The document provides an overview of Canada's approach to Gender Responsive Budgeting (GRB), including how Canada has implemented GRB over 25 years through its Gender-Based Analysis Plus (GBA Plus) framework. It discusses how GBA Plus is applied across the Canadian government in areas like the federal budget, regulations, and programs. The document also outlines lessons learned and best practices for conducting comprehensive GBA Plus assessments.

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An Overview of Canada’s Approach
Canada – Indonesia Sharing Knowledge on Gender Responsive Budgeting
Wednesday, September 28, 2022

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Presentation Outline
Canada’s Approach to GBA Plus
The Evolution and Process of Continuous Improvement
Lessons Learned from 25+ Years
Key Steps in Undertaking GBA Plus
Additional Resources

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Canadian Context
Serving Canadians in
all their diversity!
19%
Canadians are
65 years of
age and over
8M
Have a mother
tongue other
than English or
French
5%
Indigenous
100,815
or 0.33%
Transgender
or non-binary
22%
Live with a
disability
National
average of
couples living
in common
law is 23%
while that
number is
43% in
Quebec
13%
Live in rural
communities
50.4%
Female

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Context: Government of Canada’s interest in
GBA Plus
• The Government of Canada plays an important role in the well-being of the population through the supports and services it provides
• Programs and services may have differential impacts on various groups of people. Not everyone benefits equally
• Evidence suggests that the cumulation of barriers to programs and services and/or negative impacts of programs/service on certain groups of people
can have detrimental effects on social and economic well-being
• Ensuring equitable benefits requires deliberate action
• The Government of Canada has been using GBA Plus as the foundation for this deliberate action since 1995
COVID-19 required a quick response and highlighted the importance of:
• Identifying and considering the needs of those most marginalized and disadvantaged as a critical dimension of analysis
• Understanding the intersectional nature of inequalities as well as the power dynamics that contribute to exclusion and create barriers for certain
individuals and groups
• Engagement between policy practitioners and with the people most impacted by the issues
• When teams are diverse and inclusive, GBA Plus is more intuitive contributing to initiatives that reflect a range of insights and viewpoints

5. Background
5

6. Factors to Consider in Doing GBA Plus
Institutions, privilege, attitudes,
norms, and beliefs
Social context
Racism, sexism, ableism, ageism, classism, religious
oppression, biphobia, transphobia, homophobia,
heterosexism, and distribution of resources and power
Systems of
oppression
Family, community, peer
groups, and social networks
Group
membership
Race, ethnicity, religion, age, disability,
gender, geography, language, income,
sexual orientation, education, and sex
Individual
Systems and structures are where inequalities are produced and entrenched. We need to
consider the context in which people live…

7. The Evolution of GBA Plus Within the Government of Canada
1995 2007 2011 2015 2016 2018 2019 2021–22
Government
Commitment to
GBA
Following the United
Nations’ Fourth
World Conference
on Women in
Beijing, China, and
with the
endorsement of the
Beijing Declaration
and Platform for
Action, the
Government of
Canada committed
to conducting
GBA on all policies
and programs.
GBA Mandatory in
Submissions to TBS
The 2007 revised
Guide to Preparing
Treasury Board (TB)
Submissions made it
mandatory for GBA
information to be
included in any TB
submission.
Rebranding to GBA
Plus
In 2011, the
Government of
Canada rebranded
GBA to GBA Plus.
The “Plus” was
added to encourage
consideration of the
multiple factors that
shape experiences
and outcomes,
beyond sex and
gender. With this
rebranding, the GBA
Plus wheel was
introduced.
Auditor General
Audit of GBA Plus
This report
recommended
that Status of
Women Canada, the
Privy Council Office,
and the Treasury
Board Secretariat
work with all federal
organizations to
identify the barriers
to GBA Plus
implementation and
to periodically assess
and report on
progress.
GBA Plus Action
Plan
The 2016–20 GBA
Plus Action Plan
included a
requirement for GBA
Plus in Memoranda
to Cabinet and a
commitment to
embedding it into
policy processes.
GBA Plus being
mandatory in TB
submissions was
reaffirmed.
Governance to
support GBA Plus
was implemented.
Training was
expanded with CSPS.
Budget 2018
The Canadian
Gender Budgeting
Act passed. GBA Plus
is legislated for all
new annual budget
measures, for tax
expenditures, and
for existing
expenditures.
Mainstreaming GBA
Plus
GBA Plus
commitments are
included in all
ministerial mandate
letters.
The Impact
Assessment Act
came into force. GBA
Plus is legislated for
all major initiatives
as part of impact
assessments.
Strengthening GBA
Plus
Commitments are
made in ministerial
mandate letters to
strengthen the
application of GBA
Plus and to develop
a process to
evaluate its impacts.
Budget 2021 makes
investments to
strengthen
disaggregated data
in order to inform
GBA Plus.
Amendments are
made to the transfer
payment policy to
include GBA Plus
requirements in
G&Cs programs.
WAGE, central
agencies, and
partner departments
release new
guidance and
methodology for
GBA Plus.

