ARCHIVED - Status of Women Canada

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Minister’s Message

As Minister of State (Status of Women), I am pleased to present Status of Women Canada’s Departmental Performance Report for 2008–2009. The report provides a summary of Status of Women Canada’s accomplishments during the reporting year. It also demonstrates how the agency supports the Government of Canada in advancing equality for women and ensuring their full participation in Canadian society.

Emerging from a period of organizational transition in 2008–2009, Status of Women Canada enhanced the efficiency of its policy and program functions.

The agency began the very important task of developing a Federal Action Plan for Women to ensure a vibrant Canadian society that benefits from the full participation and contribution of women. Various initiatives were launched to facilitate its implementation. Interdependent, the three pillars of the Action Plan are: improving women’s economic security and prosperity, ending violence against women and girls, and, encouraging women in leadership and decision-making roles.

In 2008–2009, we saw progress in all areas but nowhere more significantly than in women’s economic security and prosperity. Indeed, during the current global economic crisis, Canadian women have become key players in our country’s economic recovery, due in part to their increased labour force participation and in part to their high rate of entrepreneurial engagement in domestic and international markets.

In 2008–2009, through strategic partnership and innovative projects, Status of Women Canada stepped up its efforts to provide women with opportunities to play active leadership roles and to build their economic security, thereby contributing to Canada’s prosperity. Collaborative projects—such as WEConnect Canada’s Opening Doors to Corporate Markets: An Education, Training, Coaching and Mentoring Program, Equal Voice’s Experiences project and the Canadian Advanced Technology Alliance’s Supporting Women’s Leadership in the Advanced Technology Sectors—were launched during the reporting year, all specifically designed to remove barriers to women’s participation in the economy and to bring about systemic change in key areas. The results of these initiatives will be highlighted in the next Departmental Performance Report.

Fundamental to the Action Plan is the integration of gender-based analysis, which takes inter-sectionality into account, in the delivery of services and in the development of policies, programs and legislation across government. Thanks to Status of Women Canada’s sustained efforts, the Government of Canada is a recognized world leader in gender-based analysis and central agencies are now taking a more active role in ensuring accountability for its application within the federal public sector. This has led to an increased demand for the agency’s assistance in the form of information, training, tools and expertise. Status of Women Canada also maintained its role of promoting the integration of gender-based analysis in the work of various decision-making bodies, including federal/provincial/territorial and international fora.

Status of Women Canada continued to reach out to women in all parts of the country with opportunities to become full participants in their communities and in Canadian society. Through the Women’s Program, the agency provided financial and professional assistance to projects at the local, regional and national levels. These projects, many employing innovative strategies, targeted diverse groups of women and girls and addressed a wide range of issues. Since 2007, SWC-funded projects have had a direct impact on more than 140,000 women and girls and an indirect impact on over 1.6 million women and girls.

Status of Women Canada’s funding of the Sisters in Spirit initiative has enabled the agency to develop partnerships with key players, to increase public awareness and knowledge and to promote policy initiatives on violence issues pertaining to Aboriginal women and girls (First Nations, Inuit and Métis). SWC’s contribution to Sisters in Spirit is in addition to numerous projects and partnerships across the country, supported by Status of Women Canada, to address the unique concerns and challenges of Aboriginal women. These projects range from providing leadership skills to teaching financial literacy, to working to prevent violence against women. The projects are creating the conditions for Aboriginal women to participate fully in Canadian society.

To help facilitate the leadership roles of Aboriginal women, SWC is providing financial and professional assistance to Equal Voice’s project, entitled “Getting to the Gate: National Aboriginal Module” designed to increase the presence of Aboriginal women in decision-making bodies where their voices are severely under-represented. With the active involvement of 15 Aboriginal organizations, this project is focused on providing culturally relevant knowledge to empower Aboriginal women so as to assume leadership roles.

In 2008–2009, 15 per cent of the projects completed addressed issues specifically relevant to immigrant women, including their social and economic integration. These projects sought to promote the economic security of immigrant women who were familiarized with the labour market through knowledge acquisition, mentorship and leadership skills. SWC funding was also made available for projects designed with a specific focus on culturally relevant approaches to understanding and dealing with violence.

