Toolkit 6: Practice Gender-based Analysis Plus

Nadia is part of the sports day planning committee with one woman and five men representing various units within the base. Nadia is relatively new to CAF, and this is her first time on a planning committee.

“I don’t see why it needs to end at 2:30 p.m.” says Scott, visibly annoyed. Nadia tries to calmly explain, “Because some people need to pick up children from school.” Scott curtly replies, “We shouldn’t have to shorten the day just because a few moms need to pick up their kids.” A few of the men at the table nod their heads in agreement, indicating this doesn’t impact them.

Jordan, the Committee Chair, quickly interjects and asks them to also consider the time that the childcare on the base closes as he also has pick up his children. Nadia, feeling relieved added, “I also know some people who need to catch the bus to get to the school on time.”

Imagine that you are a member of this Planning Committee. Realizing that planning the event is not just about deciding on what sports to host and play, the committee asked if there’s a template or form they can use for event planning. Earlier that week, one of the team members came across a broadcast email featuring some materials related to GBA Plus.

The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) Food Services are responsible for overseeing the provision of food to all CAF members. They aim to be responsive to the ever-evolving needs of the CAF while considering their unique operational feeding requirements. This includes building equitable and inclusive food services to support a diverse and evolving CAF demographic (A-85-269-001/FP-001, Food Services Manual, Chapter 1, 25 September 2023).

In an effort to increase equitable and inclusive food services, the CAF announced that vegetarian and vegan meals would be provided for members starting in 2023. The program, which will be implemented during the next few years, was created to “reflect Canadian cultural diversity”. While vegetarian meals have been available in certain capacities (such as combat rations) since the early 2000s, vegan options have not been as available prior to this program.

The inclusion of vegan options is especially important as some religious dietary requirements are not satisfied by a lacto-ovo vegetarian option. For example, a member who is Sikh may identify as a vegetarian who consumes dairy (e.g., lacto) but not eat anything that contains eggs (e.g., ovo) as a part of their religious practice. This means that many of the standard vegetarian options, such as many pasta or bread-based meals, may not meet their dietary needs.

Imagine that you are part of the food services team on a frigate that will be deployed in the Pacific between October and April, for a total of six months. There will be several holidays during the deployment period, including Thanksgiving, Diwali, Hanukkah, Christmas, Easter, and Ramadan. It’s important to consider that some of the religious holidays, such as Lent and Ramadan, may require dietary changes for observant members in the form of food options or mealtimes.

On board the ship are members who are vegetarian or vegan, for both personal and religious reasons. There are also individuals from various religious backgrounds, including Muslim, Jewish, Christians and Sikh members who have dietary requirements related to their religious identities and practices.