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Where are we now?
GBA Plus is applied to all government business
Treasury Board
Submissions
Memoranda to
Cabinet
Treasury Board
Policy on
Results
Regulations Budgeting
GBA Plus is
mandatory and
mainstreamed in
the TB
Submission
template.
GBA Plus is
required in
Results annexes
of all
submissions.
GBA Plus is
required in
all
Memoranda
to Cabinet
Mandatory in all
Dpt Results
Frameworks,
Program
Inventories,
Performance
Information
Profiles.
Standard on
Evaluation includes
a reference to
Gender-based
Analysis Plus
In accordance with
section 5.2.3 of the
Cabinet Directive
on Regulations,
regulators must
assess whether
there are GBA Plus
considerations for
the regulatory
proposal
Canadian Gender
Budgeting Act
requires GBA Plus
as part of the
federal
government’s
budgetary and
expenditure
management
processes.
Environmental
Impact
Assessment
GBA Plus is
required for all
major initiatives as
part of the Impact
Assessment Act
TBS Policy on
Transfer
Payments
In April 2022, the
Government of
Canada made
amendments to its
policy on transfer
payments that
includes GBA Plus
requirements in the
design and
implementation of
G&C programs

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How does GBA Plus apply to the Canadian
federal budget?
• The Canadian Gender Budgeting Act, passed in December 2018, enshrines the government’s
commitment to decision-making that takes into account the impacts of policies on all types of
Canadians
• GBA Plus powers gender budgeting by assessing gender and diversity impacts of individual
measures and at the aggregate level and ensuring initiatives are tailored to diverse needs and
designed to mitigate barriers to accessing initiatives
• The Act legislates making information available to the public on the gender and diversity
impacts of all new budget measures
• Canada’s approach to gender budgeting means:
• Gender and diversity impacts inform individual budget decisions
• The budget plan is assessed from a GBA Plus perspective
• Gender equality outcomes inform budget priority setting

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Canada’s GBA Plus Ecosystem
Partnership across federal organizations, other levels of government,
international organizations
Central Agencies
• Finance Canada, Privy Council Office, Treasury Board of
Canada Secretariat
Federal Departments and Agencies
• Support and enable through GBA Plus Focal
Points/Advisors and expertise
GBA Plus Capacity Partners
• Canada School of Public Service, Statistics Canada
External Stakeholders & Partners
• Provinces, academics, NGOs, international bodies
Women and Gender
Equality Canada (WAGE)

