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Gender Based Analysis+

An Overview of GBA+ in the Federal Government

Return to GBA+ Resources

This resource provides you with basic information on Gender-Based Analysis+ (GBA+) in the federal government:

• Why gender equality and Gender-Based Analysis+ (GBA+)?
• What is GBA+ and what does GBA+ involve?
• Why everyone should know how to do GBA+?
• What is the Departmental Action Plan on Gender-Based Analysis?
• What is the shared role of federal institutions: Status of Women Canada, Central Agencies, Departments and Agencies?

Why Gender Equality and Gender-based Analysis+?

Gender equality is a core Canadian value and is enshrined in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which is part of the Canadian Constitution. Gender equality means women and men, in all their diversity, are able to participate in all spheres of Canadian life. Gender equality contributes to an inclusive and democratic society.

We often assume that gender equality has been fully realized in Canada. While many advances have indeed been made, equality gaps remain. For example, statistics show that young men are more likely to drop out of high school than young women, and that women are still more likely than men to look after their homes and families.

Achieving gender equality depends on closing the gap between different groups of women and men. Some women, like some men, may be more or less privileged than others. The situation of some Aboriginal people, seniors, and immigrants in Canada is a case in point. However, closing the gender gap is a necessary step in securing the best outcomes for all Canadian women and men. It ultimately contributes to the socio-economic well-being of our communities and our country.

The Government of Canada has committed to using GBA+ in developing legislation and policies. GBA+ helps identify equality gaps, where appropriate, and the means for addressing them, within the context of our work and the environment in which we implement policies and programs.

What is GBA+?

GBA+ is a process for examining a policy, program or initiative for its varying impacts on diverse groups of women and men, girls and boys. It provides a snapshot in time, by challenging assumptions and capturing the realities of women and men affected by a particular issue. GBA+ provides analysts, researchers, evaluators and decision-makers, among others, with the means to continually improve their work and attain better results for Canadians by being more responsive to specific needs and circumstances.

What Does GBA+ Involve?

GBA+ and Diversity: GBA+ starts with gender¹ and goes further, looking at a range of other diversity issues and aspects of identity such as age, education, language, culture, ethnicity, geography, income, sexual orientation, ability and Aboriginal identity, to name a few. A systematic application of GBA+ can build on existing practices, focusing on key gender considerations among diverse groups of women and men.

Key GBA+ Questions: Considering gender can be as simple as asking:

• Does an issue affect diverse women and men in different ways? If so, how?
• Are specific groups more adversely affected by the issue?
• Does the initiative or proposed solution improve the situation for all? Or does it have an uneven effect or create barriers for some?

Why Everyone Should Know How to Do GBA+

GBA+ is everyone's responsibility:

All public servants should incorporate gender and other aspects of diversity into their work process by asking questions about how diverse groups of women and men may be impacted, and by ensuring that measures are put in place to address any inequalities.

Through systematic use of GBA+, policy analysts, researchers, program officers, evaluators and other public servants are able to improve their work by being more responsive to specific needs and circumstances and therefore attaining better results for all Canadians.

Managers contribute to the success of GBA+ by making it a priority. This can entail supporting their teams by allocating time and resources for GBA+ training and GBA+-related activities. They can also integrate GBA+ as a performance expectation.

Executives must ensure gender considerations are part of the decision-making process and, where identified, equality gaps are being addressed. The Central Agencies (the Privy Council Office, Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat, Department of Finance Canada) consider GBA+ a component of due diligence and may request evidence of it for any Cabinet document.

What is the Departmental Action Plan on Gender-based Analysis?

At the request of the Standing Committee on the Status of Women, the Office of the Auditor General reported on the GBA+ practices of six departments, and the three Central Agencies, in spring 2009. The main findings from the report showed:

• Little or no evidence of GBA+ frameworks implemented in departments;
• No evidence that GBA+ was considered or documented in decision-making; and
• No record of the Privy Council Office and the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat playing their challenge function with departments.

In response to the Auditor General's report, Status of Women Canada, the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat and the Privy Council Office created the Departmental Action Plan on Gender-Based Analysis in autumn 2009.

