Gender-based analysis plus

NRCan, GBA+ and the Gender Results Framework

Introduced in Budget 2018, the Gender Results Framework (GRF) represents the Government of Canada’s vision for achieving greater equality. It is a whole-of government tool designed to:

• Track how Canada is currently performing
• Define what is needed to achieve greater equality
• Determine how progress will be measured going forward

The framework is comprised of six pillars, including:

• Economic Participation and Prosperity;
• Education and Skills Development;
• Leadership and Democratic Participation;
• Gender Based Violence and Access to Justice;
• Poverty Reduction, Health and Well-Being; and,
• Gender Equality Around the World

The information presented in this table reflects all NRCan programs and initiatives, across the three core responsibilities, and reflects how they contribute to or advance the goals of the GRF and address systemic barriers based on: gender, race and ethnicity, region and other intersectional dimensions.

With the support of disaggregated data, the department will continue to monitor, track, assess and respond to potential barriers and gaps preventing the full inclusion of diverse groups in the natural resource sectors.

While the Canadian Geodetic Survey program does not currently support GRF pillars, it is exploring approaches that would introduce digital services in underserved parts of the country and level the playing field for Canadians in more remote communities by planning future investments related to the Canadian Spatial reference system. These approaches could also support increasingly automated transportation services which have the potential to help mobility-challenged Canadians.

The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) Program contributes to the GRF pillar: Advancement of Economic Participation and Prosperity. This program advances gender equality goals by increasing employment opportunities in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) professions, in fields where women have traditionally been under-represented. Currently, 40% of the scientific team are represented by women. During the fieldwork component of the program, more women and Indigenous individuals were introduced into the team to assist in the acquisition of scientific data and engagement with the general public and Indigenous communities. The program also promotes and supports the participation of women at scientific conferences and international workshops, and all team members in professional development activities. Further, a future revamping of the program as team members retire will be carried out in accordance with the Public Service Employment Act to ensure the representation of diversity and inclusion of Canada. This process will ensure employment opportunities are equally available to women, men, minority groups and Indigenous peoples.

Given the nature of the program, it is not possible to estimate the impact of the program on gender and diversity outside of the immediate team.

Geo-Mapping for Energy and Minerals (GEM-GeoNorth)

The GEM-GeoNorth program is expected to advance gender equality goals outlined under the pillar on Economic Participation and Prosperity in the GRF by facilitating increased labour market opportunities for women, especially women in underrepresented groups. Focused on the region of Canada’s North, the program’s target client groups are:

• Scientists and technicians, via program hiring;
• Northern and Indigenous geoscience professionals, via participation in program leadership, program hiring, and participation in capacity-building opportunities;
• Universities and Northern educational institutions, via partnerships (grants & contributions) to deliver capacity-building opportunities for students

The program aims to directly create a small number of labour market opportunities in the physical sciences, and in computer and information systems. Using strategies that promote gender equality in program hiring, the program seeks to increase the accessibility of these opportunities for diverse groups of women. The program’s capacity-building opportunities, which will be designed with the guidance of partners in Northern educational institutions, could also increase labour market readiness among Northerners and Indigenous peoples, including women.

Indirect outcomes of the program, including the potential growth of the mining sector and related industries over the long term (12-15 years) could further create additional jobs in Canada’s North, including for women. Although women currently account for 17% of the mining workforce, initiatives by the Mining Industry Human Resources Council, Women in Mining, and several private sector firms are seeking to address the gender disparity in the mining sector by providing training and development opportunities for women in the sector. The program will consider these initiatives in designing mitigation strategies that promote gender equality in the program.

The program will collect sufficient data to enable it to monitor and/or report program impacts by gender and diversity (GBA+). Regarding its immediate outcome of “Involvement of stakeholders and Indigenous groups in geoscience knowledge and data generation”, the program’s performance indicators include collection of disaggregated data. A number of performance indicators also measure program impacts in the North, regarding availability of geoscience knowledge, and support for the Northern economy.

For example, the previous phase of the program (2013-2020):

• Achieved over 35% participation of women in the population of students hired;
• Allocated 23% of its grants & contributions funding to Northern organizations or initiatives;
• Created a total of 6 opportunities for Northern students, directly hiring 5 Northern students as field assistants and 1 Northern student as a communications assistant;
• Delivered a yearly average of at least 40 engagement activities with Northerners and Indigenous groups (12-year total: 450 meetings with communities; 25 to 40 letters/year sent to communities) ;
• Held a total of 17 meetings of its Advisory Group of Northerners, representing the diversity of the North, which provided advice on Northern engagement activities;
• In 2018-19 (the last year when fieldwork was conducted), the program entered into 56 contracts to known Northern and/or Indigenous businesses, creating at least 26 jobs.

The program supports the GRF pillars: Economic Participation and Prosperity; Education and Skills Development; Poverty Reduction, Health and Well-Being, and Gender Equality Around the World. It aims to inspire girls into STEM and facilitate Indigenous inclusion projects through:

• Building Indigenous capacity for Northern geographical place naming.
• Earth Observation in support of flood risk management – pilot project for operational river ice breakup monitoring.
• Building Northern capacity through women to collect and share UAV-based mapping products.
• Community outreach and capacity building in Inuvik, NWT.
• Upcoming projects to further Indigenous inclusion in the Department and STEM.

While this program does not currently collect data to monitor and/or report program impacts by gender and diversity and relies largely on qualitative or secondary data such as case studies, it is seeking guidance on the best way to enable future monitoring and results beyond narrative reports and/or case studies.

Planning is currently underway for a stakeholder study – GBA+ considerations will be included in the project.

The Canadian Section of the International Boundary Commission (IBC) operates under a separate reporting structure. The Commission reports to United States Secretary of State and the Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs. All staffing for the Canadian Section of the IBC are in accordance with NRCan internal policies on gender and diversity.

NRCan’s Land Surveying Capacity Development Program began in 2018 to increase awareness and understanding of land surveying, provide mentoring and tools to enable better participation in surveys, and encourage land surveying as a career option by providing in-community training for Indigenous Canadians. The program supports the GRF pillar of Education and Skills Development.

All participants are Indigenous and are selected by the Indigenous community involved. Participation can be fluid with different people attending different sessions. While the program does not specifically track participation through a gender/diversity lens, it will implement daily sign-in sheets for participants to be able to track gender participation

Participation by underrepresented demographics has been a focus of the program since inception. In this regard, notable program initiatives moving forward will include a focus on reaching participants who may otherwise not be exposed to land surveying or geomatics as a career option. One principle goal is to encourage diverse gender and Indigenous participation in the land surveying and geomatics industry.

Targeted Geoscience Initiative (TGI):

While it is currently unknown whether this initiative is expected to advance the gender equality goals for Canada as outlined in Canada’s GRF, the pillars which could be advanced are Education and Skills Development and Economic Participation and Prosperity.

The program has a GBA+ performance indicator that measures the percentage of opportunities (for students and early-career researchers) that are given to individuals who belong to one or more groups of people traditionally underrepresented in the earth sciences sector, particularly women and visible minorities. For this indicator, the program collects data through the voluntary disclosure of demographic information by applicants for student/early-career researcher opportunities. This is collected annually and used internally to inform mid-year and end of year reporting.