I am both pleased and proud of the progress we have made during this pivotal and forward-looking year. By working together in a concerted and strategic way, we are ensuring that women and girls have opportunities to realize their potential and participate meaningfully in Canadian society.

The Honourable Helena Guergis, P.C., M.P.
 

Section I — Agency Overview

1.1 Summary Information

Raison d’être and Responsibilities

 
The Government of Canada established the Office of the Coordinator, Status of Women, in 1976 with the mandate to coordinate policy with respect to the status of women and to administer related programs. (Order in Council 1976–779)
 

The Office of the Coordinator, Status of Women, plays a primary role in advancing equality for women in Canada. To play this role effectively, the agency works in collaboration with a wide range of partners such as federal departments and agencies, provincial/territorial governments, the private and voluntary sectors as well as international organizations.

In 2008–2009, SWC sought to achieve a single strategic outcome, “strengthen the full participation of women in the economic, social and cultural life of Canada.” The strategic outcome for 2009–2010 has been modified as “Equality for women and their full participation in the economic, social and democratic life of Canada.” SWC has already started carrying out initiatives that contribute toward this strategic outcome. The results of these initiatives will be highlighted in the 2009–2010 performance report.

The strategic outcome for 2008–2009 is supported by two Program Activities. The first, strategic policy advice and partnerships, involves the provision of strategic policy advice and analyses, training and tools as well as the development of partnerships to support federal departments and central agencies in integrating gender-based analysis (GBA)¹ in their policies, programs and services.

The second Program Activity, financial assistance for projects to improve social, economic and cultural outcomes for women, involves the provision of funding and professional assistance for projects at local, regional and national levels. It also facilitates strategic partnerships to remove systemic barriers and to encourage women’s full participation in society, the economy and in the democratic life of Canada and leverages resources to support equality for women. This Program Activity is supported by two sub-activities: the Women’s Program and the Sisters in Spirit initiative.

SWC has a governance structure through which specific accountabilities are attributed to Executive Committee members. As a decision-making body, the Executive Committee ensures the efficient management of SWC, the achievement of the agency’s expected results and progress toward its planned strategic outcome. The Executive Committee is supported by other committees that play advisory and operational roles.

The SWC head office is located in the National Capital Region. Other regional offices are located in Montreal (serving Quebec and Nunavut), Moncton (serving New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador), Edmonton (serving Alberta, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, British Columbia, the Northwest Territories and Yukon) and Ottawa (serving Ontario and national organizations). (http://www.swc-cfc.gc.ca)
 

1.2 Strategic Outcome and Program Activity Architecture

The chart below illustrates the Program Activity Architecture (PAA) of SWC². It reflects the agency’s strategic outcome, program activities and sub-activities. As a framework, the PAA serves to allocate and manage resources, align program activities, elaborate expected results and advance the SWC strategic outcome. While distinct in design and delivery, the two Program Activities are complementary in their contributions to the achievement of the strategic outcome, which is: Strengthen the full participation of women in the economic, social and cultural life of Canada.

The first Program Activity—development of strategic policy advice and partnerships – is expected to achieve enabling results that are demonstrated through cross-cutting partnerships that lead to policy positions and strategies that promote gender equality. This Program Activity is also designed to achieve enhanced GBA ability and stronger accountability for gender equality within federal institutions. The second Program Activity – financial assistance for projects to improve social, economic and cultural outcomes for women – is designed to achieve empowering results that demonstrate the extent to which women are provided with opportunities to participate in the economic, social and cultural life of Canada. 

