Gender-based analysis plus

Introduction

In 2018, Parliament passed the Canadian Gender Budgeting Act . The departmental plans and departmental results reports are being used to fulfill the President of the Treasury Board’s obligations to make public, every year, analysis on the impacts of expenditure programs on gender and diversity.

Each organization is responsible for conducting their own Gender-based Analysis Plus (GBA Plus)

The Policy on Results indicates that Program officials, as designated by Deputy Heads, are responsible for ensuring data collection for meeting policy requirements.

Definition of gender-based analysis plus (GBA plus)

A process used to identify the impacts of policies, programs and services on different groups of:

• women
• men
• gender-diverse people

The "plus" considers many factors, such as race, ethnicity, religion, age, and mental or physical disability. The analysis is used to support the development of responsive and inclusive policies, programs, and other initiatives. It is useful in understanding who is impacted by the issue or opportunity being addressed by the initiative; identifying how the initiative could be tailored to meet diverse needs of the people most impacted; and anticipating and mitigating any barriers to accessing or benefitting from the initiative.

Human resources (full-time equivalents) dedicated to GBA Plus

Accessibility Standards Canada did not have any full-time equivalents (FTEs) dedicated to working on GBA Plus during the 2023 to 2024 fiscal year. However, the organization applies the GBA plus principles in its programming and engagement of technical committee members.

Section 1: institutional GBA Plus Governance and Capacity

Governance

The organization was established in July 2019. It is a small departmental organization. It had 58 full-time equivalents (employees) in 2023 to 2024. The organization did not assign employees to GBA plus specifically. Instead, it was a shared responsibility to take GBA plus into consideration during staff recruitment.

Our work is guided by the principles and requirements of the Accessible Canada Act. The Act is expected to increase the inclusion and participation of all Canadians.

During the 2023 to 2024 fiscal year, a 9-member Board of Directors (Board) oversaw Accessibility Standards Canada. The Accessible Canada Act requires the government to consider diversity when appointing Directors. This includes having Directors:

• who are people with disabilities
• that reflect the diversity of Canadian society and
• that reflect the diversity of disabilities faced by Canadians

The majority of Directors are people with disabilities. They represent a variety of disabilities. There is gender equality on the Board. The Board is responsible for setting the organization’s strategic direction. It helps to ensure that GBA plus is included in departmental decision-making. Over 25% of our staff and over 50% of our Board Members live with a disability.

Capacity

The organization considers diversity at all levels and in all its programming. The standards development process encourages representation of a diverse group of people on its technical committees and the public review of the standards developed by the organization. The grants and contributions program encourages all funding recipients to consider intersectionality of the people involved in their project, to ensure that the needs of a diverse section of population and inclusiveness are taken into account in their research project. To date, 100% of funded projects involved people with disabilities. In 2023 to 2024, efforts were made to encourage funded recipients who didn’t have this reporting requirement as part of their funding agreement to start collecting and reporting on this data. Recent funding recipients have also been encouraged to be more consistent in collecting GBA Plus information and report on it.

Technical Committee Representation

The goal of the Standards Development Program is to create accessibility standards for federal organizations and federally regulated entities. The Program creates standards through consensus among technical committees made of individuals with diverse lived experience and backgrounds. Based on our Standards Development Operational Requirements, all standards being developed (solely) by Accessibility Standards Canada must have technical committees with a minimum of 30% members with disabilities. At present, 50% of technical committee members are persons with disabilities. In June 2023, the Standards Development Operational Requirements were updated to require 30% technical committee members from other equity-deserving groups: women, visible minorities, 2SLGBTQI+, and Indigenous Peoples. Technical committees that were established after June 2023 meet this requirement. Gong forward, members will be able to self-identify as belonging to one or more of the equity-deserving groups, which will allow Accessibility Standards Canada to report on the data. People with disabilities are diverse. Their disabilities can, however, be further amplified, especially in situations where biases occur because of other aspects of their identity, for example, in cases of visible minorities, Indigenous people, members of the 2SLGBTQI+ community, etc. That is why we encourage diversity within our technical committees. The work of the technical committees must reflect the needs of all Canadians living with disabilities. Each technical committee must include a balanced mix of members who represent certain groups of stakeholders. There are 3 mandatory categories:

• Lived experience: At least 30% of a committee’s members must be experts with lived experience.
• Other equity-deserving groups: At least 30% of a committee’s members must be experts from one or more of the following groups:
  • Women;
  • Visible minorities;
  • 2SLGBTQI+; and
  • Indigenous Peoples.

A Canadian perspective: Each committee must have members who are Canadian citizens or employees of an organization with Canadian interests. This is to ensure they can represent Canadian viewpoints.

On average, 50% of technical committee members are people with disabilities and 57% are women. Technical committees also include seniors, youth, visible minorities, and 2SLGBTQI+ individuals (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, 2-spirited, intersex, asexual, plus others). Please note that Accessibility Standards Canada has not captured sexuality and age data for co-branded CSA/ASC standards.