Further, women and visible minorities are hired and/or awarded bursaries at or above the proportion at which they are available in the earth sciences sector, reporting based on staffing actions or award statistics. Feedback on the usefulness of the data and science by stakeholders would be useful for planning and making any required adjustments toward data and science that best serves the Canadian public. Quality of life indicators could be paired with DRF indicators concerning new and accessible knowledge products, stakeholder feedback and application of new tools and knowledge by provincial, territorial and federal governments.

Activities and expected outcomes under the Pest Risk Management Program has the potential to advance the goals outlined by the GRF, such as Poverty Reduction, Health and Well-Being. By advancing the science and research required to mitigate the potential risks and impacts of pests, the program has the potential to contribute to improved quality of life for forest based and dependent communities through job security, public safety and improved health outcomes.

While previously unable to collect sufficient data to enable it to monitor and report program impacts by gender and diversity (GBA+), a Gender-Based Analysis Plus Assessment of the program which builds upon recent analyses is currently underway. In addition, demographic information on the workers in forest health protection and research in Alberta will be collected and analyzed as part of the new Mountain Pine Beetle Management in Alberta Program, to better understand trends in diversity, equity and quality and inform the development of mitigation measures where disparities are identified as well as future policy and program design. Combined, these efforts may support the program in identifying new or enhanced ways to facilitate more equitable and equal opportunities and outcomes through its work, reporting capacity and improved data base.

Activities and expected outcomes under the Forest Climate Change Program contribute to progress in advancing the goals under the pillars on Economic Participation and Prosperity; Education and Skills Development; Leadership and Democratic participation; and poverty Reduction, Health and Well-being.

The Program informs adaptation planning for forest adaptation and resilience, and provides forest carbon estimates for Canada that are needed to inform mitigation efforts. In doing so, these activities contribute to the long-term prosperity and competitiveness of the forest sector, more resilient forest-based communities, and the continued health, well-being and sustainability of Canada’s forests. Given the close relationship between sustainable forest management, the resilience of Canada’s forests, and the socio-economic health and wellness of forest-based, rural and remote communities, including many Indigenous communities, activities under this program contribute to an improved quality of life for those communities and help advance the goals outlined under the four pillars (cited above).

The Program will continue to demonstrate its commitment to use recruitment processes that give due consideration to gender and diversity in order to ensure that the opportunities are equitable. The program is part of the Canadian Forest Service, i.e. an organization that is making efforts to ensure the composition of program committees such as the harassment and discrimination committee, wellness, Occupational Health and Safety Committee (OHSC) and the Career Progression Committee (CPC) committees are represented by and reflect diverse perspectives and gender balance. These actions will indirectly support progress under the pillars on economic participation and prosperity, education and skills development, and leadership and democratic participation.

Combined these external and internal initiatives have the potential to facilitate more equitable opportunities and outcomes in the changing forest landscape.

Activities under the Climate Change Adaptation program indirectly support the GRF pillars of Education and Skills Development and Improved Health Outcomes. The program’s objective is to enhance the availability, accessibility, and awareness of climate change adaptation knowledge and options in Canada.

NRCan’s Building Regional Adaptation Capacity and Expertise (BRACE) program is addressing some of the critical shortages of adaptation capacity and expertise that limit adaptation action in Canada. BRACE funds projects that increase the ability of communities, organizations, small and medium-sized enterprises, and professionals to access, use, and apply knowledge and tools on climate change adaptation in their work. This program responds to the identified needs of provinces and professionals (such as accountants and engineers). BRACE also supports internships through the NRCan Science Technology Internship Program (STIP), which is piloting a climate change adaptation stream under the 2020-2021 program. STIP is open to youth between 15 and 30 years old and has its own considerations related to equity and accessibility.

NRCan also leads work on Canada in a Changing Climate: Advancing Our Knowledge for Action, a series of reports that provide an authoritative picture of how Canada’s climate is changing, the impacts we face now and in the future because of that change, and what Canadians are doing to adapt. These reports aim to inform diverse decision-makers on the implementation of adaptation measures in a wide variety of areas.

As the lead of Canada’s Climate Change Adaptation Platform (“Adaptation Platform”), NRCan works closely with partners across the country. The Adaptation Platform enables collaboration between the federal government, provinces and territories, National Indigenous Organizations, industry and professional associations, municipalities, and academia in order to advance shared adaptation priorities. Over the past two years, the Adaptation Platform explored the connections between climate change adaptation and social equity, noting the unequal impact that climate change impacts can have on populations across Canada. Adaptation Platform members report that integrating social equity into adaptation planning, implementation, and reporting has so far been limited in Canada; the Adaptation Platform will continue to explore the social equity dimensions of climate change and the role of climate change adaptation in advancing social equity in Canada.

Each of these components of NRCan’s Climate Change Adaptation Program facilitate the integration of climate change adaptation and the uptake of adaptation actions. Climate change impacts can undermine the quality of health, for example, challenging access to clean air, secure shelter, and sufficient and safe food and drinking water (WHO, 2018). Climate change adaptation, when well informed and designed, can provide multiple benefits that include positive health outcomes and assisting those most in need. Although the program does not directly target health outcomes, it supports adaptation action uptake, which could indirectly support cleaner air and access to safe drinking water and food for certain communities.

While the program does not collect data to monitor impacts by gender and diversity, Future work will explore responsive GBA+ measures to address barriers and to respond to increasing awareness of the inequity of climate change impacts. NRCan will continue to use the Adaptation Platform to engage partners on the connections between climate change adaptation measures and reducing the vulnerability of marginalized populations.

The BRACE program sunsets in March 2022.

The program does not currently have impacts that would support the pillars and/or goals of the GRF, and does not currently monitor or report on program impacts by gender and diversity. Based on the specific mandate and objectives of this program, no actions are planned to enable future monitoring of reporting of the program’s impacts by gender and diversity.

The Geoscience to Keep Canada Safe (GKCS) program comprises activities from the Canadian Hazards Information Service (CHIS), the Public Safety Geoscience (PSG) and the Climate Change Geoscience Program (CCGP). While all three indirectly support the Gender Results Framework, only CCGP makes a direct contribution. CCGP works in northern Canada where much of the Indigenous population resides. CCGP science activities have an influence on the communities and the citizens who reside there, from hiring local residents (including students) to assist with fieldwork, to how our final science outputs might contribute to community planning for climate change impacts. Thus, CCGP supports the GRF pillar of Poverty Reduction, Health and Well-Being.

While the program does not collect sufficient data to monitor impacts by gender and diversity, information is collected for internal use for programs mid-year and end of year reports.

This program supports policy development, decision-making, and response by other groups (such as Public Safety Canada, P/T governments, municipalities and Indigenous communities) who would report on these indicators. This program undertakes the monitoring, research and effective planning against various natural and human-induced hazards, including earthquakes, tsunamis, landslides and impacts related to climate change, geomagnetic storms, radiological and nuclear incidents. Through the provision of hazard information, NRCan helps other levels of government, including international government bodies, as well as the private sector and professional organizations to prevent, mitigate, prepare for, respond to and recover from natural disasters. Similarly, geoscience information is used by these stakeholders to minimize the risk of climate change to communities and infrastructure in vulnerable areas.

