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Minister’s Message

As Minister for Status of Women, I am honoured to present Status of Women Canada’s 2010–2011 Departmental Performance Report.

Status of Women Canada continues to achieve concrete results for Canadians, advancing equality for women in three priority areas: ending violence against women and girls; improving women’s economic security and prosperity; and promoting women’s leadership and decision-making roles. It also continues to collaborate with a range of partners to fulfil its mandate and meet the Government of Canada’s priorities for women and girls.

Status of Women Canada’s achievements over the past year are significant. They include the Blueprint Projects initiative – an innovative response to the Government of Canada’s goal of streamlining practices and providing greater flexibility to community organizations. The Blueprint Projects are a series of ready-made project models that enable Canadian organizations to address pressing issues facing Canadian women and girls.

Status of Women Canada was also the lead in the collaborative effort across government to produce Statistics Canada’s sixth edition of Women in Canada. This invaluable resource provides key information on the situation of women in areas such as economic security, violence, access to education and career opportunities, and data on specific groups, such as immigrant and Aboriginal women.

Canada will play a lead role in advancing a United Nations Resolution to proclaim an International Day of the Girl. I obtained unanimous support from the House of Commons when I announced the news on International Women’s Day, celebrated in Canada under the theme “Girls’ Rights Matter.”

However, while there is progress in many areas, violence against women and girls – and certain groups in particular – persists. That is why, over the past year, we have placed particular emphasis on addressing the systemic roots of violence, including targeting the heightened vulnerability of Aboriginal women. For example, Status of Women Canada supported a variety of projects, such as those that empower immigrant girls and young women and address such issues as honour-related violence; reducing violence against Aboriginal women and strengthening their communities; and addressing safety and security concerns for women with disabilities.

I have seen first-hand the benefits that our efforts have achieved for women and girls, and I am confident that we will continue to see positive results for all Canadians. Together we can achieve our vision of a society in which women and men, boys and girls live free of violence, benefit equally from Canada’s economic prosperity and share fully in the leadership of our country.

Rona Ambrose, P.C., M.P.
Minister for Status of Women
 
 

 
Section I – Agency Overview

1.1 Raison d’Être and Responsibilities

The Office of the Coordinator, Status of Women, became a departmental agency of the federal government on April 1, 1976. The legal mandate of Status of Women Canada is “to coordinate policy with respect to the status of women and administer related programs” (Policy authority – Order in Council 1976–779).

To fulfil this mandate, Status of Women Canada (SWC) works with partners such as federal departments and agencies, provincial/territorial governments, as well as members of the private and voluntary sectors. It also works with other key players to assist in meeting Canada’s international obligations.

In its strategic policy role, SWC fosters information exchange and collaborative interventions, and provides expert advice to federal organizations on long-standing and emerging issues, opportunities and best practices to help advance the full participation of women in Canadian society.

SWC leads the process of implementing gender-based analysis (GBA)¹ by helping build organizational capacity, supporting federal organizations in their efforts to make GBA part of their regular practice and assisting in ensuring accountability for gender equality. For more information, see: Gender-based Analysis and Strategic Policy (http://www.swc-cfc.gc.ca/pol/gba-acs/index-eng.html).

SWC, through the Women’s Program, plays a vital role in supporting the work of women’s and other Canadian organizations to improve women’s economic and social conditions and to increase their participation in democratic life. These projects, many taking place at the community level, allow organizations with the relevant expertise to deliver projects that are appropriate to their communities. SWC continues to play a coordinating role among the organizations, encouraging partnerships where focus and approaches are similar. For more information, see: Funding (http://www.swc-cfc.gc.ca/fun-fin/wcf-fcf/index-eng.html).

In fulfilling its mandate, SWC takes into consideration the opportunities associated with Canada’s progress on advancing equality for women, while focusing its efforts where the need is greatest. As such, in 2010–2011, it maintained the three priority areas, ensuring its policy work and program investment are directed to those areas where gender equality gaps exist and paying particular attention to the challenges faced by women from diverse backgrounds.

