Gender-Based Analysis Plus

From: Employment and Social Development Canada

On this page

• Institutional gender-based analysis plus capacity
• Highlights of gender-based analysis plus results by program

Institutional gender-based analysis plus capacity

Each Assistant Deputy Minister is accountable for supporting the application of gender-based analysis plus (GBA+) within their area of responsibility. Each branch has analysts who perform GBA+ in their policy, program and service proposals. In addition, a number of branches have dedicated resources with specific accountability for supporting GBA+. The department also has 2 GBA+ co-champions who provide leadership in the promotion and implementation of GBA+.

A departmental Centre of Expertise in GBA+ has been created to ensure GBA+ is applied throughout the department. The Centre of Expertise has 4 full-time equivalents, and is responsible for: 

• ensuring that all relevant pillars, focus areas and indicators from the Gender Results Framework are included in program and policy development. It also ensures these elements are included in budgetary and financial management processes where relevant
• reviewing, assessing and providing early and ongoing guidance on all Cabinet documents  
• developing and disseminating tools, resources and guidance documents and organizing learning events to further GBA+ capacity within the department 
• collaborating with internal and external stakeholders to contribute to the advancement of GBA+ across the public service and gender equality initiatives 
• ensuring compliance of initiatives, policies and programs with the Gender Results Framework, as well as the Gender Budgeting Act

Highlights of gender-based analysis plus results by program

Name of program

• Social Development Partnerships Program – Children and Families component

Key impacts

• Social Development Partnership Program-Children and Families component Departmented projects that benefitted more than 512,700 vulnerable Canadians. These projects focused specifically on women, persons with disabilities, Indigenous peoples, new immigrants, ethno-cultural communities, members of the LGBTQ2 community and official language minority communities. Analysis of the projects’ outcomes indicates that the funded projects enhanced the capacity of community organizations to address the needs of vulnerable Canadians and resulted in an increased social inclusion of vulnerable Canadians. Funded organizations increased their capacity to recruit volunteers, engaged vulnerable Canadians in consultations, and provided more services. They also increased their knowledge and awareness of the needs of vulnerable Canadians
• Funded projects conducted activities and provided services that focused on gender equality, partner violence, poverty, and homelessness. They also addressed access to quality education for low-income Canadians, work for vulnerable Canadians and economic growth. In addition, funded projects also fostered Indigenous traditional knowledge and the social inclusion of vulnerable Canadians 

Measures taken to develop data collection and analysis tools

• No measures have been taken at the time of drafting the report

Name of program

• Social Development Partnerships Program – Disability component

Key impacts

• Not Available

Measures taken to develop data collection and analysis tools

• Fiscal year 2019 to 2020 was the first where specific data on GBA+ has been collected under the new national operating funding 3-year agreements started in the same year. As per these agreements, recipient organizations of national operating funding are required to report annually on 4 principles. The fourth principle requires recipients to conduct a gender-based analysis in order to identify the needs of diverse groups among persons with disabilities. These include intersecting identity factors, gender identity/gender expression. The department developed a reporting template specifically on GBA+ as a tool for funding recipients to use. It also directed organizations to Women and Gender Equality’s comprehensive toolkit and resources for GBA+

Name of program

• New Horizons for Seniors Program (NHSP)

Key impacts

• The New Horizons for Seniors Program pan-Canadian stream funded 48 Collective Impact projects across Canada as part of 2015 NHSP pan-Canadian Call for Proposals. Based on the final reports submitted by funded recipients (at the end of their 3-year term projects), about 187,400 of the seniors who participated in these projects reported a reduction in their social isolation, 71% of whom were women
• A majority (82%) of the NHSP community-based funded grant recipients targeted socially isolated seniors. Almost a third (27%) of them targeted visible minority seniors as beneficiaries of their projects. The funded recipients also targeted other vulnerable seniors including immigrant seniors (22%) and ethno-cultural seniors (20%). Overall, NHSP projects benefited more senior women (59%) than senior men. The number of female seniors who volunteered in the implementation of these projects were twice that of male seniors who volunteered. Only a third of seniors who volunteered as mentors to other seniors and youth, were male seniors

