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Corporate information

Raison d’être, mandate and role: who we are and what we do

Raison d’être

The Department for Women and Gender Equality works to advance gender equality through an intersectional gendered lens. Working in partnership with key stakeholders, including civil society organizations, labour groups, the private sector, other orders of government, and First Nations, Inuit and Metis Peoples, the Department actively promotes the inclusion of all people in Canada’s economic, social, and political life. The Department for Women and Gender Equality works to uphold its mandate to advance gender equality by performing a central coordination function within the Government of Canada by developing and implementing policies, providing grants and contributions, delivering programs, investing in research, and providing advice to achieve equality for people of all genders, including women. 

Mandate and role

The mandate of the Department is to advance equality with respect to sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity or expression through the inclusion of people of all genders, including women, in Canada’s economic, social, and political life. This application of a gender and diversity lens will help us to understand better the intersection of sex and gender with other identity factors. These factors include – but are not limited to – race, national and ethnic origin, Indigenous origin or identity, age, sexual orientation, socio-economic condition, place of residence and disability. 

WAGE works within the context of a number of federal and international instruments that support the principle of gender equality such as: the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the Canadian Human Rights Act, the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), and the United Nations 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.

WAGE’s responsibilities include the following:

Operating context

With the help of WAGE, Canada continues to make significant progress on gender equality. In spite of this, women still face challenges in achieving full equality in Canada. Women continue to be under-represented in politics and leadership roles and earn less – on average – than men. Women are also more likely to experience gender-based violence including sexual assaults and intimate-partner violence. Some groups of women, Indigenous women and girls in particular, are disproportionately affected by these types of violence.

Certain groups of women and gender minorities may be more vulnerable to these challenges, including LGBTQ2 people, Indigenous women and girls, young women, immigrant women, and racialized women. The #MeToo and #TimesUp movements, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action, and the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls’ Calls for Justice have drawn greater public attention to these challenges. Sustained and heightened attention to gender equality issues has resulted in higher demands on the organization to assist, and provide guidance and feedback to other departments on their priorities, as well as address new and emerging departmental priorities. 

In December 2018, new legislation created Women and Gender Equality Canada (WAGE), transforming the former Status of Women Canada into an official department of the Government of Canada. While WAGE continues to work towards more equitable economic, political and social outcomes for women and girls in Canada, its mandate establishes WAGE as a center of expertise that leads and mobilizes federal activities to advance equality with respect to sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, recognizing intersections between sex, gender and other identity factors.

In spite of this, important data gaps limit our understanding of existing gender inequalities and how they disproportionately impact vulnerable groups. The government of Canada has demonstrated its commitment to advancing gender equality through significant investments in key programs, policies and initiatives. WAGE is funding and sharing important research to fill knowledge gaps on issues relevant to gender equality, which in turn will help support policymakers and service providers at all levels use evidence to inform their decisions and practices.

In order to establish the corporate structure necessary to deliver on Government priorities and support a full department, WAGE’s internal environment must continue its rapid growth. WAGE has renewed its focus on building and strengthening its organizational structure and internal processes in order to effectively manage this growth. This includes strengthening the Human Resources function to accommodate the needs of growing teams and constant onboarding of new personnel, provide improved organizational and leadership structures for more effective work functions and people management, implementing successful workplace health and wellness initiatives, as well as proactive employee communication and engagement. These changes will create more effective business processes and enhance the planning function which will become integral to identifying and delivering on key priorities.

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