By Sarah Bonato, Reference/Research Librarian, CAMH Library
The theme for International Day of Women's Health 2019 is #BalanceforBetter. Gender balance is defined as an equitable distribution of life’s opportunities and resources between women and men, and/or the equal representation of women and men.
See below for resources on achieving gender balance in Canada.
Status of Women in Canada: 2018-2019 Departmental Plan (2018)
From the Government of Canada
- This report from the Minister of the Status of Women discusses how to combat systematic barriers to gender equality, intiatives for supporting international engagement to advance gender equality aboard, preventing gender-based violence, and steps to increase gender equality in Canada. A good source for also viewing what indicators have been selected in order to measure achievements.
Access at https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2018/cfc-swc/SW1-7-2018-eng.pdf
Gender Equality in Canada: Mainstreaming, Governance and Budgeting (2018)
From the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
- Has info on the current state of gender equality in Canada, how achieving gender equality is being addressed through governmental policy (such as advancing gender budgeting) and recommendations for the future. A good source for also reading about the key gender equality milestones achieved in Canada.
Access at https://www.oecd.org/canada/gender-equality-in-canada-9789264301108-en.htm
The Role of Municipalities in Advancing Women’s Equity in Canada: the Canadian Commission for UNESCO’s IdeaLab (2018)
From UNESCO and the Canadian Commission for UNESCO
- A reflection paper on how municipal governments have opportunities to apply a gender lens to city planning, develop gender-specific programming, and support gender equality in decision-making. A good source for reading about the unique role municipalities can play—for example, local women’s organizations have a long history of successfully working with municipalities.
Access at https://en.ccunesco.ca/-/media/Files/Unesco/Resources/2018/TheRoleOfMunicipalitiesInAdvancingWomenEquityInCanada_MeghanBrooks.pdf
Want to more data on gender equality in Canada? See Statistics Canada’s website Gender, Diversity and Inclusion at https://www.statcan.gc.ca/eng/topics-start/gender_diversity_and_inclusion for quick stats on health, education, and economic wellbeing.
References
OECD (2017), The Pursuit of Gender Equality: An Uphill Battle, OECD Publishing, Paris. https://dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264281318-en
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