The knowledge and data generated in this program is made available so others can make evidence-based decisions. Natural disaster events have been shown to impact women, seniors, children and other vulnerable parts of society disproportionately as demonstrated through the work of organizations such as the Red Cross, highlighted in the United Nations Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, and discussed at global, regional and national conferences on disaster risk reduction. The GKCS will improve our understanding of hazards and their impacts. This will allow policy makers, planners, and emergency managers to identify vulnerable populations and tailor preparedness and emergency response plans to assist these groups (i.e. specific regions, women, elderly, low-income, children).

Across programs, the feedback on the usefulness of the data and science by stakeholders would be useful for planning and making any required adjustments toward data and science that best serves the Canadian public. Quality of life indicators could be potentially be paired with DRF indicators concerning new and accessible knowledge products, stakeholder feedback and application of new tools and knowledge by provincial, territorial and federal governments.

Activities under the Wildland Fire Risk Program contributes to progress in advancing the GRF pillars on Economic Participation and Prosperity and Education and Skills Development. For example, the fire program seeks to advance more equitable opportunities and outcomes in wild fire management through Indigenous engagement and collaboration, including through the development of the Blueprint for wildland Fire Science in Canada (2019-2029). This strategy recognizes Indigenous knowledge and the need to collaborate with Indigenous peoples for better wildland fire management, work that will continue in 2021-2022.

Further, the program continues to engage Indigenous partners, and regularly collaborates with Indigenous Nations and organizations on research projects, including co-development, fieldwork, data analysis, and knowledge exchange. Through the Emergency Management Strategy Grants and Contributions program, the fire program has begun supporting a variety of Indigenous fire related research projects and proponents including the First Nation Wildfire Evacuation Partnership, the Metis Nation of Alberta 3, and others.

Additionally, while the program does not currently have a GBA+ monitoring and reporting plan in place, internal discussions are underway to examine GBA+ reporting processes that would be the most appropriate for the program and the fire program is currently exploring the possible development of an Indigenous Wildland Fire Management Working Group. Indigenous professional services are being sought to have discussions with Indigenous Nations and/or organizations across Canada on the feasibility and operations of a future Working Group. Further still, the fire program, as an influential advisor/participant in these organizations, continues to foster the values of diversity and inclusion through national and international movements and related working groups such as, the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre (CIFFC) and the North American Forestry Commission’s Fire Management Working Group (NAFC-FMWG).

Another notable activity is the recent publication of Blazing the Trail: Celebrating Indigenous Fire Stewardship in November 2020 by FireSmart Canada (now part of CIFFC) and in partnership with NRCan and Alberta Agriculture and Forestry. Blazing the Trail was developed by an All-Indigenous writing team that included peer reviewers, graphic designers and artists. This publication is both a resource and celebration of the contributions to wildfire prevention of Indigenous communities and Canada. It encourages celebration and sharing of wise practices and lessons learned across generations.

In April 2017, a National Forum was held in Winnipeg to discuss Gender and Diversity issues in the Canadian Wildland Fire Management Community in which members of the fire program participated. CIFFC hosted this Forum to provide an opportunity for leaders from Fire Management organizations across Canada to gather and learn about the root causes, key challenges and nature of this issue within fire management agencies in Canada and abroad. Forum participants agreed to take positive action, including adopting national codes of conduct for fire management staff.

In 2020, COVID-19 matters caused the cancellation of two NAFC-sponsored in-person events with a relevant GBA+ topic: a Trilateral Gender/Diversity/Inclusion forum (with a CIFFC lead from Canada) as well as a small group forum to build trilateral leadership capacity for women in fire management (similarly led by CIFFC).

The Polar Continental Shelf Program (PCSP) provides logistics services to support the growing demand for pan-Arctic science and innovation research. The objectives of PCSP are to strengthen the resilience of Indigenous communities through engagement, training, and employment opportunities; enhance economic benefits for Northerners; gain an understanding of the implications of climate change on Arctic terrestrial and marine ecosystems; and support Canada’s sovereignty in the Arctic.

Activities under this program advance the gender equity goals outlined in Canada’s GRF through three pillars: (1) Education and Skills Development; (2) Economic Participation and Prosperity; and (3) Gender Equality around the World.

The PCSP contributes to these pillars by increasing opportunities in STEM and labour market opportunities for women. While pre-existing barriers to diversity and women in STEM are beyond the scope of the program, PCSP seeks to enhance support to science activities to enable greater participation of students, Indigenous peoples, and women. It also supports training and employment opportunities for Indigenous peoples and generates regional economic benefits.

In 2020, the program updated its review criteria for university-based applications for logistics support to include Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) and measures to ensure early career researchers and researchers with career interruptions (e.g. parental leave) are not disadvantaged in the selection process. These measures will help ensure PCSP services are equally available to men, women, minority groups, and Indigenous peoples; encourage equity, diversity and inclusion in science; promote Indigenous peoples as partners within research; and foster the next generation of scientists.

The program currently collects gender data from its on-line Arctic logistics service request form and logistics database as well as in client satisfaction surveys. Analyses of these data suggest PCSP services are equally available to men, women, minority groups, and Indigenous people and there is no significant difference in satisfaction level with the program between gender groups. However, uptake of the program’s services by women and Indigenous peoples are lower, and there is a need to collect disaggregated data beyond gender. Data gaps and technical limitations are currently preventing the systematic collection of this information across all services provided by the program. The program is working to address data gaps through measures including modifications to service request forms and internal processes within the program. Demographic information including gender, Indigenous status and ethnicity of applicants and project participants will be included. The availability of this information through the development of a new application portal infrastructure will permit future disaggregated analysis, which is required to monitor potential impacts of the program.

The program has impacts that support the GRF pillars: Education and Skills Development, Economic Participation and Prosperity, and Leadership and Democratic Participation.

Indigenous Off-Diesel Initiative (IODI)

IODI seeks to achieve a breakthrough in efforts to transition up to 15 remote Indigenous communities off diesel as a primary energy source. The initiative supports fifteen renewable Energy Champions and their communities with tailored renewable energy training, access to expertise and mentors, and financial resources to develop and start implementing community-driven renewable energy projects to reduce diesel in their communities. Projects supported under the program are Indigenous-led, community-driven, and focused on supporting local capacity building, clean energy planning, and development of clean energy projects.

IODI supports remote Indigenous communities who experience barriers associated with access to capital funding and related activities necessary to enable full participation in the renewable energy and broader natural resource sector. IODI’s capacity building approach includes renewable energy training and community engagement to develop a community energy plan. This work empowers remote Indigenous communities to harness renewable energy resources that work best for their community and supports communities in developing skills and training to support renewable energy activities. As communities undertake these activities, they increase their capacity by:

• Creating green jobs and delivering training opportunities for the community;
• Increasing community resilience;
• Improving energy security; and,
• Supporting other community co-benefits such as housing and food security.

Additional efforts to advance equality were integrated into the Champion selection and application processes. For example, IODI has an all-Indigenous expert external jury that is gender-balanced, has a diversity of ages, and has regional representation; the jury is responsible for Champion selection and project review. Project applications asked Champions to indicate:

• How they would support the participation of women and 2SLGBTQQIA people in project activities; and,
• How they would ensure the safety and security of everyone involved in the project, but in particular women and 2SLGBTQQIA people.

Future project reporting for IODI activities will ask proponents for disaggregated demographic information for project team members and trainees, including gender, youth status, and whether the individual is Indigenous. To support the measurement of future results, the program will track signed Contribution Agreements and Project Status Reports, which will be reviewed annually.

