coll. - Gender Equality in Canada - Mainstreaming, Governance and Budgeting

There is growing awareness in the global community that gender equality is a cornerstone of inclusive growth. Canada scores well on several metrics of gender equality. Over the past three years, the Canadian government has invested in strengthening the federal governance framework for gender equality by developing institutions, policies, tools and accountability structures to promote gender equality and gender mainstreaming. Canada is now one the few OECD countries where gender analysis is mainstreamed within routine Cabinet policy processes, in accordance with the 2015 OECD Recommendation on Gender Equality in Public Life (2015 Recommendation) and the 2013 OECD Recommendation of the Council on Gender Equality in Education, Employment and Entrepreneurship .

This OECD Review assesses the policy and institutional framework for delivering gender equality results for Canadians from a whole-of-government perspective, including the systems in place for mainstreaming gender considerations into the policy and decision-making cycles and the budget. It considers the scope for further action with reference to the 2015 Recommendation, and proposes a number of measures to expand gender mainstreaming, strengthen the governance framework for gender equality and advance gender budgeting in Canada. It is designed to assist the Government of Canada in charting a course for achieving better outcomes in gender equality.

The OECDs strong focus on gender equality, in collaboration with other international organisations, has been crucial for raising the profile of the gender agenda internationally. The 2015 Recommendation proposes concrete measures that countries can implement to advance mainstreaming and implementation of gender equality. In this context, the OECD's work on gender budgeting provides insights into how this tool can be best implemented to help deliver gender equality results.