 

1.3 Summary of Performance
 

Financial Resources ($ millions)

Planned spending	Total authorities	Actual spending
31.7	36.1	32.4

 

2008–2009 Human Resources (FTEs)

Planned	Actual	Difference
89	89	0

 

Strategic Outcome: Strengthen the full participation of women in the economic, social and cultural life of Canada

Performance	Targets	2008–2009 Performance
indicators3
Increased representation of women in senior decision-making positions in public and private sectors Increased representation of women in the labour market, including increased access to support programs and services for entrepreneurs Increased representation of women in key occupational categories, including non-traditional occupations	1% increase per year	In 2008–2009, SWC made progress toward its strategic outcome, as shown by the following evidence: Increased representation of women in the House of Commons, Cabinet and Supreme Court of Canada. Gaps remain in senior decision-making positions in the private and public sectors and in certain non-traditional occupations. Increased labour market participation among 15–64 year old women: 68.2% in 1997 vs. 74.3% in 2008. Increased entrepreneurship among women: In 2007, women made up 35% of all self-employed individuals, an increase from 30 years ago when it was 27%.

Program	2007–	2008–2009 ($ millions)				Alignment to
activity	2008	Main	Planned	Total	Actual	Government
	Actual	esti-	spend-	Auth-	spend-	of Canada
	spend-	mates	ing	orities	ing	Outcomes4
	ing
Strategic policy advice and partnerships	2.0	2.5	2.5	3.2	3.1	Government Affairs
Financial assistance for projects to improve social, economic and cultural outcomes for women	23.3	22.3	29.2	32.9	29.3	Economic Affairs
Total	25.3	24.8	31.7	36.1	32.4
Plus: Services received without charge	1.2	N/A	1.4	N/A	1.4
Total departmental spending	26.5	24.8	33.1	36.1	33.8

 

Contribution of Priorities to Strategic Outcome

Operational	Type	Status	Linkages to
priorities			strategic5 outcome
Building strategic partnerships with federal departments, other levels of government and international bodies to ensure women’s full participation and to assist central agencies and departments in applying a gender-perspective to policy and program development.	Ongoing	Successfully met   Through new and/or existing strategic partnerships, SWC continued to influence policies and programs so as to address issues that affect women.   Through sustained efforts, SWC enhanced central agency role in ensuring accountability for gender equality and increased GBA capacity among federal institutions.	SO:Strengthen the full participation of women in the economic, social and cultural life of Canada   PA 1:Strategic policy advice and partnerships
Funding specific projects through the Women’s Program and the Sisters in Spirit (SIS) initiative	Ongoing	Successfully met   In 2008–2009, SWC-funded projects provided opportunities to women to identify and address barriers that impede their participation in society.   SIS increased awareness about violence against Aboriginal women.	SO:Strengthen the full participation of women in the economic, social and cultural life of Canada   PA 2:Financial assistance for projects to improve social, economic and cultural outcomes for women
Developing accountability mechanisms to monitor and measure progress	Ongoing	Successfully met   By putting in place effective control mechanisms, SWC is making progress toward integrated risk management and increased capacity for accountability for results.	SO:Strengthen the full participation of women in the economic, social and cultural life of Canada
Management	Type	Status	Linkages to
priorities			strategic outcome
Strengthening the organizational structure to ensure alignment between government and SWC accountabilities	Ongoing	Successfully met   By modernizing infrastructure and systems, SWC is ensuring that its decision-making processes meet government requirements for accountability.	SO:Strengthen the full participation of women in the economic, social and cultural life of Canada

 

1.4 Risk Analysis

SWC fulfills its mandate within a context where the overall status of women has advanced on the one hand while gender equality gaps remain on the other. Moreover, SWC works in a complex environment characterized by an increasing demographic diversity among women, the emergence of new issues and the growing demand for its financial and professional support. As such, SWC assesses its strategic context and operating environment in order to identify opportunities and challenges and to manage the associated risks. The strategic context allows SWC to focus its activities and invest resources in areas where the need is the greatest and intervention is most needed. As such, SWC has already achieved concrete results within the three pillars of the Action Plan, thereby advancing its strategic outcome.
 