Table 1: Technical Committee Representation

Technical Committee	Persons with Disabilities (%)	Women (%)	Seniors	Visible Minorities		Indigenous Peoples		LGBTQ2IA+	Youth
Standards Being Developed by Accessibility Standards Canada
1.1 Employment	56	56	Yes	Yes	No		Yes		No
2.1 Outdoor Spaces	50	61	Unknown	Yes	No		Unknown		No
2.2 Emergency Egress	63	56	Yes	Yes	Yes		Yes		No
2.3 Model Standard for the Built Environment	50	50	Yes	Yes	No		Unknown		No
2.4 Wayfinding and Signage	56	50	Yes	Yes	No		Yes		No
2.6 Existing Built Environment	To be determined
2.7 Heritage Buildings and Sites	To be determined
2.8 Accessible Ready Housing	To be determined
3.1 Plain Language	35	76	No	Yes	No		Yes		Yes
3.2 Equitable Communication	To be determined
4.1 Accessible Procurement Process	To be determined
5.1 Emergency Measures	78	36	Yes	Yes	No		Yes		Yes
5.2 Design and Delivery of Accessible Programs and Services	72	66	Unknown	Yes	Yes		Yes		Unknown
5.3 Accessible Tourism	To be determined
6.1 Information Communication Technology	73	32	Yes	Yes	Yes		Yes		Yes
6.2 Accessible and Equitable Artificial Intelligence Systems	42	63	Unknown	Yes	Yes		Yes		No
7.1 Accessible Travel Journey	54	50	Yes	Yes	No		Yes		No
Jointly Developed Standards
CSA/ASC B651 Accessible Design for the Built Environment	28	63	Yes	Yes	Unknown		Unknown		Unknown
CSA/ASC B652 Accessible Dwellings	29	50	Yes	Yes	Unknown		Unknown		No
CSA/ASC B651.2 Accessible Design for Self-Service Interactive Devices Including Automated Banking Machines	35	43	Yes	Yes	Unknown		Unknown		Unknown
ASC 2.5/ICC A118 Acoustics in the Built Environment	To be determined
Average level of representation	50	57
Representation (yes, no)			Yes	Yes	Yes		Yes		Yes

Section 2: Gender and Diversity Impacts, by Program

Core responsibility: Accessibility Standards

Program 1 name: Standards Development

Program goals: Developing Accessibility Standards

Target population: People with disabilities

Table 2. Distribution of Benefits

Distribution	Group
By gender	Broadly gender-balanced
By income level	Benefits all income levels but the highest impact is on the low‑income individuals
By age group	Benefits all generations irrespective of age

Table 3. Key Program Impact on Gender and Diversity

Target Group	Observed Results	Data Source	Comment
People with disabilities	100% of funded projects in the Grants and Contributions program involve people who self-identify as people with disabilities	Program Data	The program has a requirement that all research projects involve people with disabilities in all levels of the project, whether it’s project staff or research participants. This means that the participation of people with disabilities on matters that involve them strengthens our implementation of the Nothing without us principle.
People with disabilities	50 % of technical committee members are persons with disabilities.	Program Data	The organization had 11 technical committees operating from April 2023 to March 2024.
Women	57 % of technical committee members are women.	Program Data	The organization had 11 technical committees operating from April 2023 to March 2024.
Women	100% of funded projects in the Grants and Contributions program involve people who self-identify as women.	Program Data	In the fiscal year 2023 to 2024, all the projects funded involved women in the research projects at various levels, whether it’s project staff or research participants.
Indigenous Peoples	36% of our technical committees included Indigenous persons.	Program Data	The organization had 11 technical committees operating from April 2023 to March 2024.
Indigenous Peoples	91% of funded projects in the Grants and Contributions program involve people who self-identify as Indigenous, which include First Nations, Métis, and Inuit.	Program Data	In the fiscal year 2023 to 2024, 22 of the 24 projects funded involved people who self-identify as Indigenous (First Nations, Métis, Inuit) in the research projects at various levels, whether it’s project staff or research participants.

Program 2 name: Outreach and Knowledge Program

Program goals: Establishing relationships with key stakeholders and sharing knowledge with the public.

Target population: People with disabilities

This program supports gender equality in leadership roles and at all levels of decision-making and encourages it in:

• Leadership and democratic participation
• Stakeholder Engagement Strategy

Accessibility Standards Canada engages Indigenous peoples and governments. This includes meeting with territories and national indigenous organizations and disability groups. In addition, the organization includes:

• Indigenous persons on technical committees
• Research funding for Indigenous led projects
• Indigenous persons are also included in projects funded

These activities support the GBA plus goals noted above under the standards development program.

GBA Plus Data Collection Plan:

The application form for our grants and contributions program included questions related to GBA plus. They are also included in the activity-reporting template for current and future funded projects.

Applicants for our grants and contributions program were asked to answer questions about the intersectionality of participants in their projects. By asking these questions, we hope to encourage applicants to consider intersectionality in their projects.