Measures taken to develop data collection and analysis tools:

• The department conducts trend analysis using various demographic variables including age, gender, geography, ethnicity, and LGBTQ2+ status in order to assess the degree to which projects focus on various senior sub-populations

Name of program

• Enabling Accessibility Fund

Key impacts

• The Enabling Accessibility Fund (EAF) contributes to improving accessibility of workplaces and community spaces, which supports the full participation of persons with disabilities in the workforce and the life of their communities. The EAF contributed to making 376 Canadian community spaces and workplaces more accessible for persons with disabilities

Measures taken to develop data collection and analysis tools

• Starting in fiscal year 2021 to 2022, the program will collect data on gender and diversity for EAF projects. The applicants will be required to select the groups their proposed project would target. Data will then be analysed to determine program trends relative to GBA+

Name of program

• Canada Disability Savings Program

Key impacts

• The Canada Disability Savings Program allows persons with disabilities to obtain increased income security by encouraging them and their families to save for their future and offering special grants and bonds. The number of eligible persons with disabilities who received a grant and/or bond through this program increased by 1 percentage point. It shifted from 83%, in 2018 to 2019, to 84% in 2019 to 2020. Men represent approximately 60% of RDSP beneficiaries while women account for approximately 40%. At the end of the 2019 calendar year, among those individuals entitled to the Disability Tax Credit, and 0 to 59 years of age, 31% of females and 32% of males were beneficiaries of Registered Disability Savings Plans (take-up rate)

Measures taken to develop data collection and analysis tools

• No measures have been taken at the time of drafting the report

Name of program

• Reaching Home

Key impacts

• In 2019 to 2020, Reaching Home distributed approximately $189 million in funding to communities to help reduce homelessness and expanded funding to 6 new designated communities across the country. The program provides maximum flexibility to communities to design and deliver tailored services that contribute to improving the life outcomes of individuals experiencing or at risk of homelessness. These individuals include youth, women, gender diverse individuals, people fleeing violence, families, Indigenous peoples, and newcomers

Measures taken to develop data collection and analysis tools

• Shelter data is the best available proxy for measuring large-scale trends in homelessness. The department has access to extensive shelter data. This data is available through the Homelessness Individuals and Families Information System that is provided to communities. It is also available through signed data provision agreements with some provincial governments and community partners
• The department also supports nationally coordinated Point-in-Time counts of homelessness in Canadian communities. These counts provide a snapshot of homelessness, including demographic information that support communities in planning services and developing coordinated responses. At the national level, aggregated data from these counts complements shelter data by providing information on unsheltered experiences of homelessness
• Shelter and Point-in-Time count data are used to conduct demographic analyses. This data provides information that is used to inform policy and program development processes. For example, the department refreshed its Reaching Home GBA+ analysis when it put forward a request for incremental funding in response to the pandemic
• Shelter and Point-in-Time count data and project level information provide an understanding of the outcomes of direct federal investments for select demographic groups. These groups include women, LGBTQ2 individuals, youth, seniors, Indigenous peoples, newcomers, veterans, and people with disabilities

Name of program

• Accessible Canada Initiative

Key impacts

• The Accessible Canada Initiative is still under development. It will benefit both women and men with disabilities by removing barriers to services and employment in the federally-regulated organizations. However, it may have a greater benefit for women, as they experience disabilities at a higher rate than men (24% compared to 20% in 2017)
• Seniors may particularly benefit, given that the likelihood of experiencing disability increases with age. In 2017, adults aged 65 or older were almost twice as likely to have a disability as adults aged 25 to 64 (38% compared to 20%)
• Indigenous people may also particularly benefit. In 2017, rates of disability among First Nations people living off reserve (32%) and Métis (30%) were higher than for non-Indigenous people (22%). Rates of disability among Inuit (19%) were lower, largely because Inuit are younger. (Data are limited on First Nations people with disabilities living on reserve)

Measures taken to develop data collection and analysis tools

• In partnership with Statistics Canada and others, the department is in the process of developing an Accessibility Data and Measurement Strategy. This will allow to measure and monitor progress on improving accessibility under the Accessible Canada Act. Applying a GBA+ lens to data collection and analysis, the department will examine the interplay of accessibility with other factors. These factors include gender, sex, age, race, sexual orientation, geography, education, culture, income, and religion