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WAGE’s Role in Supporting GBA Plus
To be sustainable, GBA Plus needs to be decentralized, meaning that all federal organizations have a role to play in applying GBA Plus.
WAGE provides leadership and works to build capacity across the government, as well as monitors progress, identifies gaps, and helps to
remove barriers.
Tools and resources
Developing and disseminating GBA Plus
resources and tools
• GBA Plus Standing Offer enabling all
federal departments to access pre-
qualified external consultants
• Micro learning videos
• Evidence syntheses, workaids,
tailored guidance
Technical Advice
• Establishing methodology and metrics
for GBA Plus
• Reviewing and provide guidance on
government proposals and initiatives
• Collaborating with Central Agencies,
statistical bodies, and line
departments to ensure quality and
rigour of GBA Plus
Promotion & Awareness
• Hosting and participating in a wide
range of events
• Facilitating knowledge exchange,
learning (e.g. GCpedia, Bootcamp)
• GBA Plus Awareness Week
• Engaging across sectors and brokering
collaborative relationships
Supporting Capacity
• Building a pipeline of skilled GBA Plus
practitioners
• Co-developing continuum of training
• E-basics: Introductory
• Intermediate training with self-
paced modules and group-based
learning
• GBA Plus Premium: Advanced
• Maintaining governance structures and
collaboration mechanisms (e.g.,
Champions, Focal Points)
Since December 2018, WAGE has the legislated duty to promote “a greater understanding of the intersection of sex and gender with other identity factors that
include race, national and ethnic origin, Indigenous origin or identity, age, sexual orientation, socio-economic condition, place of residence and disability”.

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Lessons learned: Success factors
Lessons from 25 years of progressive GBA Plus implementation underscore
the need for:
• A common and clear vision and approach for how and why the analysis is done
• Commitment and mandates to apply the analysis (e.g., Legislation, Ministerial Mandate Letters)
• Intersectoral support for the application of the analysis
• A focal point for leadership within the federal government to build capacity and monitor
application
• Effective governance mechanisms to align action, and support capacity and application within
departments and agencies
• Decentralized and adequately resourced capacity facilitated by a set of responsive, coherent and
flexible tools to anticipate, assess and address disproportionate impacts

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How to do GBA Plus
5 phase approach
• What is the problem I am trying to
solve with the initiative being
developed?
• Who has identified this as a
problem?
• How will I ensure that diverse
perspectives are represented as I
define the issue? Whom might I
consult or engage to further
define the issue?
• Are the approaches and processes
I’m putting in place to obtain
those perspectives accessible to
all of those I may need to hear
from?
• Are there other ways the issue
might be understood or
experienced?
• Are there any gaps in data in
identifying the issue?
• Is it possible that my assumptions
about this issue prevent me from
asking questions and identifying
diverse experiences and
perspectives?
• Who is impacted by the issue I am trying to
address through this initiative and how are
they impacted?
• How does age, culture, disability, education,
ethnicity, geography, gender, economic
status, language, race, religion, sex, and
sexual orientation shape who is impacted by
this issue? How do these factors change the
nature and extent of the impacts?
• How have the needs of individuals been
shaped by their histories, their experience
with institutions and/or by discourses?
• How does the initiative need to be tailored to
address the different experiences of certain
groups?
• How might I engage those who are affected
by this issue in my analysis and in the
development, implementation and
monitoring of the initiative including those
who are not traditionally represented?
• What networks and relationships can be
respectfully approached to gather the
knowledge and perspectives of those with
lived-experience?
• Am I engaging them in ways that are
appropriate for their cultural context,
language, disability, age?
• Are there any gaps in data in identifying
people’s experiences?
• How might my assumptions prevent me from
asking questions and hearing answers?
• What are the expressed needs and priorities of
those impacted by the issue I am trying to address?
• What initiatives would address the needs of
specific groups impacted by this issue, particularly
those most marginalized or negatively impacted?
• What aspects of the initiative(s) can I tailor to
reflect the needs of different groups of people?
• Do the options identified perpetuate existing
inequalities? Do they create new ones?
• Do the options address inequalities related to this
issue?
• Have the options been developed based on certain
assumptions? Have these assumptions been
explicitly stated? Are assumptions the product of
overgeneralizations or influenced by harmful
norms and/or stereotypes, including systemic
discrimination?
• Have options been proposed and/or endorsed by
or among stakeholder groups?
• Could specific groups of people be negatively
impacted by the options identified? If so, how do
the options need to be revised to mitigate these
impacts?
• Might certain groups of people experience barriers
to accessing this initiative? If so, how do the
options need to be revised to mitigate these
barriers?
• Are there any gaps in data to help in developing
options?
• Is the initiative being accessed as
expected by the various target
population groups and sub-groups?
• How might different factors impact
people’s access to, experience of,
and outcomes of this initiative?
• Did the implementation of the policy,
initiative, program or service have
unintended outcomes for particular
populations or sub-populations?
• Does the policy, initiative, program
or service create or perpetuate
barriers for certain target population
groups?
• Should other target population
groups be considered for this
initiative?
• Does the initiative need to be
adapted to reduce barriers and/or to
better serve those impacted by the
issue it is addressing?
• Are there any gaps in data about the
impacts of the policy, program or
service? How can the administration
of the initiative and the monitoring
and evaluation strategy fill those
gaps?
DATA
IDENTIFY THE ISSUE
IDENTIFY PEOPLE AND
THEIR NEEDS
IDENTIFY DIFFERENCES AND
INEQUALITIES
DEVELOP OPTIONS
IMPLEMENTATION, MONITORING
AND EVALUATION
• What inequalities exist with respect
to the issue and who experiences it?
• How have these inequalities been
created and how are they
sustained?
• Whose voices have been heard to
validate my assumptions on
different experiences related to this
issue?
• Is there any evidence of explicit or
implicit discrimination against
particular groups of people in any
legislation, program, service, or
policy related to this issue?
• Are there any gaps in data in
identifying differences and
inequalities?