Women in Cleantech

Women are significantly underrepresented in the area of clean technology. The Women in Cleantech Challenge was designed to help mitigate this problem and is currently supporting the creation of six new, highly impactful and globally significant clean technology companies founded and run by women. Following a national call and expert selection process, six finalists were chosen from almost 150 applicants to participate in an intensive 2.5 year program. These women are all receiving business advice, and the financial and technical support they need to grow and succeed as entrepreneurs, including the opportunity to validate and de-risk their technology with the help of federal labs and researchers.

Each entrepreneur receives up to $800k in support over 2.5 years:

• An annual stipend of $115,000 for living and travel expenses, allowing them to dedicate 100% of their time to their venture
• Business incubation support from MaRS Discovery District (up to $300K)
• Science and technology support from federal laboratories (up to $250K)

At the conclusion of the challenge in 2021, a $1 million grand prize will be awarded to the venture that has advanced the most during the Challenge and is judged most likely to succeed commercially, as determined by an independent and expert jury.

Just Energy – Energie Juste

NRCan has established a diversity and inclusion community of practice, Just Energy – Energie Juste, which aims to advance diversity and inclusion in policy and programming by supporting:

• Knowledge-sharing and capacity-building: To provide education on key elements related to gender, diversity and inclusion.
• Program design tools and materials: To better support integration of diversity and inclusion in programming.
• Data and reporting on diversity and inclusion: To incorporate gender, diversity and inclusion metrics to aid in effective program design.

Other Initiatives

Annual data collection and reporting templates for certain programs have been evaluated and edited to collect gender-disaggregated data that aligns with program goals, and work is underway to apply this process to the remaining programs. Training and hiring metrics are now collected at gender-disaggregated levels and align with Statistics Canada terminology (e.g., female, male and gender diverse). The demonstration stream of the Clean Energy For Rural and Remote Communities program is also collecting disaggregated information about Indigenous identity and youth participation.

Additionally, the Clean Growth Program and new Energy Innovation Program streams, such as Breakthrough Energy Solutions Canada, have integrated gender and Indigenous identity as part of project reporting on employment and training of highly qualified personnel. Gender and Indigenous identity will be standard reporting variables for employment and training data for this program moving forward

NRCan has taken steps to further integrate GBA+ into program design and delivery in order to advance inclusion throughout program operations. The approach outlines key considerations and questions for each step of program design, implementation and evaluation, and seeks to support program operations to identify gaps and opportunities as they relate to advancing diversity and inclusion. It is already supporting the application of GBA+ to program analysis and evaluation for past and current programming, and bolstering the integration of GBA+ into program design and delivery for new and ongoing programs.

This program supports two GRF pillars: Economic Participation and Prosperity, and Education and Skill Development (those involved in the program are already educated, as they have bachelor degrees).

This pilot program ends in the fall of 2020. While this program has not collected data to enable monitoring of program impacts by gender and diversity, following a program review and report, opportunities to expand this very successful pilot program to all of NRCan will be pursued. Results from the previous year will be considered when developing the program for a bigger roll out across the department, for which funding will need to be secured. Such roll-out will require an assessment of the alignment of this program with others federal programs, and an assessment of how to increase indigenous participation in STEM the Gap.

Activities under the Fibre Solutions program support progress in advancing the goals of the GRF pillars on Poverty Reduction, Health and Well-Being, Gender Equality Around the World and Education and Skills Development. These pillars are supported as follows:

• Poverty reduction, Health and Well-Being: CWFC funds projects on biomass for heating provide a less expensive and cleaner (healthier) fuel source
• Gender equality: CWFC call for proposal has a mandatory gender and diversity questionnaire as part of the information requirements from proponents.
• Education and Skills Development: CWFC continues to hire students especially during COVID-19 situation and these hiring have included women and other underrepresented groups.

NRCan’s Canadian Wood Fibre Centre has started the collection of Diversity and Inclusion data from our recent 2020-2023 contribution proponents. This year marks the first year for the funded contribution program.

Activities under the Sustainable Forest Management (SFM) Program contributes to GRF pillar: Poverty Reduction, Health and Well-Being and Economic Participation and Prosperity. The program does so by supporting sustainable forest management and thereby contributing to the continued and future existence of long-term employment opportunities in the Canadian forestry sector. This contributes to community prosperity, well-being and sustainability.

Some projects within the SFM program may contribute to the monitoring, reporting on and by extension advancing GBA+ outcomes for example where researchers are working with Indigenous partners. Selected activities under the SFM program (i.e., collection and sharing of forest data), have some GBA+ considerations integrated into their reporting measures as part of ongoing horizontal Government of Canada efforts to support Impact Assessment (reporting is led by NRCan Office of the Chief Scientist (for Open Science and Data)). Opportunities to further integrate GBA+ considerations into reporting for scientific projects is being explored to help inform future actions.

GBA+ considerations may indirectly support the development of projects in the Cumulative Effects Program. While the program currently does not have sufficient data to determine the degree to which GBA+ has affected its design, there may be opportunities in the future to improve the reporting capacity and understanding of GBA+ impacts, as research matures through time.

Activities under the Lower Carbon Transportation Program contributes to the advancement of the GRF pillar on Poverty Reduction, Health and Wellbeing. The Lower Carbon Transportation Program enables consumers and commercial fleets to adopt lower carbon modes of transportation. The program accomplishes this by supporting the deployment of Electric Vehicles and Alternative Fuel refuelling infrastructure; developing enabling codes and standards; providing accurate, relevant and factual information to inform purchasing decisions; providing fuel use benchmarking; and, assessing fleet fuel usage and recommending more efficient options. The program’s objective is to positively enhance the availability, accessibility and awareness of low carbon transportation options for consumers and key actors in the transportation of passengers and freight on Canadian roads.

In 2018, the program’s data collection methodology was updated to collect additional information on the uptake and impact of the program. Since 2019-20, the program has been able to disaggregate by province and territory, which has helped to determine how the uptake and impact of lower carbon transportation options and awareness efforts varies by location. In addition, the program will measure the number of job-years of employment generated by funded projects. The program’s data collection methodology enables it to undertake analyses on both the uptake and impact of the program based on province and territory, employment in the low carbon transportation sector (specific to employment generated by projects funded by the program). Additionally, under some programming elements, data is collected on the diversity of proponent employee bases, specific to the proportion of women and Indigenous peoples employed in the sector.

Activities under the Electricity Resources Program support three pillars of the GRF, Education and Skills Development, Poverty Reduction, Health and Well-Being and Economic Participation and Prosperity.The Electricity Resources Program is made up of four renewable energy programs: ecoENERGY for Renewable Power, Smart Grid, Emerging Renewable Power, and Clean Energy for Rural and Remote Communities. These programs help reduce Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions and encourage sustainable growth in the electricity sector by providing communities with job opportunities, skills and training.

The program collects data to enable it to monitor and/or report on program impacts by gender and diversity (GBA+). Annual data collection and reporting templates for certain programs (e.g., Smart Grid Program, Clean Energy for Rural and Remote Communities) have been evaluated and edited to collect gender-disaggregated data that aligns with program goals. Further, training and hiring metrics are now collected at gender-disaggregated levels and align with Statistics Canada terminology (e.g., female, male and gender diverse). The Clean Energy for Rural and Remote Communities program is also collecting disaggregated information about Indigenous identity and youth participation. The program also collects information on greenhouse gases reduced to understand the health impacts of the program on communities. This is done on an annual basis.