Name of program

• Investment Readiness Program

Key impacts

• In 2019 to 2020, the department launched the 2-year $50 million Investment Readiness Program to help prepare social purpose organizations for Social Innovation and Social Finance. The program signed agreements totaling $36.6 million over 2 years with 5 readiness support partners. The program will fund this group of delivery partners who will grant funding to social purposes organizations (SPOs). 2 of those partners will provide targeted funding to Indigenous SPOs and 1 who will provide funding to women/women-led SPOs
• The department has also invested in the social finance ecosystem to support organizations in developing tools for respectful engagement with underrepresented groups. The development of the SI/SF Strategy and the IRP will support Canada’s commitment to the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals. It will specifically support Canada’s commitment to sustainable development goal 10. This goal aims to empower social, economic, and political inclusion irrespective of age, sex, disability, race, or any other status

Measures taken to develop data collection and analysis tools

• The department is conducting multiple simultaneous evaluations over the course of the pilot project to assess its impacts. The department also receives disaggregated data on funding recipients from delivery partners. These data will allow the department to determine the effectiveness in supporting underrepresented groups

Name of program

• Apprenticeship Grants

Key impacts

• Apprenticeship Incentive Grant for Women (AIG-W) support women in entering, progressing and completing their training in Red Seal trades where women are underrepresented. Administrative data was used to support the introduction of the Apprenticeship Incentive Grant for Women (AIG-W) pilot project. Analysis showed that women were highly underrepresented in several Red Seal Trades. Review of the 5-year pilot will be undertaken to determine its impact and will be shared with the Secretary of the Treasury Board Secretariat by the end of 2022. In fiscal year 2019 to 2020, 3,035 women received the AIG-W for a total amount of approximately $9M

Measures taken to develop data collection and analysis tools

• Statistics Canada links data from the following datasets: Registered Apprentices Information Systems, Canada Apprentice Loans, Apprenticeship Grants and Employment Insurance in order to build an Education and Labour Market Longitudinal Platform

Name of program

• Women in Construction Fund

Key impacts

• The fund, which is designed to increase women’s participation in construction trades, provides mentoring, coaching and tailored supports that help women progress through their training to find and keep jobs in the trades. Key impacts for fiscal year 2019 to 2020 are not yet available

Measures taken to develop data collection and analysis tools

• The department could undertake an analysis on the number of participants who have achieved certification to determine if the program helps support the progression of women in apprenticeship training

Name of program

• Skilled Trades Awareness and Readiness Program

Key impacts

• The program encourages groups that face barriers entering the trades to explore careers in the trades, gain work experience, make informed career choices and develop the skills needed for the trades. Groups of people who are targeted by this program include: youth; women; Indigenous people, newcomers and persons with disabilities. Key impacts for fiscal year 2019 to 2020 are not yet available

Measures taken to develop data collection and analysis tools

• The STAR program could undertake an analysis of the number of participants who are from key groups (for example: women, Indigenous peoples, persons with disabilities, newcomers and racialized persons) and intend to pursue apprenticeship training to determine if the program helps encourage key groups to prepare for a career in the skilled trades

Name of program

• Union Training and Innovation Program

Key impacts

• The Union Training and Innovation Program’s objective is to improve the quality of training in the skilled trades enabling a more skilled, certified and productive workforce
• The program also aims to improve the participation of key groups in the skilled trades to have a more inclusive workforce. The program targets key groups, for example: Women, Indigenous Peoples, Newcomers, Persons with disabilities, and Visible Minorities. Key impacts for fiscal year 2019 to 2020 are not yet available

Measures taken to develop data collection and analysis tools

• The UTIP could undertake an analysis on the number of participants, who are from key groups (for example: women, Indigenous peoples; persons with disabilities; newcomers and racialized persons) and have achieved certification to determine if the program helps support the participation of key groups in apprenticeship