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How to identify a “good” GBA Plus
The impacts of the issue being addressed have been clearly identified for a variety of groups, from
an intersectional perspective
The impacts of the issue are substantiated with quantitative and/or qualitative data
The options/approach identified for the initiative respond to the diverse needs of the impacted groups
Potential barriers to accessing the initiative have been identified for certain groups of people and
attempts to mitigate these have been made
There is a clear plan to collect disaggregated data that would allow for monitoring of impacts and
uptake, as well as adjustments to the initiative if need be

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Have questions? Looking for more resources?
Additional tools and resources on GBA Plus are available on WAGE's website.
Addition resources on gender budgeting include:
- Overview of gender budgeting (see Tab 4 of Ministerial Transition binder)
- Gender Results Framework
- Budget 2021 (see Annex 4/5)
- GBA Plus template for budget proposals
- The Canadian Gender Budgeting Act
Take the GBA Plus Course!
Check out the OECD Toolkit for Mainstreaming

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Appendix

17. How Do We Do GBA Plus? A Step-by-Step Process
17
1 2 3
IDENTIFY THE ISSUE
IDENTIFY PEOPLE
AND THEIR NEEDS
IDENTIFY
DIFFERENCES AND
INEQUALITIES
DEVELOP OPTIONS
IMPLEMENTATION,
MONITORING, AND
EVALUATION

18. Identify the Issue
Key Questions:
 What is the problem I am trying to solve with the initiative being developed?
 Who has identified this as a problem?
 Who will I consult or engage to further define the issue?
 How will I ensure that diverse perspectives are represented as I define the issue? Are the approaches and
processes I’m putting in place to obtain those perspectives accessible to all those I may need to hear from?
 Are there other ways the issue might be understood or experienced?
 What is the end goal that is hoped for through the initiative? Does the goal include addressing inequalities or
transforming the institutions that perpetuate inequalities more broadly?
 Is it possible that my assumptions about this issue prevent me from asking questions and identifying diverse
experiences and perspectives?
 Are there any gaps in data when identifying the issue from a GBA Plus perspective?
The first step in doing GBA Plus is to identify the topic or issue that the initiative is
designed to address. Having a clear understanding of the issue will determine how the
remainder of the GBA Plus is conducted.
1