Clean Energy for Rural and Remote Communities (CERRC) Program

The Clean Energy for Rural and Remote Communities (CERRC) program supports community-led renewable energy and capacity building projects in rural and remote communities to reduce their reliance on diesel fuel for heat and power. CERRC has four streams: Capacity Building, Demonstration, Deployment and BioHeat and is currently supporting 88 projects in 131 communities, including 123 Indigenous communities.

Each rural and remote community is unique and requires different types of support to reduce reliance on diesel. There is no one-size technology solution to transition communities onto renewable energy. Complex factors such as location, weather systems, community priorities and capacity, provincial and utility policies, and Indigenous relationships with the Crown mean that each community has diverse needs. Successful community-driven clean energy projects are the result of numerous iterative steps starting from building energy literacy and training, to completing project-specific design and development activities.

There is a high risk associated with clean energy projects in remote communities due to access issues (seasonal roads, fly in-out, etc.) and limitations on the delivery of equipment (sea barge, seasonal limitations, etc.). Due to this increased risk, along with high costs and longer payback periods, it is more challenging for these projects to access capital through traditional avenues provided by financial institutions, such as debt financing.

The four streams work together to ensure that direct benefits impact a broad group of rural, remote and Indigenous communities across Canada, including First Nations, Inuit and Metis women, men and gender-diverse people. Funding activities from community energy planning to renewable energy and energy efficiency projects directly benefits communities, as these activities are community-led and support capacity building, economic development, self-determination, and reconciliation. This approach responds to the barriers Indigenous communities face with accessing funding for capacity building and renewable energy project implementation.

Further, NRCan has incorporated flexibilities into the CERRC program to support increased participation of diverse groups. For example, CERRC:

• Uses advances to enable recipients to start their projects;
• Pays honoraria for Indigenous elders to help facilitate participation in the projects;
• Ensures diversity on review committees;
• Encourages participation of youth in projects to help with their integration in the natural resources sector (promotion of the S&T Internship Program – Green Jobs); and
• Includes translation of project materials as an eligible cost.

The expected outcomes of CERRC related to advancing the goals of full and equal economic participation include:

• Increased participation of Indigenous peoples in Canada’s renewable energy sector;
• Reduced GHG emissions through a reduction in fossil fuel reliance;
• Increased energy literacy;
• Increased community capacity to own and operate renewable energy systems; and
• Increased collaboration between the public sector and Indigenous peoples.

CERRC Data Collection

The CERRC program collects, disaggregates and tracks data for renewable energy projects in remote areas, by rural and remote community (region), Indigenous ownership and participation. This includes measuring the percentage of projects and the number of projects led by or partnered with Indigenous groups or communities. The program also collects disaggregated data regarding participation of women and youth. With this information, the program will continue to be able to undertake analyses based on region (rural and remote communities), Indigenous status (participation, leadership or ownership), gender and age (participation of women and youth).

Activities under the Energy Efficiency Program contribute to two pillars of the GRF: Economic Participation and Prosperity and Poverty Reduction, Health and Well-Being. The objective of the Energy Efficiency Program is to encourage and enable the implementation of cleaner and more energy efficient technologies, products and practices through activities (e.g. collaboration, standards, certifications, product specifications, building codes, tools, and grants and contributions), and outputs targeting energy consumers, industry, the housing and building sectors and equipment manufacturers. The Program directly benefits energy consumers in Canada by reducing energy consumption, which lowers energy costs, and by decreasing greenhouse gas emissions, including from federal government operations.

In 2021-22, the Energy Efficiency Program will incorporate the findings from a study, which defined intersectional gender-based barriers in the energy efficiency sector in Canada. The energy efficiency sub-sectors included in the study were homes and communities, buildings, industry and transportation. The final report will include quantitative and qualitative disaggregated data and analysis, identification of key barriers that diverse groups experience when accessing energy efficiency services and participating in the energy efficiency workforce, recommendations for future inclusive policy-making, and recommended performance indicators. These findings will assist in filling data gaps and informing decision-making on the Program, by providing reliable and validated GBA+ information to support future policy development. In addition, this study will result in recommended performance indicators for the Program, which is expected to enable improved evaluation, monitoring and reporting of program impacts by gender and diversity. Ultimately, this work will contribute to the development of policies and programs that better consider the specific needs and circumstances of diverse populations in Canada, are more inclusive and equitable, and enable all Canadians to participate fully in energy efficiency.

This program supports two pillars of the GRF: Economic Participation, Prosperity, Gender Equality Around the World, and collects sufficient data to enable it to monitor and/or report program impacts by gender and diversity (GBA+).

The Program continues to lead and support various initiatives to expand reporting on gender and diversity of its policy proposals. An example of a notable initiative is through the Equal by 30 Campaign which is now entering its second phase, and has established a reporting framework and baseline metrics to help signatories measure their progress against their commitments, track advancements on the goals of the campaign, and create a baseline of gender-disaggregated data for the energy sector. NRCan has partnered with Diversion, a Canadian –female-founded data and analytics firm that works with multiple sectors worldwide to implement diversity and inclusion solutions. The data collection process is ongoing, and the aggregated data results will be publicized in 2021.

This program aims to inspire girls into STEM and facilitate Indigenous Inclusion Projects through:

• Building Indigenous capacity for Northern geographical place naming.
• Earth Observation in support of flood risk management – pilot project for operational river ice breakup monitoring.
• Building Northern capacity through women to collect and share UAV-based mapping products.
• Community outreach and capacity building in Inuvik, NWT.
• Upcoming projects to further Indigenous inclusion in the Department and STEM.

The program supports the GRF pillars: Economic Participation and Prosperity; Education and Skills Development; Poverty Reduction, Health and Well-Being, and Gender Equality Around the World.

While this program does not currently collect data to monitor and/or report program impacts by gender and diversity, information collection activities are qualitative in nature, where in some instances, case studies may provide information on these activities.

As such, the program is seeking guidance on the best way to enable future monitoring and results beyond narrative reports and/or case studies.

Planning is currently underway for a stakeholder study – GBA+ considerations will be included in the project.

The Forest Sector Competitiveness Program activities and expected outcomes generally supports the pillars and goals of the GRF, such as through its contributions to the improved quality of life of diverse Canadians, via activities that support the prosperity and well-being of the forest sector and forests themselves. In addition, the Indigenous Forestry Initiative (IFI) directly contributes to the advancement of the GRF pillar, Economic Participation and Prosperity.

Indigenous communities frequently do not have the same access to tenure and face systemic barriers to education and skills training that creates capacity challenges for businesses, and decreases the ability to participate in forest management decision making. It can be difficult for Indigenous communities, organizations and businesses to access capital funding to implement forestry projects. Specifically, it can be difficult to access funding from traditional financing institutions given the high cost, longer payback periods and the perceived risk of both the project proponent and the project itself. Policy, legal and legislative barriers can prevent Indigenous peoples, organizations and governments from accessing financing through traditional financing mechanisms such as debt financing. The IFI is designed to support a strong and resilient Indigenous forest sector by addressing systemic barriers like those described above. The IFI supports Indigenous participation in economic development projects within the forest sector and aims to increase Indigenous participation in forestry-related opportunities, businesses, careers and governance. The overall objective of the proposed activities is to support Indigenous participation in economic opportunities in the natural resource sectors, recognizing that participation in the resource economy and capitalizing on economic development opportunities are fundamental to increasing the economic prosperity of Indigenous peoples.

