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Canada’s National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security - Department of Women and Gender Equality Canada progress report - 2021-2022

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Women and Gender Equality Canada and women, peace and security

The Department of Women and Gender Equality (WAGE) officially became a department of the Government of Canada on December 13, 2019. This change from agency to department modernized and formalized, in law, the roles of the Minister and the Department - to support the advancement of gender equality as a central priority for the Government of Canada through policy, programming, funding, and research, and to coordinate such efforts across the federal government.

WAGE acts as a Centre for Excellence on Gender-based Analysis Plus (GBA Plus), both inside and outside of government, and facilitates the transfer of knowledge, capacity building, resources and engagement related to GBA Plus among various stakeholders. One of WAGE’s key roles is to help build the capacity of federal departments and agencies in applying rigorous GBA Plus. This includes the development and provision of tools and training for use by all federal government employees, as well as more targeted training for specific sectors, including the security and defence sector.

As such, WAGE provides technical advice, guidance, and assistance on key Government of Canada initiatives related to gender equality and GBA Plus mainstreaming, to ensure that all plans, programs and/or initiatives and peace support operations are responsive to GBA Plus considerations, including equity, diversity and inclusion at large.

WAGE also provides expertise in the area of gender-based violence (GBV). Launched in 2018, the GBV Knowledge Centre online platform has become an invaluable resource on GBV for CNAP partner departments, external partners, educators and civil society organizations. As the focal point of the Canada’s Gender-Based Violence Strategy, the Knowledge Centre facilitates the alignment of existing federal resources, coordinates new federal initiatives, supports the sharing of research and data, ensures alignment with provincial and territorial strategies, and accounts publicly for results.

Women and Gender Equality Canada’s role and approach to Gender-based Analysis Plus

Women and Gender Equality (WAGE) is the lead for the implementation of the Government’s commitment to apply GBA Plus. Progress resulting from the government’s GBA Plus Action Plan for 2016-2020 included new requirements for GBA Plus in Cabinet proposals; the establishment and strengthening of networks; the launch of GBA Plus implementation surveys to gauge progress in implementation; and enhanced GBA Plus training and tools. A review of progress and the impact of activities is underway, and consideration will be given to the development of additional training and tools to ensure GBA Plus is applied across government, at all levels. The Government also directed that GBA Plus be integrated into Departmental Results Frameworks, Departmental Plans and Departmental Results Reports, to strengthen its ability to monitor the impact of GBA Plus on government programs, policies and initiatives. The Government has also directed that GBA Plus be integrated into the design and conduct of future government consultations, and guidance to this effect is being created in partnership with the Privy Council Office. In addition, Budget 2019 moved GBA Plus even further, reflecting concerted efforts to incorporate GBA Plus in the policy development process and to make the Government’s analysis available to Canadians.

Specifically, the GBA Plus Action Plan (2016-2020) launched by WAGE, the Privy Council Office and the Treasury Board Secretariat, laid out detailed commitments to increase the integration of GBA Plus across government, including:

Continued progress has been made against each commitment contributing to effective networks and robust infrastructure post 2020. The process has been one of continuous improvement building on lessons learned, which include:

To ensure the Government of Canada has the rigorous tools required to deliver on commitments and advance equality, diversity and inclusion priorities, efforts will continue to build on progress and sustain momentum. Moving forward, the following have been identified as priority actions:

Enhance Governance and Accountability: Effective and inclusive governance, accountability and Transparency mechanisms.

Collaboration with action plan partners on women, peace and security

WAGE works closely with the lead Women, Peace and Security Action Plan partner departments ¶¶ÒùÊÓƵ (GAC), the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), the Department of National Defence (DND) and the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) to increase their capacity to apply an intersectional gender and diversity lens to their policies, plans and operations. WAGE also currently has an agreement with the Centre for Intercultural Learning (CIL) at ¶¶ÒùÊÓƵ to deliver GBA Plus training to federal government organizations upon request, and internationally. WAGE is also leading the implementation of Canada’s Strategy to Address and Prevent Gender-Based Violence (Canada’s GBV Strategy), in which DND/CAF and the RCMP are partners. WAGE is also the supporting Action Plan lead partners on internal cultural change initiatives geared to increasing the number of women able to deploy in support of peace operations. WAGE also collaborates with all supporting and implementing CNAP partners in the development and participation in events, discussions and learning sessions of mutual concern to ensure continued progress in the application of GBA Plus.

Activity 1

Women and Gender Equality Canada works with the RCMP and DND/CAF to help them develop their internal capacity to apply GBA Plus to their policies, plans and programs in support of their culture change initiatives. This has included the collaborative development of advanced GBA Plus training for policy personnel.

Completed activities

WAGE presented an overview of GBA Plus to the Bias Sensitivity, Diversity, and Identity Committee (BSDI) on June 2, 2022. This included an overview of GBA Plus, the strengthening tools, steps for conducting and applying GBA Plus, and most importantly additional resources, including a question-and-answer period. The audience, consisting of a total of 77 working level and senior management participants were provided the opportunity to tailor their inquiries for the purposes of applying GBA Plus in the context of national security.

Results and progress

Mandatory

A significant challenge encountered by WAGE includes internal changes in the GBA Plus team in addition to competing priorities, which spreads our limited resources. As a result, WAGE was not able to accommodate all requests for further trainings, presentations, or workshops.

Activity 2

Women and Gender Equality Canada is also working with various partners (including the RCMP and DND/CAF) on initiatives to address gender-based violence, including participating in the development of a new federal regime to ensure federal workplaces are free from harassment and sexual violence.

Completed activities

The Federal GBV Strategy Annual Progress Report for 2021-2022 has been published on WAGE's website.

Results and progress

Activity 3

Women and Gender Equality Canada is also supporting the RCMP in reviewing current gender- and culturally-sensitive training policies for federal front-line law enforcement officers to ensure that they are strong and effective and in building GBA Plus capacity, in keeping with additional commitments outlined in the mandate letter of the Minister for Women and Gender Equality.

Completed activities

Results and progress

Work is in progress to strengthen and build GBA Plus capacity, which is an essential component of WAGE's mandate to enhance the framing and parameters of GBA Plus. To this end, WAGE is undertaking engagement and consultations with federal departments and external stakeholders in Fall 2022 to gather diverse perspectives on this analytical tool and suggestions for improvement. These consultations will help enhance the use of this intersectional analysis tool to better capture the lived experienced of all people across Canada.

One challenge for WAGE and the GBA Plus unit more specifically relates to capacity. The GBA Plus unit lacks dedicated resources to support initiatives in this area. As a result, targeted training, workshops or theme-specific resources have not been developed.

Activity 4

Women and Gender Equality Canada also works closely with ¶¶ÒùÊÓƵ in preparing for and in negotiating the agreed conclusions of the annual UN Commission on the Status of Women, which includes advancing the Government of Canada's position on WPS.

Completed activities

WAGE led the Canadian delegation at the 66th Session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW65) held from March 14-25, 2022. Due to the continued impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the session followed a hybrid format.

Results and progress

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