2021 Transition binder two: Women and gender equality programming

4. Women and gender equality programming

Program Overview

Background

The Department has three sets of Terms and Conditions (Ts&Cs) through which the Minister can provide Grants and Contributions: Women’s Program, the Gender-Based Violence (GBV) Program, and the Equality for Sex, Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Expression (SSOGIE) Program.

Women’s Program

Through the Women’s Program, WAGE invests in projects across Canada that address systemic barriers to gender equality in three priority areas: ending violence against women and girls; improving women’s and girls’ economic security and prosperity; and encouraging women and girls in leadership and decision-making roles. The objective of the Women’s Program is to achieve the full participation of women in the economic, social, and democratic life of Canada.

Funding recipients are primarily not-for-profit organizations, from local grassroots organizations to large national organizations. The Program accepts applications for funding through calls for proposals (CFPs) for projects to respond to identified policy issues, as well as on an ongoing basis in order to offer customized responses to emerging or pressing issues impacting women.

Gender-Based Violence (GBV) Program

The GBV Program provides funding to organizations in the GBV sector to support the development and implementation of promising practices to address gaps in supports for survivors and their families.

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 underserved populations, such as those who are more at risk of GBV and/or who are facing barriers to accessing services. These could include children and youth, ethno-cultural women, LGBTQ2 communities and gender-non-binary people, non-status/refugee/immigrant women, seniors, women living in an official language minority community, women living in northern, rural and remote communities, and women living with a disability.

Equality for Sex, Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Expression (SSOGIE) Program

The Equality for SSOGIE Program supports action and innovation by investing in initiatives and organizations that work to bring about social, political, and economic equality in relation to sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression. The Equality for SSOGIE Program funds eligible organizations for time-specific projects that include activities such as partnership building, capacity building, and applied community research.