Additional efforts are made to advance the full and equal participation of Indigenous communities in the forest sector by addressing unintended systemic barriers associated with the program itself, and were integrated through the program’s application and decision-making processes. For example, with the support of GBA+ analysis, the program identified that capacity issues in Indigenous communities can present a challenge in applying to the IFI program. As such, the regional component of the IFI’s delivery model supports Regional Liaison Officers (RLOs) located in Canadian Forest Service regional offices across the country, helps to address some of these issues by acting as a point of contact and source of guidance for potential applicants. This was designed specifically to provide added support for Indigenous communities and businesses in applying to the program. Recent improvements have also been made to the application form and process, and include seeking diversity in workforce related plans and priorities from applicants. The IFI has also implemented an External Expert Review panel model to review projects and provide short-list recommendations to the program. It is the intent of the program to develop review panels that are majority Indigenous and gender balanced as an added mechanism to help mitigate and avoid unintended risks of systemic barriers associated with implicit or unconscious bias, and/or lack of cultural understanding. Through planned activities and efforts like these the IFI and broader Forest Sector Competitiveness programs have the potential to improve the status of equality in the forest sector through the facilitation of more equitable opportunities and outcomes for diverse communities. Through planned data collection initiatives, the program further has the potential to evaluate the success of these efforts from a GBA+ lens.

Collectively, the Forest Sector Competitiveness programs committed to collecting greater gender and diversity information from its proponents or program beneficiaries to monitor program impacts by gender and diversity.

NRCan created a Diversity Working Group (DWG) to support the sector in identifying measures that could contribute to addressing gender and other representation gaps in the forest sector. The DWG’s main objective is to ensure a better understanding of workforce diversity in the forest sector so that recommendations for program measures would be evidence-based, impactful, and align with other initiatives and actions.

The DWG proposed four measures to help the forest sector improve its understanding and outcomes with regard to workforce diversity, such as: actively collecting better data; support efforts towards addressing education as a systemic barrier; and, promoting workforce diversity through collaboration:

Programs will be requiring proponents to develop a workforce diversity plan. For example, the Expanding Market Opportunities program is requesting applicants to submit a Diversity and Inclusion Plan for the 2021-2022 Call for Proposals as part of their funding submissions. Five percent of the project score will be awarded to proposals that include a Diversity and Inclusion Plan; in 2022-2023, the program intends to evaluate the Plan. It is important to note, that with respect to the Indigenous government sovereignty in policy and law-making, the IFI will not be requiring a diversity workplan from its Indigenous Government proponents. Data and information collected to support this work/ recommendations will enable the broader forest sector competitiveness program to measure future results regarding the status of gender equity and diversity in the forest sector.

Through its vision for a more diverse workforce and related calls to action, the CMMP supports the pillar for Economic Participation and Prosperity under the Gender Results Framework (GRF). An aspirational target was established under the Plan to increase the representation of women in the industry’s workforce to 30% by 2030 (compared to 16% in 2016). To achieve this target, NRCan has continued to support a number of other initiatives such as:

• Working with Mining Industry Human Resources Council to support a National Mining Career Awareness Strategy to attract young people and other underrepresented groups to join the sector.
• Supporting CIM and Mining Matters through two separate grants to develop educational initiatives to raise levels of mineral literacy of young Canadians, which will highlight mining as an attractive career choice for young Canadians who are female, Indigenous, and new to Canada.
• Supporting Cando on economic development workshops and course certification development to support more Indigenous participation in the mining sector.
• Contributing funding to the Waubetek Business Development Corporation to develop a Centre of Excellence which will enable Indigenous peoples to have more meaningful participation in the minerals sector, and build their knowledge base and capacity to represent their rights and interests in the mining sector.
• Working with Mining Shared Value on a local procurement checklist to support Indigenous procurement activity, increasing their share of participation in the mining services and supply sector.

Some of this work is done through grants. We are currently working to identify reporting and monitoring mechanisms.

The Energy Safety and Security Petroleum Resources Grants and Contributions program is designed specifically to benefit Indigenous participation. While, the program collects sufficient data to enable it to monitor and/or report on impacts as they relate to diversity and gender, the data points speak wholly to Indigenous participation due to the program’s specific Terms and Conditions. Given that the program will be sun setting in March 2021, and due to current authorities, there are no actions currently underway or planned to enable further data collection, monitoring or reporting of impacts based on gender and diversity.

The International Energy Engagement program has the potential to support the GRF pillar, Gender Equality Around the World. It works to position Canada as a reliable energy partner and a global leader in sustainable energy, supporting Canada’s trade, investment and geopolitical agendas. In so doing, the program develops and executes a number of high-level missions to engage with key international markets and partners. Efforts are taken to ensure discussions on inclusivity and inclusivity in participation.

One venue through which the program supports GBA+ objectives, including those outlined by the GRF pillars, is through the International Energy Agency (IEA). Relevant activities and events in the past which will remain key areas of focus in the IEA’s programme of work include:

• The IEA Clean Energy Transitions Summit: Minister co-chaired a session on Inclusivity
• The IEA Clean Energy Transitions Programme: In 2017, Canada pledged $1Million over 4 years to the IEA’s Clean Energy Transitions Programme supporting accelerated energy transition in key emerging economies through capacity building and sharing of best practices. A key focus of Canadian funding has been directed to the impact of the clean energy transition on gender equity and women empowerment.

Beyond the IEA, NRCan has and will continue to champion the importance of an inclusive economic recovery and energy transition through other international fora, including:

• The Clean Energy Ministerial, where Canada is working to launch a new workstream on skills and the net-zero workforce of the future;
• The G7 and G20, where Canada is working with like-minded countries to advocate for strong language in support of the low-carbon transition, inclusivity, and ensuring no one is left behind in the energy transition; and,
• Bilateral and regional dialogues.

As part of broader reporting on international engagement missions, data is collected on indigenous community representation. That said, the indicator that has typically been reported on (which resides outside of the international energy engagement program) was recently retired. In this context, there is room for enhanced reporting, not only to enable continued monitoring of the inclusivity of missions, but to more broadly understand the program’s impacts with respect to gender and diversity.

Notably, the International Energy Engagement program also works with the Energy and Climate Change Policy program on the C3E and Equal by 30 initiatives which aim to advance gender equality in the clean energy sector, globally.

This program involves transferring like amounts, in a timely manner, of royalties and payments received from offshore oil and gas operations to the provinces of Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador, as well making quarterly budget payments to the Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Board and the Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board. Given the program’s limited scope, there are currently no actions being taken to enable future monitoring or reporting of the Statutory Offshore Payments program’s impacts as they relate to gender and diversity.

