Corporate information

Raison d'être, mandate, and role: who we are and what we do

Raison d'être

The Department for Women and Gender Equality works to advance gender equality through an intersectional gendered lens. Working in partnership with key stakeholders, including civil society organizations, labour groups, the private sector, other orders of government, and First Nations, Inuit and Metis Peoples, the Department actively promotes the inclusion of all people in Canada's economic, social, and political life. The Department for Women and Gender Equality works to uphold its mandate to advance gender equality by performing a central coordination function within the Government of Canada by developing and implementing policies, providing grants and contributions, delivering programs, investing in research, and providing advice to achieve equality for people of all genders, including women.

Mandate and role

The mandate of the Department is to advance equality with respect to sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity or expression through the inclusion of people of all genders, including women, in Canada's economic, social, and political life. This application of a gender and diversity lens will help us to better understand the intersection of sex and gender with other identity factors. These factors include – but are not limited to – race, national and ethnic origin, Indigenous origin or identity, age, sexual orientation, socio-economic condition, place of residence and disability.

Also known as Women and Gender Equality Canada (WAGE), the Department works within the context of a number of federal and international instruments that support the principle of gender equality such as: the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the Canadian Human Rights Act, the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), and the United Nations 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.

WAGE's responsibilities include the following:

• leading the implementation of the National Action Plan to End Gender-Based Violence;
• leading and supporting the implementation of Gender-based Analysis Plus (GBA Plus) across the federal government and working to improve the quality and scope of GBA Plus in future budgets;
• leading the implementation of the 2SLGBTQI+ Federal Action Plan;
• supporting the implementation of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's Call to Action and the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls' Calls for Justice in partnership with First Nations, Inuit and Métis Peoples;
• implementing a pilot Menstrual Equity Fund;
• providing expert advice and strategic support to federal departments and agencies in the development of policies, programs and legislation related to gender equality;
• sharing research and policy expertise with the organizations and other levels of governments that have the levers to address gender equality issues;
• providing funding to Canadian women's organizations and equality-seeking groups, including supporting community action to tackle systemic barriers that perpetuate gender inequality;
• supporting Canada's efforts to meet international obligations on promoting gender equality abroad; and
• promoting commemorative dates related to gender equality.

Operating context

In December 2018, new legislation created Women and Gender Equality Canada (WAGE), transforming the former Status of Women Canada into an official department of the Government of Canada. WAGE's mandate establishes the department as a center of expertise that leads and mobilizes federal activities to advance equality with respect to sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, recognizing intersections between sex, gender, and other identity factors. This mandate has been strengthened with the move of the 2SLGBTQI+ Secretariat from the Department of Canadian Heritage to WAGE in October 2021 to advance gender equality in a holistic way.

The #MeToo, #TimesUp and #BLM Black Lives Matters movements, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's Calls to Action, and the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls' Calls for Justice have drawn greater public attention to the challenges faced by women and gender diverse people, including: 2SLGBTQI+, Indigenous peoples, youth, immigrant, Black, and racialized persons, those living in rural areas and persons with disabilities. Sustained and heightened attention to gender equality issues has resulted in higher demands on the organization to assist and provide guidance and feedback to other departments on their priorities, as well as address new and emerging departmental priorities.

Canada continues to make significant progress on gender equality; however, gaps remain. Women continue to be under-represented in politics and leadership roles and earn less – on average – than men. Women and other equality seeking groups are also more likely to experience gender-based violence, including sexual assaults and intimate partner violence in particular and are disproportionately affected by these types of violence.