ARCHIVED - Status of Women Canada

• Previous Page
• Table of Contents
• Next Page

This page has been archived.

Section I – Departmental Overview

Minister’s Message

Thanks to the contributions of women and men in vibrant communities throughout Canada, ours is a strong and prosperous country. More and more Canadian women are moving into key leadership positions in every sector of our society. Nevertheless, there are still barriers to women’s full participation, as well as to their access to decision-making and leadership roles. There can be no doubt that only when all women can contribute, along with men, will we have a society that is strong, inclusive, and full of opportunity for everyone.

The Canadian Heritage portfolio organizations are working to ensure that all Canadians can contribute—and Status of Women Canada is a vital part of that effort. Promoting the full participation of women in the economic, social and democratic life of the country, Status of Women Canada maintains its focus on increasing women’s economic security, and eliminating violence against women and girls. Thanks to two new funding mechanisms, the Women’s Partnership Fund and the Women’s Community Fund, projects that directly benefit women will receive better support.

Status of Women Canada’s attention will also focus on work with federal departments and agencies to take into account gender considerations in the development of policies and programs. Through its work in ensuring federal policies, programs and services are responsive to the diverse needs of women and their families, Status of Women Canada is a beacon for advancing gender concerns across society.

As outlined in this 2008–2009 Report on Plans and Priorities, Status of Women Canada will continue to promote equality for women and their full participation in society, ensuring they are a vital social and economic force in Canada. To do this, it will work in partnership across the federal government, with other levels of government, and with the private sector.


The Honourable Josée Verner, P.C., M.P. 

Management Representation Statement

I submit for tabling in Parliament, the 2008–2009 Report on Plans and Priorities (RPP) for Status of Women Canada.

This document has been prepared based on the reporting principles contained in the Guide for the Preparation of Part III of the 2008–09 Estimates: Reports on Plans and Priorities and Departmental Performance Reports.

• It adheres to the specific reporting requirements outlined in the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat guidance;
• It is based on the department’s strategic outcome and Program Activity Architecture that were approved by the Treasury Board;
• It presents consistent, comprehensive, balanced, and reliable information;
• It provides a basis of accountability for the results achieved with the resources and authorities entrusted to it; and
• It reports finances based on approved, planned spending numbers from the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat.

Clare Beckton, Coordinator

Raison d’Être

Our raison d’être is the goal of advancing the equality of women in Canadian society and fostering the full participation of women in the economic, social, and democratic life of our country. We do this by:

• building strategic partnerships with federal departments, other levels of government, and international bodies to proactively ensure that systemic barriers are removed to promote women’s full participation and leadership in society and to assist central agencies and departments in applying a gender perspective to policy and program development federally; and
• funding specific projects through the Women’s Program under the Women’s Community Fund and the Women’s Partnership Fund respectively and funding the Sisters in Spirit Initiative.

Organizational Information

Program Activity Architecture Crosswalk

The table that follows provides resource information for the 2008–09 Main Estimates year by Program Activity Architecture (PAA).

Voted and Statutory Items Displayed in the Main Estimates

This table provides resource information for the 2008–09 Main Estimates year by Vote and Statutory Item.



Budget 2007 provided additional funding to Status of Women Canada as a proactive measure to achieve concrete outcomes in key areas such as combating violence against women and girls and to enhance women’s economic security.

Departmental Planned Spending Table and Full-Time Equivalents

Budget 2007 provided additional funding to Status of Women Canada as a proactive measure to achieve concrete outcomes in key areas such as combating violence against women and girls and to enhance women’s economic security. An amount of $2.0 million in Grants and Contributions was approved for re-profiling from fiscal year 2007–08 to fiscal year 2008–09 to provide SWC effective time to fully distribute and manage the new funding. In fiscal year 2010–11, the reduction in planned spending from 2009–10 of $1 million is a result of the Sisters in Spirit initiative for which funding sunsets in 2009–10.

Summary Information

Financial resources ($ millions)


Human resources (FTEs)


Departmental Priorities


Program Activities by Strategic Outcome

Departmental Plans and Priorities

For 2008–09, Status of Women Canada will be building on the work begun in the previous year which was a period of transition, change, and rebuilding. Specifically, it will continue to focus attention on specific policy areas related to women’s economic security and prosperity and to violence against women and girls by:

• building strategic partnerships with federal departments, other levels of government, and international bodies to proactively ensure that systemic barriers are removed to ensure women’s full participation and leadership in society and to assist central agencies and departments in applying a gender perspective to policy and program development federally;
• funding specific projects through the Women’s Program and the Sisters in Spirit initiative;
• developing accountability mechanisms to monitor and measure progress; and
• strengthening the organizational structure of the Department to ensure its accountabilities are in line with overall Government of Canada accountabilities.

Building Strategic Partnerships

Through Status of Women Canada’s mandate to “coordinate policy with respect to the status of women and administer related programs”, the Department works with other federal departments and levels of government when designing and implementing policies and programs and coordinates policy development where many departments are implicated and no other department has the lead (i.e., Sisters in Spirit initiative).

In addressing women’s economic security and prosperity, the Department is collaborating on the following key initiatives:

• Gender-based analysis (GBA) in support of policy and program development
• Supports for young families
• Removal of barriers to women’s role in long-term economic prosperity
• Addressing the needs of various groups of women in society, including Aboriginal women, immigrant and visible minority women, and girls.

Funding Through the Women’s Program

With the creation of two new funding components: the Women’s Community Fund and the Women’s Partnership Fund under the Women’s Program in 2007, the Program is an instrument to support women directly in their respective communities. For 2008–09, attention will be focused to ensure that the Women’s Program is effective and efficient in meeting its objectives of promoting the “equality and the full participation of women in the economic, social, and democratic life of Canada.”

Funding Through the Sisters in Spirit Initiative

SWC will continue to work with the Native Women’s Association of Canada (NWAC) and to provide funding to address the underlying factors contributing to racialized, sexualized violence against Aboriginal women and their socio-economic, political, and legal status.

Accountability for Results

Achieving concrete results requires the ability to track, monitor and measure progress, based on goals and objectives of public policies and programs tied to measurable outcomes. Status of Women Canada will continue work underway with central agencies and key departments on

• integrating gender reporting into government accountability mechanisms, and
• creating a set of indicators on trends in the situation of women over time.

Strengthening the Corporate Structure

Fiscal year 2007–08 was a year of transition, change and rebuilding at Status of Women Canada. The organization will continue to focus on rebuilding, updating technology and systems, and ensuring Departmental accountabilities are in line with overall Government of Canada accountabilities. This includes responding to enhanced federal requirements regarding the administration of grants and contributions programs.

• Previous Page
• Table of Contents
• Next Page