An audit by the Office of the Auditor General (OAG) of Gender-Based Analysis Plus (GBA) has led to recommendations from IRCC. An audit examines whether government agencies use GBA when implementing policies and initiatives. Furthermore, the audit was conducted this year to determine what steps had been taken since the 2015 audit.
Government officials are unable to determine whether Gender-Based Analysis Plus is increasing gender equality outcomes for certain categories of individuals, according to the report.
Gender-Based Analysis – What is It?
Women and girls were faced with disparities in government initiatives, programs, and activities when the gender-based analysis was introduced in 1995. The GBA was later renamed GBA Plus in order to take into account additional characteristics of identity. For example age, sexual orientation, disability, and geography may overlap with each other.
This information gap is caused primarily by a lack of disaggregated data. A lack of government regulation in programs that could benefit from gender-based analysis. In most departments, GBA Plus policies and programs are applied uniformly, without considering additional intersecting elements or monitoring results. This indicates a one-size-fits-all approach.
According to WAGE (Women and Gender Equality Canada), the intersectional element of GBA plus analysis is not well-understood. Apparently, gender and sex were used as the sole identifying characteristics in some departmental results discussing GBA Plus’s effects. Some methods, however, disaggregated data without addressing sex or gender via distinct diversity variables.
The government’s policies and initiatives may be less inclusive. If it does not have accurate statistics to determine whether GBA Plus is functioning as intended.
Other effects
According to the audit, GBA policy implementation has been problematic. It is because of a lack of senior management oversight and challenges with meeting deadlines. A further problem is that government departments don’t appear to have the resources to educate the public about GBA Plus.
As departments and agencies implement GBA Plus, the OAG requested that WAGE provide them with more training, useful resources, and guidance. For this purpose, WAGE informed the OAG. It has conducted over 30 training sessions for departments, agencies, and interdepartmental committees since 2016. Moreover, they created more than 15 tutorials and tools, including:
- To help departments and agencies incorporate GBA plus into their pandemic response plan in 2020. With the help of the Canadian School of Public Service, the department was able to accomplish its goals.
- The department created more identity factor instructions in 2021. It includes a step-by-step manual for executing GBA plus.
Report recommendation from the IRCC
IRCC is developing internal recommendations for integrating GBA Plus better into its day-to-day operations in response to the OAG report.
It is first recommended that IRCC reestablish the GBA Plus working group to assemble, utilize, and integrate disaggregated data and establish an equality policy community of practice. As part of this update, GBA’s 2011 policy will be revised to emphasize intersectionality, anti-racism, and digital change.
In order to better close gaps in ethnocultural diversity and intersecting characteristics, such as gender, the Chief Data Officer Branch is currently working on disaggregated data architectures. With this new map, IRCC is able to better assess the effects of GBA Plus on ongoing and new programs and activities.
GBA Plus implementation should be monitored and reported on publicly by government agencies, says the OAG.
According to the Immigration, Refugees Protection Act (IRPA), the federal law governing immigration in Canada. These reports are already being produced in accordance with the rules of the TBS.
Additionally, the report suggests that the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (TBS) provide departments with clear guidance on GBA Plus reporting so they can establish more quantifiable goals. In this way, we will make sure that the GBA Plus analysis is accurate. Also, create the foundation for a successful future implementation.
About OAG
OAG is responsible for providing parliament with unbiased information on government initiatives and programs. So that their effectiveness can be assessed. By having this information, we can hold the government accountable and confirm that program goals and objectives are being achieved.
A close collaboration between the OAG, the TBS, and the Privy Council Office enabled it to assess how the 2015 audit performed in terms of gender equality. A key responsibility of the TBS is to ensure that government agencies adhere to ethical and accountable standards.