The Action Plan provides the structure for departments and agencies to make GBA+ a sustainable practice. Two main areas for departmental action are included:

1. To build GBA+ organizational capacity by implementing a GBA+ Framework (see more below).
2. To routinely apply GBA+ to programs, policies and legislation (see more below).

An interim progress report on the Action Plan was submitted to the Standing Committee on Public Accounts in December 2010. The progress report demonstrates the advances that have been made in implementing GBA+ within the departments that were audited. It also outlines additional efforts on the part of Status of Women Canada and the Central Agencies to increase the sustainability of GBA+ in government.

What is the Shared Role of Federal Institutions?

The federal government is committed to strengthening the use of GBA+ as a key tool to develop policies and programs, deliver services and inform funding decisions. This commitment to GBA+ is deemed a shared responsibility between:

Status of Women Canada:

• Facilitates transfer of GBA+ knowledge
• Provides technical assistance to departments and agencies
• Develops GBA+ tools and training

Central Agencies:

• Exercise a challenge function
• Provide guidance on incorporating GBA+ where appropriate

Federal departments and agencies

• Conduct GBA+
• Integrate and sustain the practice of GBA+
• Monitor and report on GBA+ practice and outcomes

Status of Women Canada

Status of Women Canada plays a leadership role in the government-wide implementation of GBA+ by:

1. Providing specialized advice on a variety of matters such as the development of GBA+ policies and frameworks. This includes direct feedback to departments on their development of policies and programs, to help them identify areas that may have particular gender implications or ways to better promote gender equality.
2. Delivering training to departments and agencies to ensure they have the skills necessary to implement GBA+ and are able to follow through on their commitments and obligations to do so.
3. Developing a range of tools and guides that can further support the implementation of GBA+ across government.
4. Chairing the GBA+ Interdepartmental Committee, which enables Status of Women Canada to systematically gauge the needs of departments and agencies, and which also supports cross-departmental sharing of information and expertise in the development and application of GBA+.
5. Supporting the accountability roles and responsibilities played by the Central Agencies.

The Central Agencies

A key role of the Central Agencies – the Privy Council Office, the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat and the Department of Finance Canada – is to play a central coordinating role.

As Central Agencies, the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat, Privy Council Office and the Department of Finance Canada each play a critical ‘challenge' role in ensuring deparments take into account all relevant factors, including gender, in the development of policies and programs and in proposals being submitted for consideration by Cabinet. These other factors include privacy, official languages and environmental impacts, to name a few.

The Privy Council Office plays a challenge role in ensuring federal departments consider all relevant factors, including gender, in the development of legislation, policies and programs and provide evidence to this effect in Memoranda to Cabinet (MC). In 2008-2009, the Privy Council Office developed a template to guide departments and agencies on including GBA+ in the MC process.

The Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat requires evidence, where relevant, that GBA+ was conducted in the preparation of Treasury Board submissions and will challenge departments and agencies if this evidence is lacking.

The Department of Finance Canada has made a commitment to perform GBA+ on all new policy proposals it develops and presents to the Minister of Finance, including tax and spending measures, where appropriate and where data exists. As a Central Agency, Finance Canada plays a challenge role in requiring departments and agencies to consider all relevant factors, including gender, when developing a policy or program for budget consideration.

The Central Agencies are committed to providing ongoing GBA+ training to their analysts in support of this challenge function.

Departments and Agencies

The Departmental Action Plan on Gender-Based Analysis+ provides the structure for departments and agencies to make GBA+ a sustainable practice. Two main areas of action for departments are included:

1. To build GBA+ organizational capacity by implementing a GBA+ Framework (see more below).
2. To routinely apply GBA+ to programs, policies and legislation (see more below).

¹ Sex and Gender: GBA+ distinguishes between sex, which is based on biological and physiological characteristics, and gender, which is based on socially constructed roles, behaviours, activities and attributes.

Status of Women Canada (SWC) would like to thank the following members of the GBA+ Interdepartmental Committee's Tools Working Group for providing advice and feedback: Canadian Heritage, Citizenship and Immigration Canada, Health Canada, Human Resources and Skills Development Canada and Indian, Justice Canada, and Northern Affairs Canada. SWC would also like to thank the Central Agencies for their input: Finance Canada, the Privy Council Office and the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat.

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Date Modified:

2012-02-21