19. Identify People and Their Needs
2
2 3
Key Questions:
 Who is impacted by the issue I am trying to address through this initiative, and how are they impacted?
 How do age, culture, disability, education, ethnicity, geography, gender, economic status, language, race, religion, sex, and
sexual orientation shape who is impacted by this issue? How do these factors change the nature and extent of the impacts?
 How have the needs of individuals been shaped by their histories, their experience with institutions, and/or discourses?
 How does the initiative need to be tailored to address the different experiences of certain groups?
 How will I engage those who are impacted by this issue in my analysis, and in the development, implementation, and
monitoring of the initiative?
 What networks and relationships can be respectfully approached to gather the knowledge and perspectives of those with
lived experience?
 How can I ensure broad participation, particularly among people who are not traditionally represented?
 Am I engaging those with lived experience in ways that are appropriate for their cultural context, language, disability, and
age?
 How might my assumptions prevent me from asking questions and hearing answers?
 Are there any gaps in data when identifying people’s needs from a GBA Plus perspective?
The second step in GBA Plus is to identify who is impacted by the issue and how.

20. Key Questions:
• What inequalities exist with respect to the issue and who experiences it?
• How have these inequalities been created, and how are they sustained?
• Whose voices have been heard to validate my assumptions on different experiences related to this issue?
• Who has access to and control over resources, services, and decision-making with respect to this issue?
• How are values related to this issue defined? Who defines them? Who makes the rules and decisions?
• Is there any evidence of explicit or implicit discrimination against particular groups of people in any legislation, program,
service, or policy related to this issue?
• Is it possible that my assumptions prevent me from asking questions and hearing answers?
• Are there any gaps in data when identifying differences and inequalities from a GBA Plus perspective?
3
Identify Differences and Inequalities
In step three, this analysis progresses to understanding how experiences and outcomes
differ between and within groups of people, and why. Understanding these differences
will assist with identifying options for the initiative that are tailored to address diverse
experiences and needs.

21. Develop Options
4
5
Key Questions:
 What are the expressed needs and priorities of those impacted by the issue I am trying to address?
 What initiatives would address the needs of specific groups impacted by this issue, particularly those most marginalized or
negatively impacted?
 What aspects of the initiative(s) can I tailor to reflect the needs of different groups of people?
 Do the options identified perpetuate existing inequalities? Do they create new ones?
 Do the options address inequalities related to this issue?
 Have the options been developed based on certain assumptions? Have these assumptions been explicitly stated? Are
assumptions the product of overgeneralizations or influenced by harmful norms and/or stereotypes, including systemic
discrimination?
 Have options been proposed and/or endorsed by or among stakeholder groups?
 Could specific groups of people be negatively impacted by the options identified? If so, how do the options need to be
revised to mitigate these impacts?
 Might certain groups of people experience barriers to accessing this initiative? If so, how do the options need to be revised to
mitigate these barriers?
 Is it possible that my assumptions prevent me from asking questions and hearing answers?
 Are there any gaps in data when developing options from a GBA Plus perspective?
In developing options, it is important to examine all of the inequities that have been
uncovered by the analysis and the sources of those inequities. Ultimately, options should be
tailored to specific groups, where warranted, in order to address existing inequalities, reflect
the different needs of specific groups of people, and minimize barriers to certain groups
accessing the initiative.

22. Implement, Monitor, and Evaluate
5
Key Questions:
 Is the initiative being accessed as expected by the various target population groups and sub-groups?
 How might different factors impact people’s access to, experience of, and outcomes of this initiative?
 Does information about the policy, initiative, program, or service equally respond to the needs of the various target
population and sub-population groups?
 Did the implementation of the policy, initiative, program, or service have unintended outcomes for particular populations
or sub-populations?
 Does the policy, initiative, program, or service create or perpetuate barriers for certain target population groups?
 Should other target population groups be considered for this initiative?
 Does the initiative need to be adapted to reduce barriers and/or to better serve those impacted by the issue it is
addressing?
 Are there any gaps in data about the impacts of the policy, program, or service from a GBA Plus perspective? How can the
monitoring and evaluation strategy fill those gaps?
Implementation and monitoring involve the regular collection of data and information in
order to assess progress towards the intended results of the initiative. During this stage, GBA
Plus involves analyzing if an adopted policy, program, or initiative is being implemented in a
way that is consistent with the intersectional nature of the issue being addressed. It also
tracks how different groups access and experience the policy, program, or initiative in order to
make continuous improvements.