a result of these projects, over 21,173 people gained skills and knowledge to create more equitable conditions for women in various spheres.

Priority 3: Ending violence against women and girls

Based on final reports submitted in 2023-24, the 34 projects related to increasing women’s economic security and prosperity developed and disseminated 359 tools and resources to increase awareness about services and supports, as well as how to prevent gender-based violence (GBV) and how to support survivors; the projects also maintained or established 169 partnerships. As a result of these 34 projects, over 16,820 individuals gained access to services and supports related to GBV, including access to counselling, court services, and trauma-informed victims’ services.

The following highlights some of the funded projects in 2023-24 that developed and implemented concrete solutions to the systemic barriers faced by women:

WAGE funded Atira Women’s Resource Society to identify barriers facing women with respect to housing, to develop solutions that are informed by women’s experiences and that women-centered housing policies are developed at federal, provincial and territorial levels. Starting in February 2021, key activities included engaging with women and women-serving organizations to identify issues impacting women’s access to housing; developing and presenting solutions to government bodies, policy makers and influencers, advocating for more/better housing for women and children; monitoring the progress of government commitments each year, ensuring that they are captured in the National Housing Strategy, and other housing policies at federal, provincial and territorial levels and producing, disseminating, and promoting information, research and guidance to develop promising practices across Canada.

WAGE funded the New Brunswick Coalition for Pay Equity for a project that aims to improve women’s economic security and prosperity by supporting the adoption of pay equity policies and practices in New Brunswick municipalities. Starting in November 2023, the project began to analyze the systemic and structural barriers women face in women-dominated jobs in connection with local governance reform, as well as municipal pay structures and systems. The organization is developing a guide and provide training on pay equity at the municipal level. Finally, the project is raising awareness and engage members and the public to join in the dialogue on municipal pay equity policies.

The project is drawing on existing expertise at the provincial level to develop an appropriate approach and tools. It is engaging community organizations and unions to promote and disseminate the resources developed.

Expected Result 1: Intended audiences have access to programs, resources and supports to address barriers to women's equality

Performance Indictor 1: # of targeted programs, resources and supports delivered: 886

Performance Indictor 2: # of people reached by funded initiatives: 48,683

Performance Indictor 3: # of people unable to access programs, resources or supports: Not available

Expected Result 2: Networks and collaborations to increase the reach, impact, and sustainability of women's equality efforts are established

Performance Indictor 4: # of partnerships established, by stakeholder type: 467
Performance Indictor 5: Nature of partnerships and collaborations established:

Informed/Raised Awareness of partner: 33%
Consulted with partner: 39%
Involved in project: 56%
Collaboration with partner: 83%
Empowered partner: 28%

Expected Result 3: Intended audiences use/apply knowledge in their policy and program work to address barriers to women's equality

Performance Indictor 6: % of projects that reported their intended audiences are/will be using/applying knowledge in their work or lives: 90%

N/A - no audits were undertaken in this period.

An evaluation of the Women’s Program is currently underway. Having begun in 2023-24, it is expected to be published around June 2025.

The Women’s Program continued to develop tools and supports to better connect and engage recipients. WAGE also led stakeholder engagement through two roundtable discussions to learn the priorities of national and diverse provincial, territorial, regional, and local women’s organizations related to Budget 2023 funding for the Women’s Program. Regional offices also worked closely with recipients to connect and support organizations’ capacity building in various ways, such as facilitating partnerships and knowledge sharing.

2026-27

Grants and Contributions

Appropriation annually through Estimates

2023-24

The Department's interventions facilitate the advancement of gender equality

Community Action and Innovation

The objective of the Equality for the SSOGIE program is to advance social, political and economic equality with respect to sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression.

In 2023-24, WAGE spent $128.8 million: to build stronger capacity and networks of 2SLGBTQI+ community organizations to advance 2SLGBTQI+ equality across Canada; to support the implementation of the National Action Plan to End Gender-based Violence (GBV); and to put in place the Menstrual Equity Fund national pilot.

Over the reporting period, 32 progress and final reports were submitted and analyzed, showing that these 32 projects produced over 238 resources, and established or nurtured over 275 partnerships to: strengthen the not-for-profit 2SLGBTQI+ sector; improve organizational diversity and inclusion; and create opportunities for members of 2SLGBTQI+ communities to gather, connect, network, share knowledge and exist safely in a collaborative space.