Two activities under the Indigenous Partnerships Office (IPO) contribute to the advancement of Economic Participation and Prosperity, a GRF pillar, including the work of the Indigenous Advisory and Monitoring Committees (IAMCs) and the Indigenous Natural Resource Partnerships Program (INRP). IPO-West co-chairs and houses the Secretariats for the Indigenous Advisory and Monitoring Committees (IAMCs) for the Trans Mountain and Line 3 Pipeline Replacement projects. These Committees lead federal efforts to meaningfully involve Indigenous communities in the monitoring and oversight of linear resource projects. In 2019-20, the TMX Secretariat began to identify and track priorities, issues, actions and advice addressed by the Committees that may have differential impacts based on gender or diversity factors (e.g., age, geography, culture and other identities). The IAMC for TMX identified the impacts of work camps on Indigenous communities, specifically women and girls, as a priority area of work in its 2019-20 work plan, and is undertaking engagement and studies on this issue.

The recently renewed Indigenous Natural Resource Partnerships (INRP) program further advances the goals of the GFR pillar, Economic Participation and Prosperity, by increasing the participation of Indigenous communities and organizations in oil and gas infrastructure developments in British Columbia and Alberta. Through its active encouragement of projects that affect underrepresented groups including Indigenous women, the INRP further aims to support the GFR pillar of Gender Equality Around the World. INRP collects data on gender and diversity through its application and project reporting processes to measure engagement and access to resources of Indigenous communities.

Activities under the Youth Employment and Skills Strategy - Science and Technology Internship Program – Green Jobs support the Economic Participation and Prosperity GRF pillar.

Since 1997, NRCan has contributed to the Youth Employment and Skills Strategy (YESS) through the Science and Technology Internship Program (STIP) – Green Jobs. The Program builds a diverse qualified labour pool in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields and other fields that advance environmental outcomes. The program’s funding for wages and training help to build a critical mass of skilled workers in emerging sectors undergoing significant transition and transformation. Using non-repayable contributions, and a third-party delivery model, STIP is able to support youth across Canada in all natural resources sectors, while promoting diversity. Since 2016-17 FY, the program started requiring 50% participation of employment equity groups. In this case, employment equity refers to women, youth with disabilities, visible minorities, and Indigenous youth.

The program collects data on the following indicators: the number of youth (ages 15-30) served; where youth live; where placements are located; employment equity group (i.e. women, Indigenous Peoples, visible minorities, persons with disabilities); the official language spoken; the percentage of youth who were hired on full-time basis with employer or in natural resources immediately after their participation in the program; the percentage of youth who found other employment outside of the natural resources sector; the percentage of youth who returned to school; and the percentage of youth who are unemployed. For each of these indicators, data is disaggregated by gender, including an option that permits interns to ‘not identify’ their gender. This enables the program to undertake an analysis based on age, location, employment status, employment equity group and gender.

By collecting this disaggregated data, the program’s data analysis identified a gap in participation of Indigenous, northern and remote youth. As a result, the program engaged Indigenous youth and youth living in northern and remote communities to identify what barriers they may experience with regard to employment opportunities in STEM and the natural resources. Through this engagement, it was identified that the post-secondary education requirement and higher cost of living in northern and remote communities, were among the key barriers to employment or participation in the program being experienced by Indigenous and northern youth. Based on this engagement, in 2019-20, YESS STIP adjusted the program by addressing the identified systemic barriers, through the following actions: removing the post-secondary education requirement; increasing wage subsidies for youth in northern, rural and remote communities to account for the higher cost of living; and, adding training to support youth without formal post-secondary education to receive the technical training necessary to work in the internship.

Data for the 2019-20 FY demonstrates success, and indicates that addressing these systemic barriers has contributed to increased labour market opportunities and participation for diverse groups. For example, based on the 2019-20 data, program outcomes demonstrating greater inclusivity, include:

• An increase in the participation of Indigenous and northern youth from 6% to 12% in 2019-20 More than 50% participation from Employment Equity groups;
• Typically 80% full time placement after internships;
• Expansion into the Territories; and,
• The establishment of partnerships between delivery organizations and organizations serving Indigenous and northern youth.

The Resource Partnerships Sector’s (RPS) program activities will contribute to the GRF Pillar, Economic Participation and Prosperity. Program activities that will support this pillar include participation of Indigenous groups and women in the natural resource sector.

RPS will apply a GBA+ lens to the policy analysis, project tracking and solutions that it develops as part of its new mandate. This will include monitoring GBA+ issues encountered in natural resource projects, such as Indigenous participation and underrepresentation of women in the natural resource sectors.

Project tracking will inform work on horizontal policy and help identify solutions to emerging issues with respect to natural resource projects. Relevant GBA+ data will be recorded as part of project tracking in order to develop recommendations and to identify appropriate mitigation measures.

NRCan will not collect additional GBA+ data on the individual resource projects designated under the Impact Assessment Act. Separate GBA+ assessments will occur through the regulatory review process for all designated projects.

Another aspect of RPS’ activities, which support this pillar, is consulting with Indigenous groups in natural resource project reviews. The Crown has a duty to consult with potentially impacted Indigenous groups regarding legacy natural resource projects, undergoing regulatory reviews by the Canada Energy Regulator (e.g., Nova Gas Transmission Ltd. Edson Mainline and the NGTL North Corridor Expansion Project).

Potentially impacted Indigenous groups have expressed that insufficient capacity is one of the barriers that prevent their full and meaningful participation in consultation processes on natural resource projects. Participant funding, could help facilitate meaningful participation of potentially impacted Indigenous groups’ in Crown consultation activities with the government regarding natural resource project decisions.

GBA+ information will be collected through quantitative data on participant funding agreements and Crown Consultation and Accommodation Reports for each major project. Qualitative data will be collected to understand the views of diverse community members (i.e. women, men, and elders).

Activities under this initiative contribute to the advancement of Economic Participation and Prosperity, a GRF pillar. STEM the Gap is a pilot program, which enables women and Indigenous people who hold a bachelor’s degree in science or engineering to re-enter the STEM workforce following an absence of five years or more. This targeted HR initiative is the first re-entry program in the Government of Canada and received over a hundred applications. Applicants typically left their STEM careers due family obligations, relocation, or other responsibilities, and found it difficult to return.

STEM the Gap is a program to redress imbalances in gender and Indigenous representation at NRCan and in the STEM disciplines in general. As a re-entry program, it provides an opportunity for many who are not eligible for most other recruitment programs, which are age-limited. It also provides an opportunity for NRCan to benefit from the dedication, innovation and focus of experienced STEM professionals keen to continue contributing in their field of interest.

Key impacts

• Supported four STEM-educated women through two six-month placements (one for science, one for policy), within the Lands and Mineral Sector, where they have made concrete and significant project contributions.
• Applicant interest in pilot demonstrates the need for this type of re-entry program.
• Participant contributions on priority projects demonstrate the value of quickly onboarding this type of professional skill set.
• Experience in remote work creates a broader pool of qualified employees allowed to remain in their local communities.
• Flexible work arrangements with an easy return to the workforce for participants improving efficiency and employee satisfaction/motivation.
• Participation in the NRCan Science-Policy Integration Bootcamp in Fall 2019 introduced participants to the department and provided networking opportunities.
• A mentorship program supports them in identifying and preparing for the next step in their career.
• All four women were extended in term positions at LMS.