Name of program

• Canada Service Corps

Key impacts

• The program provides young Canadians the chance to participate in meaningful volunteer service projects. GBA+ was applied to a proposed expansion of the Canada Service Corps. The expansion included measures to reduce barriers to underrepresented youth, including dedicated funding for service projects focused on reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples, as well as new incentives and program supports

Measures taken to develop data collection and analysis tools

• The Canada Service Corps obtains socio-demographic aggregated data to inform policy, program design and evaluation. All output and outcomes indicators are aggregated, which limits GBA+ analysis. CSC is working on obtaining disaggregated data to undertake proper analysis on the number of participants from key groups (Women, youth with disabilities, Indigenous youth, newcomer youth, LGBTQ+ youth, rural and remote youth and low-income youth)

Name of program

• Employment Insurance (Part I)

Key impacts

• The department is beginning to monitor results of the EI Parental Sharing Benefit, implemented in March 2019. This monitoring includes the take-up of EI parental benefits by gender. Preliminary data for fiscal year 2019 to 2020 will be available in the EI Monitoring and Assessment Report to be published in 2021. The parental sharing benefit is expected to promote gender equality, because it is expected to increase the take-up of EI parental benefits by men. Equal sharing of parental and family responsibilities is a key part of Canada’s Gender Results Framework

Measures taken to develop data collection and analysis tools

• Examples of analysis includes EI claims and benefits information by age and gender, which are aggregated at a regional and a national level for trend analysis and reporting in the annual EI Monitoring and Assessment Report. Similar analysis by other sociodemographic variables can also be conducted to support the development of policy options within the EI program
• The EI program uses mainly EI administrative data, Statistics Canada survey data and Canada Revenue Agency tax data to inform, monitor, and assess the program, and produce cost benefit analyses to support evidence based policy-making, including to increase/improve the accessibility of EI to Canadians

Name of program

• Labour Market Development Agreements

Key impacts

• The department reports on rates of participation in different types of interventions for women, persons with disabilities, Indigenous peoples, visible minorities and youth through the Employment Insurance Monitoring and Assessment Report (EI MAR). Key impacts for fiscal year 2019 to 2020 are not yet available

Measures taken to develop data collection and analysis tools

• Currently, the collection of some sociodemographic data is based on voluntary self-declaration, which impacts its reliability. The new performance measurement strategy for the LMDAs currently being implemented with provinces and territories requires clients to answer questions about demographic characteristics, with the option of not disclosing this information. The collection of better demographic data means that LMDA evaluations will be able to look at medium-term impacts on clients' employment status, earnings and income support usage from an intersectional perspective. Due to the phased implementation of the strategy, this data started to become available in fiscal year 2019 to 2020, and is planned to be available consistently for all provinces and territories by fiscal year 2020 to 2021

Name of program

• Workforce Development Agreements

Key impacts

• Not applicable

Measures taken to develop data collection and analysis tools

• ESDC has not conducted any GBA+ analyses for the WDAs to date because the data for these types of analyses is not available yet

Name of program

• Literacy and Essential Skills

Key impacts

• The Literacy and Essential skills program tests, replicates and scales up effective and innovative training models to help Canadians improve their skills to better prepare for, get and keep a job, and adapt and succeed at work. Ongoing analysis on “what works” for GBA+ intersectional groups has been published in the program’s Essential Skills Playbook

Measures taken to develop data collection and analysis tools

• Literacy and Essential Skills (LES) funding recipients report on the sociodemographic profile of their participants (for example: indigenous status, visible minority (by type), immigrant status, gender ratio, age, disability status, data on Official Language Minority Community, employment status, etc.). The program has been collecting aggregated sociodemographic data on clients since fiscal year 2019 to 2020

Name of program

• Opportunities Fund for Persons with Disabilities

Key impacts

• The program is intended to assist Canadians with disabilities prepare for, obtain and maintain employment or self-employment. The department supported 4,242 persons with disabilities through employment and training activities delivered under the program

Measures taken to develop data collection and analysis tools

• The program collects sociodemographic information to inform research, evaluation, demographic, or statistical analysis for the purpose of monitoring the design and delivery of the program