SWC’s head office which also houses the Ontario regional office is located in the National Capital Region. Other regional offices are located in Moncton (for the Atlantic Region), Montreal (for Quebec and Nunavut) and Edmonton (for the West, Northwest Territories and Yukon). (http://www.swc-cfc.gc.ca/)
 

 
1.2 Strategic Outcome and Program Activity Architecture

The Program Activity Architecture (PAA) below displays SWC’s strategic outcome, expected results, program activities and sub-activities. As shown in the PAA, SWC has a single strategic outcome which is supported by the two program activities. As an inventory of activities, the PAA shows the relationship between the two program activities, the linkages between their expected results and how these results contribute to the agency’s strategic outcome. It also serves to report on how program activities are managed and resources invested to achieve long-term and enduring benefit for Canadians.

 
 

 
1.3 Organizational Priorities
 

Priority	Type	Strategic Outcome
Strengthen implementation and use of gender-based analysis (GBA)	Ongoing	Equality for women and their full participation in the economic, social and democratic life of Canada
Status
Met All The Departmental Action Plan on Gender-based Analysis was identified as a key activity to implement this priority. In 2010–2011, specific measures were taken to facilitate the implementation of the Action Plan, particularly those elements pertaining to SWC. The key activities carried out by SWC to implement this priority included: outreach and engagement of departments/agencies, awareness raising, capacity building, monitoring and reporting, and supporting the critical challenge role of central agencies in ensuring departments take into account all relevant factors, including gender, in the development of policies and programs. SWC has achieved the level of performance expected for this priority, with indicators that demonstrate achievement of early results, as discussed in Section II.
Priority	Type	Strategic Outcome
Strategies to end violence against women and girls, including Aboriginal women and girls	Ongoing	Equality for women and their full participation in the economic, social and democratic life of Canada
Status
Met All SWC provided support to Justice Canada in its lead role to address pressing issues relating to missing and murdered Aboriginal women. In 2010–2011, SWC provided financial and/or other support for a wide range of projects to give women, including those of diverse backgrounds, the knowledge, skills, tools and resources they need to help address gender-based violence. Projects are encouraging communities to collaborate, assisting women to access services, and improving access to and quality of the services women need. SWC also encouraged partnerships among organizations representing First Nations, Métis and Inuit women through funding from the Women’s Program.
Priority	Type	Strategic Outcome
Financial and professional assistance for projects to address women’s economic security and encourage women in leadership roles	Ongoing	Equality for women and their full participation in the economic, social and democratic life of Canada
Status
Met All In 2010–2011, a total of 315 projects received financial and/or other support from SWC in the three priority areas: promoting women’s economic security and prosperity; ending violence against women and girls; and encouraging women to assume leadership and decision-making roles. The level of performance projected for this priority was achieved during the reporting year. Through the funded projects, women from diverse groups were provided with knowledge, skills, tools, and resources to support their economic security and prosperity. The summative evaluation of the Women’s Program, scheduled for last fiscal year, will be completed in 2011–2012.
Priority	Type	Strategic Outcome
Corporate Risk Profile	Previously committed	Equality for women and their full participation in the economic, social and democratic life of Canada
Values and Ethics	Previously committed
Audit and Evaluation	New
Status
Mostly Met Corporate Risk Profile (CRP): SWC has completed work on its CRP, identifying key risks, mitigation strategies and assessing the overall risk tolerance of the agency. The CRP will inform annual planning, decision-making processes and operational activities. Values and Ethics: Work on SWC’s Values and Ethics Code is complete. Audit and Evaluation: SWC launched a summative evaluation of the Women’s Program to review its relevance and effectiveness.

 
 
1.4 Risk Analysis

Strategic Context

Although Canada is making considerable strides toward gender equality, particularly in areas such as the labour market², workforce representation³, employment rate⁴ and entrepreneurship⁵, there are still areas where more work needs to be done. There are persistent gaps, for example, between women and men’s economic situation (e.g., wage gap, concentration in traditional jobs) and in their representation in leadership positions (where women remain under-represented). In addition, violence against women and girls continues to be a pressing health, social and criminal justice issue.