Strategic Context

Economic Security and Prosperity

Labour market participation:  In Canada, women’s labour market participation and rate of employment have increased consistently over time. Indeed, all increases in Canadian labour force participation over the past 30 years can be attributed to women. As a result, the labour market gap has narrowed significantly, with women’s participation now approaching that of men. Concurrently, women are increasingly choosing self-employment and entrepreneurship. In 2007, women made up 35 per cent of all self-employed individuals, a significant increase from 30 years ago when it was 27 per cent.⁶

• Over the past decade (1997–2008), the labour force participation rate for working-age women (15–64 years) has risen from 68.2 per cent to 74.3 per cent (a six percentage point difference) while the male participation rate (15–64 years) has been stable at 82 per cent.
   
• The employment rate for working-age women has increased over the past decade, rising from 62.1 per cent in 1997 to 70.1 per cent in 2008, an eight percentage point increase.
   
• The incidence of long term-unemployment (12 months and over) among women (6.3 per cent) is lower than that of men (8.4 per cent).
  (Source: Labour Force Survey)

Effects of recession:  Past and current experiences show that recessions affect women and men differently. Women tend to be less vulnerable to job loss during recession largely because they are not concentrated in those industries that are hardest hit by recession, such as manufacturing and construction. However, while women are generally less affected than men, some groups of women are more vulnerable compared to others. For example, the labour market participation rate among young women (aged 15–24) dropped from 67.1 per cent to 65.8 per cent between October 2008 and March 2009. Also, unemployment among established immigrant women (with more than five years of residence) increased from 6 per cent to 7.7 per cent during the same period.

Additionally, seniors who depend on investment incomes have been particularly impacted by the current global financial crisis. In Canada, women make up the majority of seniors (57 per cent of seniors over 65 and 69 per cent of those 85 and over).
 

Violence against Women and Girls

Violence against women and girls is one of the serious issues facing our society. Women are the most likely victims of police-reported violence across Canada. Young women experience the highest rates of violence. Aboriginal women are particularly vulnerable. (The spousal homicide rate among Aboriginal women is more than eight times that for non-Aboriginal women. Aboriginal women are three times more likely to experience spousal violence than non-Aboriginal women.)

• Women account for 83 per cent of victims in police-reported spousal violence.
   
  (Family Violence in Canada Statistical Profile 2008. Ottawa: Statistics Canada 2008)
   
• Between 1997 and 2006, young women (15–24 years old) were killed at a rate nearly three times higher than for all female victims of spousal homicide.
   
• Girls under the age of 18 experienced sexual assault (committed by family members) four times more frequently than boys.

 

Leadership and Democratic Participation

The participation of women in political, economic and social life and in decision-making processes has been increasing steadily in Canada.

• House of Commons:  Of the current 307 members, 69 are women (highest proportion of seats to date).
   
• Cabinet:  In October 2008, the Prime Minister appointed the largest proportion—29 per cent—of women to Cabinet (11 of the 38 sitting Cabinet Ministers are women).
   
• Supreme Court of Canada:  Four of the nine judges are women.
   
• Appointments:  Since 2006, women received 30 per cent of the appointments made by the Government of Canada to Cabinet, Boards and Commissions.

There is, however, much to be done to enhance both the presence of and participation by women in Canada’s political, judicial, public and financial institutions. Also, the representation of women in provincial and territorial legislatures (21 per cent) falls short of the 30 per cent minimum mark put forward by the United Nations to ensure that women’s concerns are adequately reflected in decision-making processes. In 2009, the representation of women in Canadian municipal councils stands at 23 per cent.
 

Operating Environment

Opportunities

Action Plan:  In 2008–2009, having moved beyond the transition period, SWC continued to consolidate the results achieved through the organizational change process. As such, during the reporting year, the agency conducted work to develop a Federal Action Plan for Women with a focus on three pillars:

• improving women’s economic security and prosperity,
   
• ending violence against women and girls, and
   
• encouraging women in leadership and decision-making roles.
   

Minister of State:  In 2008–2009, the appointment of a Minister of State responsible exclusively for the Status of Women portfolio represented an opportunity for a stronger voice on issues of concern to women in the government agenda, a more visible role for SWC and partnerships with key players to produce sustainable improvements for women in areas of priority.

