Status of Women Canada
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Status of Women Canada

www.swc-cfc.gc.ca

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Who We Are

The Honourable Dr. Kellie Leitch is the Minister for Status of Women.

The Parliamentary Secretary for Status of Women is Susan Truppe, M.P. (London North Centre (Ontario)).

Status of Women Canada is a federal government organization that promotes equality for women and their full participation in the economic, social and democratic life of Canada.

Status of Women Canada works to advance equality for women by focusing its efforts in three priority areas:

  • increasing women's economic security and prosperity;
  • encouraging women's leadership and democratic participation; and
  • ending violence against women.

Status of Women Canada is responsible for providing strategic policy advice and gender-based analysis support, administering the Women's Program, and promoting Commemorative Dates relating to women in Canada.

Please click on the following links for more information about:

Our History

Since 1971, there has been a Minister responsible for the Status of Women. The Office of the Coordinator, Status of Women, was initially established in the Privy Council Office in response to a recommendation contained in the report of the Royal Commission on the Status of Women in 1970.

The Office of the Coordinator, Status of Women, became a departmental agency of the federal government on April 1, 1976. The Coordinator is an Order-in-Council appointment and is the Head of Agency. The Agency is funded by an annual budget approved by Parliament.  You may wish to view the lists of:

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Our Mandate

The mandate of Status of Women Canada is "to coordinate policy with respect to the status of women and administer related programs" (1976).

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Our Vision

A Canada where equality is achieved between women and men in all aspects of life.

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Our Mission

To exercise leadership and work in partnership to advance equality and increase women’s participation.

To provide expert advice on how to take gender equality into account in developing the best policies and programs for all Canadians.

To support action and innovation that will lead to equality in communities across Canada.

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Women's Program

The Women's Program supports action and innovation by investing in initiatives that work to bring about equality between women and men. The Women's Program provides funding to Canadian organizations to support community-based action by carrying out projects that will lead to equality in communities across Canada. Funded projects occur at the national, regional, and local levels and work to help create conditions for success for women in Canada.

The purpose of the Women's Program is to advance equality for women in Canada by working to create conditions for success for women. The Women's Program supports the Government of Canada's goal of advancing gender equality in Canada. It is consistent with Government of Canada priorities related to economic prosperity, and supports Canada's international commitments related to gender equality. For more information about the Women's Program, please visit the Funding section.
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Strategic Policy

Status of Women Canada works to advance equality for women and girls. As part of its strategic policy role, the Agency advises other federal departments and agencies on long-standing and emerging issues, opportunities and best practices for achieving change where needed. Status of Women Canada's work is currently focused in three priority areas: women's economic security and prosperity, women in leadership and democratic participation, and ending violence against women.

The issues that affect women are as diverse as the circumstances in which they live and can seldom be viewed in isolation. For this reason, Status of Women Canada promotes an awareness of the combined impact, or intersectionality, of a variety of factors in women's lives such as age, place of residence, economic status, level of education, immigration status, and whether they are Aboriginal, among other factors.

To fulfill its strategic policy role, Status of Women Canada collaborates with federal, provincial, territorial and international organizations, and with the non-profit, voluntary, academic and private sectors. Partnerships foster information exchange and collaborative interventions in the pursuit of equality for women.

Status of Women Canada promotes the Government of Canada equality objectives for women in domestic as well as international fora, including the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women. Through our participation, reporting of progress to fulfill obligations, and provision of strategic input to international agreements, Status of Women Canada helps to advance Canada's international reputation and ability to protect women's human rights around the world.

By influencing the development of government policy, by analyzing its impacts on Canadians, and by providing expert advice and support to its many partners, Status of Women Canada is helping to advance the full participation of women.
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Gender-based Analysis

Gender-based Analysis (GBA) is an analytical tool used to examine a new or existing policy, program, or initiative for potential impacts on diverse groups of women and men, girls and boys. A key component of GBA is questioning and challenging our assumptions, with the goal of better understanding the complex realities experienced by diverse groups of Canadians.

In recent years, Status of Women Canada has adopted the term "GBA+," using the "plus" as a way to emphasize that GBA is a tool that also examines diverse factors beyond gender - such as age, education, language, geography, culture and income.

Through the systematic use of GBA+, officials across all sectors and functions and decision-makers at all levels are enabled to develop policies and programs that are more responsive to specific needs and circumstances, towards the overall goal of achieving better results for Canadians.

The Government of Canada is committed to strengthening the integration of GBA+, as a shared responsibility across all federal departments and agencies. Status of Women Canada plays a lead role in assisting organizations to implement the sustainable use of GBA+, through capacity building, support for the creation of GBA+ frameworks, and the development and dissemination of training, tools and other targeted resources.

Accountability for the sustainable use of GBA+ ultimately rests with individual federal organizations.

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Commemorative Dates

Status of Women Canada promotes commemorative dates aimed at raising Canadian's awareness of milestones in the history of women.

The theme for each commemorative date is posted on our Web site. The commemorative dates are: International Women's Day (March 8), Women's History Month (October), the International Day of the Girl (October 11), Persons Day (October 18) and the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women (December 6).

Status of Women Canada does not provide funding for organizations to hold events related to commemorative dates. However, if you feel your event or initiative meets the Women's Program Funding Guidelines, you may wish to contact our Women's Program directorate.

International Women's Day/Week

March 8 is International Women's Day. International Women's Week begins on the Sunday before March 8 and ends on the Saturday that follows. If March 8 is a Sunday, the week begins on March 8. If March 8 is a Saturday, the week ends on March 8. You will find more information in our International Women's Day section.

Women's History Month

Every October, Canada celebrates Women's History Month, with the highlight being Persons Day on October 18. The month of October was selected because of the historical significance of the "Persons Case" decision of 1929, which represents a landmark victory for Canadian women.  Please visit the Women's History Month section for more information.

International Day of the Girl

The United Nations has declared October 11, as the International Day of the Girl Child.

Canada has led the international community in adopting this day, along with the support of Plan Canada. This day will make a difference in the lives of girls and young women as citizens and as powerful voices of change in their families, their communities and their nations. For more information, please visit the section on the International Day of the Girl.

Persons Case

The "Persons Case" honours the five Alberta women whose determination led to a landmark victory in the struggle of Canadian women for equality. The Famous Five achieved not only the right for women to serve in the Senate, but they and their many contributions paved the way for women to participate in other aspects of public life.  Status of Women Canada is responsible for annually administering the Governor General's Awards in Commemoration of the Persons Case, in which five individuals and one youth are recognized for their contributions to the goal of equality for women. The ceremony is held in October on or around Persons Day (October 18).  For more information about Persons Day, the Awards or how to nominate someone, please visit the Governor General's Awards in Commemoration of the Persons Case section.

National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women

December 6, or the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women in Canada. Established in 1991 by the Parliament of Canada, this day marks the anniversary of the murders in 1989 of 14 young women at l'École Polytechnique de Montréal. They died because they were women. For more information, please visit the section on the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women in Canada.



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Date Modified:
2013-07-30