Indirect or unexpected impacts included:

• Networking opportunities introduced other NRCan staff to women returning to STEM positions.
• The re-entry and indigenous aspects of the program were of interest to the media (e.g. https://www.universityaffairs.ca/features/feature-article/women-who-take-extended-maternity-leave-face-a-tougher-return-to-work/).
• Development of the program led to discussions with other initiatives (e.g. NRCan’s SINEWS program and TBS’ Gender and Technology Working Group).
• New solutions for remote onboarding and project participation challenges were adopted early in the program, lessening the impact of COVID-19 on participant productivity.

Notable actions that are being taken to develop data collection and analysis tools to improve the capacity to measure and assess the impacts of the program on gender and diversity in the future include a series of surveys that have been sent out to participants and project leads, from which a program report will be produced. Program lessons learned have been documented through a series of meetings with program leads and coordinators.

Funded by the LMS Innovation Fund and the hosting branches, this pilot program ends in the fall of 2020. Following a program review and report, opportunities to expand this very successful pilot program to all of NRCan will be pursued. These results will be considered when developing the program for a bigger roll out across the department, for which funding will need to be secured. This includes an assessment of the alignment of this program with others federal programs, and an assessment of how to increase indigenous participation in STEM the Gap.

Activities under the CMMP contribute to the advancement of Economic Participation and Prosperity, a GRF pillar. NRCan, in partnership with provinces, territories, Indigenous Groups and industry, developed the CMMP. CMMP’s vision is for Canada to be the leading mining nation and home to a competitive, sustainable and responsible minerals industry that benefits all Canadians. The Plan highlights the need to take action on gender equality and identifies strategies to increase the number of women and visible minorities in the mining sector and advance Indigenous participation, particularly of Indigenous women.

Key impacts

Through its vision for a more diverse workforce and related calls to action, the CMMP supports the pillar for Economic Participation and Prosperity under the Gender Results Framework (GRF). An aspirational target was established under the Plan to increase the representation of women in the industry’s workforce to 30% by 2030 (compared to 16% in 2016). To achieve this target, NRCan has continued to support a number of other initiatives such as:

• Worked with the Mining Industry Human Resources (MiHR) Council, through an outreach and engagement grant ($20,000), to support the development of a national mining and minerals career awareness strategy. Through this grant, stakeholders were engaged on how to improve the image of the minerals and metals sector to raise awareness of career opportunities, attract new workers (including youth and other underrepresented groups), and increase the potential supply of labour to meet industry demand.
• Connected MiHR with the Equal by 30 campaign to explore mining sector opportunities and alignment.
• Collaborated with the Council for the Advancement of Native Development Officers (CANDO), through an outreach and engagement grant ($20,000), on the development and test pilot of a mining sector specialization program for Economic Development Officers to engage and inform Indigenous Peoples on how minerals and mining can contribute to their community development goals.
• Supported Mining Matters, a charitable organization dedicated to bringing knowledge and awareness about Canada's geology and mineral resources to students, through an outreach and engagement grant ($20,000) to bring mining and mineral literacy to youth, Indigenous Peoples, remote communities, and other sector stakeholders. The grant was used to educate five remote communities involving at least 150 youth; undertake three teaching-training workshops for up to 12 teachers; and coordinate at least five public education community-based events.
• Participating on MiHR’s Indigenous Inclusion Training Development Committee to develop a framework and set of desired learning outcomes for consideration in employer training programs to ensure that all employees understand the unique historical, legal and cultural backgrounds of Indigenous populations in Canada.
• Coordinating with stakeholders to promote diversity in the sector, and ensuring recognition for companies with more female leaders and board members.
• Contributing funding ($700K over 4 years) to the Waubetek Business Development Corporation for the development of the Centre of Excellence for Indigenous Mineral Development, which will enable Indigenous peoples to have more meaningful participation in the minerals sector, and build their knowledge base and capacity to represent their rights and interests in the mining sector.

NRCan has been working collaboratively with provinces and territories to develop concrete actions under the first in a series of Action Plans to operationalize the Canadian Minerals and Metals Plan, including advancing six pan-Canadian initiatives as agreed to by Mines Ministers at the 2019 Energy and Mines Ministers’ Conference. These initiatives include a Canadians of Mining Campaign and educational tool that will highlight the variety of career opportunities in the mining sector in the hopes of creating a more diverse and equitable workforce; and convening conferences on Indigenous procurement in mining across Canada, in partnership with Indigenous business leaders and organizations, and provinces and territories. The first Indigenous procurement workshop was held at the Association

Activities under the Mining Sector Performance Report supported the advancement of Economic Participation and Prosperity, a GRF pillar. The report highlights key trends in the mining industry through selected economic, social, and environmental performance indicators. It is presented every three years at the Energy and Mines Ministers Conference. One of the social indicators in the report is “gender diversity.” The GBA+ conducted on the report identified a number of data deficiencies. For example, only gender was being measured through the “gender diversity” social performance indicator, leading to a lack of data on other diverse groups. As a result, better and more disaggregated data was requested from Statistics Canada. The new data points more accurately reflect gender and diversity in the mining industry. Within the report, a commitment was also made to consider redefining the gender diversity indicator to reflect broader definitions of workforce diversity. This would allow for disaggregated data beyond gender to be implemented in the 2022 update.

Activities under this initiative contributed to the advancement of Gender Equality Around the World, a GRF pillar. Actions taken under this framework support the Education and Skills Development; Economic Participation and Prosperity; and, Leadership and Democratic Participation pillars of the Gender Results Framework (GRF).

The C3E International Initiative is an international framework, organized under the Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM) and the International Energy Agency (IEA). The initiative’s goal is to advance gender equality in the clean energy sector, globally. Canada chairs the Executive Committee, and leads on the Awards and Recognition work stream, and the Equal by 30 Campaign work stream. The C3E Initiative has grown to eleven member governments, with continued interest and engagement from many more. At the tenth Annual Clean Energy Ministerial, the C3E Initiative launched the first international C3E Awards program, and released the second C3E Status Report on Gender Equality in the Energy Sector, which focused on improving systematic data collection in order to understand trends and identify actions to increase the presence and participation of women in the energy sector. C3E International has had a major impact on creating a global consensus around the need for action to increase the participation of women in clean energy.

C3E International Awards Program

Following the success of the past two years. For the 2020-2021 awards program, Canada is consulting with the C3E International Executive Committee on the possibility of expanding the award categories, which currently includes the Woman of Distinction Award and the Organizational Leadership Award. Awards will be presented at the 12th Clean Energy Ministerial to be hosted by Chile.

The Equal by 30 Campaign

NRCan leads C3E International’s Equal by 30 Campaign, on behalf of the Government of Canada. The campaign was launched on May 24th, 2018, at the CEM9 meeting in Copenhagen. Equal by 30 asks the public and private sectors to take concrete actions on several key themes including equal pay, equal leadership and equal opportunities for women in the clean energy sector by 2030. The campaign asks companies and governments to endorse high-level principles, set commitments, and take concrete action to increase the participation of women in the clean energy sector, and close the gender gap.150 signatories had joined as of December 2020, representing a broad range of industries and organizations across over 20 countries and several energy sub-sectors, including renewables, energy efficiency, oil and gas, clean tech, and nuclear energy.

The Equal by 30 Campaign is now in its second phase, and has established a reporting framework and baseline metrics to help signatories measure their progress against their commitments, track advancements on the goals of the campaign, and create a baseline of gender-disaggregated data for the energy sector. The aggregated data results will be publicized in 2021, and will inform further work by the C3E.