Name of program

• Indigenous Skills and Employment Training Program

Key impacts

• The program is designed to help Indigenous people improve their skills and find employment. In fiscal year 2019 to 2020, the department set up 109 multi-year agreements with Indigenous organizations. These organizations provided skills development and job training programs and services, which helped 41,600 clients across the country. As a result, the program helped 15,284 Indigenous people find employment and 3,753 return to school

Measures taken to develop data collection and analysis tools

• Not applicable

Name of program

• Skills and Partnership Fund

Key impacts

• The program funds projects that contribute to the skills development and training-to-employment of Indigenous workers towards long-term meaningful employment. In fiscal year 2019 to 2020, Skills and Partnership Fund projects helped 5,324 new clients access training. Of these, 1,784 Indigenous people found employment and 285 returned to school

Measures taken to develop data collection and analysis tools

• Not applicable

Name of program

• Student Work Placement Program

Key impacts

• The program provides post-secondary students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) and business more quality work placements. It is expected that student work placements will be made available to under-represented post-secondary students, such as women in STEM, newcomers and Indigenous students, as well as first-years students in STEM. To encourage employers to provide opportunities to under-represented post-secondary students, the program provides additional wage subsidy as an incentive. The department supported the creation of 8,707 student work placements for post-secondary students across Canada, in a wide array of disciplines

Measures taken to develop data collection and analysis tools

• The program has fed into various reports where GBA+ data has been included

Name of program

• Youth Employment and Skills Strategy – Goal Getters

Key impacts

• The program encourages youth facing barriers to complete high school and transition to post-secondary education or employment. In its first year, the department partnered with youth-serving organizations to support more than 2,500 youth

Measures taken to develop data collection and analysis tools

• The Goal Getters funding stream collects sociodemographic information to inform research, evaluation, demographic, or statistical analysis for the purpose of evaluation, design and delivery of the program

Name of program

• Youth Employment Strategy – Canada Summer Jobs

Key impacts

• The program provides wage subsidies to employers, including not-for-profit organizations, public sector employers, and small and medium sized businesses to create quality summer employment for youth between the ages of 15 and 30. The department expanded Canada Summer Job program eligibility criteria to include all youth, not just students. The new criteria improved access to employment opportunities for youth who face unique barriers to employment and supported the creation of up to 79,279 summer job placements for youth

Measures taken to develop data collection and analysis tools

• The Canada Summer Jobs program collects sociodemographic information to inform research, evaluation, demographic, or statistical analysis for the purpose of evaluation, design and delivery of the program

Name of program

• Future Skills

Key impacts

• Future Skills is part of the Government’s plan to ensure that Canada’s skills development policies and programs are prepared to meet Canadians’ changing needs. This program includes a focus on addressing the needs of disadvantaged and under‑represented groups, such as Indigenous people, persons with disabilities, low-income workers, newcomers to Canada and youth. This will help ensure that all Canadians can benefit from emerging opportunities. The Future Skills Centre has completed 2 open calls for proposals and funded 46 innovation projects. These projects will test new approaches to skills development for Canadians

Measures taken to develop data collection and analysis tools

• All output and outcome indicators will be disaggregated using a GBA+ lens in order to determine what skill development approaches work for whom, and under what conditions. This evidence will be reported by the Centre to ESDC on an aggregated level. The Centre is developing a data linking approach with Statistics Canada

Name of program

• Workplace Equity

Key impacts

• The program supports initiatives that improve employment equity outcomes for women, Indigenous peoples, persons with disabilities and members of visible minorities. The program validates federally regulated employers’ employment equity reports. It also reviews compliance assessments of federal contractors to assess their efforts at implementing employment equity within the workplace

Measures taken to develop data collection and analysis tools

• The department collects and analyses data for the preparation of the Employment Equity Act Annual Report. Some of the measures used in the report align with performance indicators of the Canada’s Gender Results Framework. These fall under the following 2 key areas: Economic participation and prosperity and Leadership and democratic participation. The program analyses employment data for the 4 designated groups. These data come from the report submitted on an annual basis by federally regulated private-sector employers