As of 2023-24, over 100 projects in all provinces and territories with First Nations, Métis, and Inuit organizations are being supported to increase their capacity to provide GBV prevention programming to address the root causes of violence against Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQI+ people. Preliminary reporting indicated that organizations are seeing positive results in the areas of networking partnerships, organizational governance and financial health, cultural competency, and human resource management. This funding is through a Budget 2021 investment of $55 million over five years and is a key deliverable under the Federal Pathway to Address Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and 2SLGBTQQIA+ People.

In May 2023 WAGE launched a targeted call for proposals to solicit applications from national not-for-profit organizations to run the national Menstrual Equity Fund Pilot. In September 2023, it was announced that Food Banks Canada (FBC) was the candidate selected. The first progress update in December 2023 from FBC reported the establishment of 392 pilot sites, delivered 17.5 million menstrual products, and began working with 6 menstrual equity organizations to scale up existing education and awareness activities aimed at reducing stigma around period poverty and menstruation. Based on this early success of the pilot, WAGE provided supplemental funding for Food Banks Canda to enhance the impact of the Menstrual Equity Fund pilot project. Since the initial progress report, FBC increased those numbers to over 400 pilot locations and more than 74 million menstrual products, reaching an estimated 3.5 million people who menstruate.

In 2023-24, under the National Action Plan to End GBV, WAGE continued to support the initiative to bolster the capacity of Indigenous women and 2SLGBTQI+ organizations to provide GBV prevention programming aimed at addressing the root causes of violence. Funding agreements have been signed with Indigenous organizations in all provinces and territories, and First Nations, Métis, and Inuit organizations have received funding.

Examples of projects funded in 2023-24 include:

In October 2023, WAGE provided funding to Northern BC Queer Connection Society, a Prince George-based 2SLGBTQI+ organization that seeks to engage and support the 2SLGBTQI+ community across northern BC. Through this 36-month project, Northern BC Queer Connection Society is building a stronger capacity of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community and network to advance 2SLGBTQIA+ equality by enhancing collaboration and creating a website and a database to address information gaps. In March 2024, the first community group workshop occurred and 4 speakers addressed gender affirming care, suicide and crisis, sexual assault and abuse, indigenous two-spirit indigiqueer allyship within the 2SLGBTQIA+ community. Additional workshops are planned for September, 2024, February 2025 and September 2025.

In January 2024, WAGE provided funding to the African Centre for Refugees in Ontario-Canada, a Toronto-based LGBTIQ+ community organization that supports vulnerable LGBTIQ+ refugees and newcomers from Africa. This 27-month project is building stronger capacity of 2SLGBTQI+ community organizations and networks to advance 2SLGBTQI+ equality. The project enables the organization to address existing internal capacity gaps to serve the needs of LGBTQI+ African refugees and newcomers. The project is helping develop an Organizational Capacity Development plan, financial management guidelines and financial management and donor management/branding software as well as a Human Resource manual, Volunteer Engagement policy and a Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning plan.

Expected Result 1: Networks and collaborations to advance equality with respect to sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression are established

Performance Indictor 1: # of partnerships, networks and collaborations established, by stakeholder type: 275; approximately half of these were not-for-profits (50%), followed by “other” partner types (13%) with the remaining split across 10 other partner types.

Performance Indictor 2: Nature of partnerships and collaborations established:

Included in decision making – 36%
Shared expertise – 96%
Access to networks – 57%
Direct Action – 69%
Funding support – 50%

Expected Result 2: Intended audiences have access to programs, resources, and supports to advance equality with respect to sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression

Performance Indicator 3: # of targeted programs, resources and supports delivered - 238
Performance Indicator 4: # of people reached by funded initiatives – 15,581
Performance Indicator 5: # of people unable to access programs or services - NA

Expected Result 3: Intended audiences use/apply knowledge in their policy and program work, or lives, to advance equality with respect to sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression

Performance Indicator 6: % of projects that reported their intended audiences are/will be using/applying knowledge from resources provided: 73%

Expected Result 4: Policies and practices to advance equality with respect to sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression are inclusive.

Performance Indicator 7: Nature of change in policies, programs, and standard practices: Not available
Performance Indicator 8: % of funded projects implemented that resulted in a change in policies and/or practices: Not available

N/A

An evaluation of the GBV National Action Plan is planned to begin 2024-25 and be published in 2027-28.

An evaluation of other activities is planned for 2026-27.

WAGE engages with 2SLGBTQI+ organizations to ensure their concerns are understood and considered. Key national organizations are convened through the 2SLGBTQI+ Community-Government of Canada Partnership Committee (CGCPC), led by the 2SLGBTQI+ Secretariat. In 2023-24 WAGE engaged the CGCPC on program funding priorities. Regional offices also work to connect and support organizations and to facilitate partnerships and knowledge sharing.