Question Period Note: Gender Equality in Leadership and Decision-Making Positions

What is the Government of Canada doing to support gender equality through access to leadership and decision-making positions?

• The Government of Canada continues to advance gender equality and diversity in all spheres of leadership and decision-making.
• Budget 2021 proposes to:
o Introduce amendments to the Public Service Employment Act to affirm the importance of a diverse and inclusive workforce and avoid biases and barriers in hiring; and
o Launch a public consultation on measures that would adapt and apply the Canada Business Corporations Act diversity requirements to federally regulated financial institutions.
• These build on existing efforts such as:
o Launching the 50-30 Challenge to promote diversity within Canadian corporations;
o Requiring federally incorporated organizations to disclose information on the diversity of their board of directors and senior management to shareholders; and
o Implementing an open, transparent, and merit-based selection process for Governor in Council appointments, which has resulted in significant gains for women, who now comprise over 50% of the Governor in Council population.

In 1990 and 1995 the United Nations Economic and Social Council passed a resolution calling on governments, political parties, trade unions, as well as professional and other representative groups to adopt a 30% minimum proportion of women in leadership positions, with a view to achieving equal representation. Canada has yet to achieve this goal in most forms of leadership, whether in elected office, or the private or public sectors.

On May 1, 2018, Bill C-25 received Royal Assent. This Bill amends the Canada Business Corporations Act to require corporations to disclose diversity information to their shareholders, including representation of women, Indigenous Peoples, visible minorities, and persons with disabilities on their boards of directors and senior management teams.
• Budget 2021 proposes a public consultation on measures that would apply these requirements to federally regulated financial institutions. The objective is to promote greater gender, racial, ethnic, and Indigenous diversity among senior ranks of the financial sector and ensure more Canadians have access to these opportunities.
• In addition, Budget 2021 proposes that Crown corporations will be required to implement gender and diversity reporting, starting in 2022.

In Canada’s business community, women, Indigenous people, racialized people, LGBTQ2 people, and people with disabilities are under-represented in positions of influence. The Government has proposed a number of investments to rectify this:
• Budget 2021 proposes to provide $60 million over three years, starting in 2021-22, to the Canada Media Fund to increase support for productions led by people from equity deserving groups working in the Canadian audiovisual industry.
• In the Fall Economic Statement, the Government proposed to provide $33M over three years, starting in 2021-22, to support the 50-30 Challenge (a call to action to businesses across Canada to increase diverse representation on corporate boards and in senior management).
• In the Fall Economic Statement, the Government committed $6.6M to support a task force on modernizing the Employment Equity Act. The task force will have a mandate to study, consult, and advise on how a renewed Act can help ensure Canada’s economic recovery is equitable, inclusive, and fair.

The current Governor in Council population is made up of over 50% women, 6% Indigenous Peoples, 4% persons with a disability, and over 10% persons who identify as a visible minority.

The Department for Women and Gender Equality (WAGE), through its Women’s Program, supports projects that address systemic barriers impeding women’s progress and advancement, including increasing women’s representation in leadership and decision-making roles.

Since 2015, Department for Women and Gender Equality has invested over $32 million through its Women’s Program in more than 65 projects to advance women’s representation in leadership and decision-making roles, including over $18 million to fund roughly 50 projects that engage some 150 women leaders from across the country working to advance gender equality locally and as part of a pan-Canadian network.

None