Question Period Note: Engaging Canadians to Address Harmful Gender Norms

What is the Government doing to engage Canadians to address harmful gender norms?

*Challenging and changing harmful gender norms and attitudes is essential for achieving equality for people of all genders.

*Young people have a role to play in changing these harmful gender norms. That is why the Government is investing $7.2 million over five years to engage young Canadians in dialogue on gender equality. We are currently collaborating with youth from diverse backgrounds and life experiences to spearhead this dialogue.

*The Government of Canada has also been engaging men and boys as allies and advocates in the women’s and gender equality-seeking movements. Four new projects totaling $562,000 have been announced to help in addressing key gaps identified during that engagement.
o For example, Next Gen Men, with the University of Calgary, will receive funding to build networks and spaces for pro-feminist male leaders to engage among themselves and with women’s organizations on gender equality-related issues.

Everyone has a role to play in addressing the attitudes and behaviours that perpetuate exclusion, inequity and violence.

WAGE has identified increasing awareness and visibility of gender inequality, challenging harmful gender norms, and sustaining progress on gender equality and gender diversity as broad areas for action where it can advance gender equality in Canada. Under this area, two specific initiatives have begun:

National Conversations on Gender Equality with Young Canadians

With this initiative, WAGE is expanding dialogue in support of social change towards more inclusive, equitable ideas, attitudes, and behaviours by engaging diverse groups of youth through two streams:
o a national youth stream to co-create conversations with diverse groups of youth across Canada; and
o an Indigenous-led stream, co-created between Indigenous youth and Indigenous organizations.

The Youth Working Group on Gender Equality was launched in May 2019, with the objective of co-developing a youth engagement strategy. Five Indigenous organizations have also received funding over four years to work with young Indigenous people across Canada and engage them on gender equality.

Developing a Strategy to Engage Men and Boys in Gender Equality

Budget 2018 invested $1.8M over two years to develop an engagement strategy for men and boys that pilots innovative, targeted approaches to addressing inequality.
o To inform a future strategy, 11 roundtables were hosted across the country, including regional and thematic tables (Indigenous people, LGBTQ2 people, racialized communities, youth, and corporate). Additional engagement included religious leaders.
o Some key issues that emerged include recognizing that men and boys are not a homogenous group, and that efforts to engage men and boys must be accountable to the efforts of the women’s and LGBTQ2 movements.

In Summer 2019, a What We Heard Report was released and four new projects, totaling $562,000, were announced to address key gaps identified throughout the the 2018 roundtable discussions.
o In addition to Next Gen Men/ University of Calgary’s project: the Alberta Council of Women’s Shelters will receive funding to promote sports figures as role models to increase awareness of gender-based violence and healthy masculinity; Catalyst Canada will work to support men as disrupters of sexism in the workplace; and, FOXY will engage Indigenous youth, particularly young men and boys, on gender equality in the North.

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