Name of program

• Canada Education Savings Program

Key impacts

• The Canada Education Savings Program (CESP) supports Canadian families and children, including those from middle- and low-income families to save for post-secondary education. The CESP is comprised of 2 education savings incentives linked to Registered Education Savings Plans. The Canada Education Savings Grant (CESG) matches 20% of RESP savings throughout childhood, up to a maximum of $7,200 in CESG per child. The CESG also provides an additional grant for eligible children from middle- and low- income families. The Canada Learning Bond (CLB) is a lump sump that the Government of Canada pays to low-income children born in 2004 or later. Eligible families can receive up to $2,000 per child in CLB without putting any money into their RESP
• In 2019, $4.4 billion in funds were withdrawn from RESPs, all of which had received the basic Canada Education Savings Grant, supporting post-secondary education for 462,730 students. Of this, $1.12 billion in funds were withdrawn from RESPs that had received the additional Canada Education Savings Grant, supporting 125,889 students from low- and middle-income families

Measures taken to develop data collection and analysis tool

• The CESP will start disaggregating its main results by gender in future releases of the program's Annual Statistical Review (ASR). By applying a GBA+ lens to data reporting, it will be possible to identify if gender differences exist in the take up rates for CESG and CLB, and in the average EAP amounts received when withdrawing funds from RESPs. It will also provide information on whether the program is helping Canadians equally, regardless of gender

Name of program

• Canada Student Loans Program

Key impacts

• CSLP has the data tools and processes in place to assess the key impacts on gender and diversity. The program assesses potential impact of changes on different types of students (for example: level of study, those with a permanent disability, those with dependents, those who are caregivers, rural and remote students, adult learners, etc.). Preliminary results indicate that recent measures predominantly benefit women

Measures taken to develop data collection and analysis tools

• The program collects data on who receives loans and grants as well as uptake of available programs. These include data on the Repayment Assistance Plan and Canada Student Loan Forgiveness for Doctors and Nurses across a number of variables including gender, geography, age, education level, income, permanent disability status and Indigenous identity. These data will allow the department to determine the effectiveness in supporting all types of students

Name of program

• Supports for Student Learning Program

Key impacts

• No data on program-level GBA+ impacts available

Measures taken to develop data collection and analysis tools

• In the future, where possible, the following sociodemographic variables will be collected at the aggregate level: sex, gender identity, age, Indigenous identity, Indigenous status. However, only the total number of learners served annually through SSLP funding will be reported publicly

Name of program

• Government of Canada Telephone General Enquiries Services

Key impacts

• The program improves the accessibility of information and services for the general public at large and for many vulnerable clients who continue to access government benefits and services through the telephone service. These include recent immigrants, seniors, people with lower education levels, rural and remote clients, Indigenous clients, low-income households, and some clients with disabilities. These also include Canadian citizens going through major life events such as losing a job, welcoming a new child to their family, or grieving the loss of a loved one. Service by phone also supports clients having problems accessing our services by the Internet

Measures taken to develop data collection and analysis tools

• The program is a general enquiries service that targets the general population and as such, no client specific data is being collected by the program. Consequently, no specific data collection and analysis tools can be developed to measure and assess the impacts of the program on gender and diversity

Name of program

• Government of Canada Internet Presence and Departmental online presence

Key impacts

• No specific GBA+ data is currently collected from clients on Canada.ca through web analytics or Canada.ca exit surveys. As such, impacts of such analyses are not available. The primary target population of Canada.ca is the general population. This includes employers, not-for-profit organizations, and vulnerable groups such as recent immigrants, persons with disabilities, seniors, students, and Canadian citizens. These clients may be going through major life events such as losing a job, welcoming a new child to their family, or grieving the loss of a loved one

Measures taken to develop data collection and analysis tools

• The department tests user experience with members of the public to improve web content. For these tests, the department uses a similar number of participants by gender. The make-up of participants in any given test is also based on other characteristics. These include age, location (rural/urban), language, economic status, –and others, depending on the web content and its intended audience. This helps ensure the test is made with a group that reflects the broader audience who will access the program. Members of GBA+ communities may have participated in such testing if they met characteristics for a given test. Members of GBA+ communities can be specifically recruited to test web content targeting them directly. The department will continue to use a balanced mix of participants when testing client experience and usability