These opportunities have yielded concrete results in different ways. For example, the 27th annual meeting of the Federal/Provincial/Territorial Ministers Responsible for the Status of Women, co-chaired by the Minister of State (Status of Women), identified the urgency of exploring ways to facilitate women’s labour force participation and economic security, with particular emphasis on increasing women’s participation in non-traditional occupations and sectors of employment, considered actions toward improving the lives of First Nations, Inuit and Métis women, both on and off reserve, and discussed measures to address violence against women in Canada.

As well, the Minister of State (Status of Women) continues to support efforts to establish an international governance model for shelters, which will develop international links among communities of practice in Canada and globally, thereby increasing their capacity to serve women who experience violence. A number of strategic initiatives, established through partnerships, are currently in progress⁷ and will be highlighted in the 2009–2010 Departmental Performance Report.

After her appointment, the Minister of State reached out to women across the country to share her views about status of women in Canadian society and internationally. On behalf of the Government of Canada, in November 2008, she signed on to the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) campaign, Say NO to Violence Against Women.

The Parliamentary Standing Committee on the Status of Women continued to provide an opportunity for sustained dialogue on gender equality, thereby keeping decision-makers informed of issues pertaining to women’s participation in society and facilitating government action on equality for women.http://www2.parl.gc.ca/CommitteeBusiness/CommitteeHome.aspx?Cmte=FEWO&Language=E&Mode=1&Parl=40&Ses=2
 

Challenges

Risk Management:  In 2008–2009, SWC conducted sessions with employees to develop an integrated risk management approach and to augment risk-based decision-making processes. As well, risk identification, assessment and mitigation tools were routinely used in carrying out the two SWC Program Activities. Work began to develop a Corporate Risk Profile (CRP) and to identify risks and mitigation strategies (see table). This CRP will be completed in 2009–2010.

Key risk	Mitigation measure	Linkage to PA
HR capacity:  SWC’s HR capacity to deliver on its mandate, achieve expected results and advance toward its long-term planned outcome.	Continued training and development of SWC staff Succession planning and HR Plans Corporate Business Plan	PA 1   PA 2
Program reach:  The ability of SWC to respond to the growing demand for financial and professional assistance.	Strategic investment in key areas SWC’s Action Plan	PA 2
Recipient capacity:  The capacity of funding recipients to achieve results that contribute to SWC’s expected results and strategic outcome.	SWC will continue to deliver information sessions and professional assistance to potential applicants and funding recipients. SWC will make tools and templates available to assist organizations in carrying out projects.	PA 2
Values and ethics:  a shared sense of vision and a set of values to guide its work.	SWC will continue to engage staff in the development of its Values and Ethics Framework.	PA 1   PA 2   PA 3

 

1.5 Expenditure Profile

In 2008–2009, SWC spent a total of $32.4 million to carry out its Program Activities, to achieve expected results and to advance toward its planned strategic outcome.

Authorities and subsequent spending in 2007–2008 and 2008–2009 have increased from previous fiscal years as a result of additional funding made available to SWC through Budget 2007 to invest in projects as a proactive measure to achieve concrete outcomes in key areas such as women’s economic security and prosperity and violence against women and girls.

 

1.6 Voted and Statutory Items

In 2007–2008, SWC did not expend fully funding received through Budget 2007 as it was received late in the fiscal year. The increase in spending in 2008–2009 from 2007–2008 reflects the fact that SWC received this new funding earlier in the Estimates process, along with $4.9 million ($2 million in December 2007 and $2.9 million in March 2008) re-profiled from 2007–2008 to 2008–2009 in Gs&Cs.

($ millions)

Vote # or	Truncated Vote or	2006–07	2007–08	2008–09	2008–09
Statutory	Statutory Wording	Actual	Actual	Main	Actual
Item		Spending	Spending	Estimates	Spending
(S)
100	Operating expenditures	11.1	8.5	7.5	9.4
101	Pursuant to Section 24.1(1) of the Financial Administration Act, to forgive a debt	—	0.7	—	—
105	Grants and contributions	11.6	15.2	16.3	22.0
(S)	Contributions to employee benefit plans	1.3	0.9	1.0	1.0
	Total	24.0	25.3	24.8	32.4

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