The existence of these gaps across social and economic domains reinforces the fact that the achievement of gender equality in Canada is a shared responsibility across federal departments and agencies, between various levels of government, and with different stakeholders, including civil society. For its part, SWC is focusing its efforts on addressing gaps specifically related to women’s economic security, promoting women in leadership positions and addressing key issues related to violence against women and girls.

 
Operating Environment

SWC undertook efforts to address challenges identified in the 2010–2011 Report on Plans and Priorities related to a corporate risk profile, values and ethics code, and audit and evaluation. Specifically, SWC completed an initial corporate risk profile (CRP) in 2010–2011 as well as a Values and Ethics Code for the organization. The audit and evaluation function has been strengthened while the summative evaluation of the Women’s Program will be completed in 2011–2012.

In 2010–2011, SWC’s operational and management priorities were implemented with measurable results, and potential risks were managed using various strategies. As SWC continues to develop its risk management capacity, the agency has ensured that risk is understood, communicated and integrated in its decision-making processes and operational activities.
 

 
1.5 Summary of Performance

 
2010–2011 Financial Resources ($ millions)
 

Planned spending	Total authorities	Actual spending
30.8	31.7	30.2

 

 
2010–2011 Human Resources (FTEs)
 

Planned	Actual	Difference
94	92	2

 
Strategic Outcome: Equality for women and their full participation in the economic, social and democratic life of Canada
 

Performance indicators		Targets		2010–2011 Performance
		1% increase per year		In 2010–2011, SWC contributed to this strategic outcome:
Representation of women in senior decision-making positions in the public and private sectors				by playing a role as a knowledge broker so as to inform the decisions of and influence actions by public institutions to integrate gender considerations in their policies, programs and initiatives.
Representation of women in the labour market, including access to support programs and services for entrepreneurship initiatives				by providing financial and other support for projects that address barriers against women’s participation in the economic, social and democratic life of Canada.
Participation of women in political processes/systems at the local, provincial and federal levels				by providing support to federal institutions to build sustainable capacity for and application of GBA in their decision-making processes, operational activities and corporate culture.
				The 2010–2011 performance analysis shows steady progress toward this strategic outcome, as demonstrated by the gains made in women’s representation in the labour market, workforce and women’s participation in leadership and decision making roles. However, gender equality gaps persist in key areas. While this strategic outcome cannot be achieved solely by SWC, the agency continues to contribute toward its realization through its two program activities.
Program activity	($ millions)					Alignment to Government of Canada outcomes
	2009 –10 Actual spend- ing	2010–20116
		Main esti- mates	Plan- ned spend- ing	Total author- ities	Actual spend- ing
Strategic policy analysis, planning and development	1.6	1.8	1.8	2.1	2.0	Government Affairs
Women’s participation in Canadian society	23.4	25.1	25.1	25.4	22.7	Economic Affairs
Total	25.0	26.9	26.9	27.5	24.7
Program activity	($ millions)
	2009 –10 Actual spend- ing	2010–2011
		Main esti- mates	Plan- ned spend- ing	Total author- ities	Actual spend- ing
Internal services	6.6	3.9	3.9	4.2	5.5

 
In comparison with Planned Spending, the increase in Total Authorities is explained by the inclusion of the 2009–2010 operating budget carry forward, paylist expenditures, funding received through the Supplementary Estimates B and the Employee Benefit Plan adjustment.

The difference between total authorities and actual spending includes $448 thousand in frozen allotments which represents funds withheld by Treasury Board and which cannot be spent by Status of Women Canada.
 

 
1.6 Expenditure Profile

Departmental Spending Trend

In 2010–2011 SWC spent a total of $30.2 million to carry out its program activities, to achieve expected results and to advance toward its planned strategic outcome.

The increases in Main Estimates are due to additional grant and contribution funding from Budget 2007 and re-profiled funding from 2008–2009.

The decrease in total authorities is due to the sunsetting of a re-profiled grant and contribution funding.

 
Spending Trend ($ millions)
 

 

 
1.7 Estimates by Vote

For information on SWC’s votes and/or statutory expenditures, please see the 2010–2011 Public Accounts of Canada (Volume II) publication which is available at: http://www.tpsgc-pwgsc.gc.ca/recgen/txt/72-eng.html.

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