Strategy

CIDA's Strategy

Canada is a world leader in promoting and advocating gender equality. This has been recognized by the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) of the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in its Peer Review of Canada.

CIDA supports development results that allow for:

• more equal participation of women with men as decision-makers in shaping the sustainable development of their societies;
• the enhanced ability of women and girls to realize their full human rights; and
• greater equality between women and men in access to and control over the resources and benefits of development.

CIDA is in constant dialogue with its multilateral partners, including United Nations organizations, international financial institutions, and global health partnerships, in order to assist them in achieving greater equality for women and implement their commitments to gender equality. Core financial support is provided to the United Nations Women's Development Fund (UNIFEM) and the United Nations Fund for Population Activities (UNFPA) in recognition of their crucial roles in supporting the rights of women and girls. Canada has strengthened its commitment to gender equality by explicitly and systematically integrating gender equality results in each of its five sectors of focus:

• Governance: promoting women's equal participation in decision-making at all levels; fighting gender-specific human rights violations such as sexual violence; and building the capacity of partners to promote gender equality.
• Health: improving access to, and affordability of, sexual and reproductive health services; strengthening preventive programs that promote women's health; using a gender-sensitive approach to fighting HIV/AIDS; and eliminating discrimination against girls in health and nutrition.
• Basic education: supporting specific initiatives and general reforms that reduce or eliminate gender inequality, such as girls' access to education; developing non-discriminatory education, skills development and training; and supporting education in the area of sexual and reproductive health.
• Private sector development: increasing control by women over productive assets like land, capital or credit, technology, and skills; increasing access to decent, more and better jobs; and increasing capacity of partner institutions to design and implement policies, programs, and projects related to private sector development that reflect the priorities and interests of both women and men.
• Environmental sustainability: integrating gender equality concerns and perspectives into policies and programs, and strengthening or establishing mechanisms at all levels to assess the impact of these policies on women and men.

In addition to the five sectors of focus, CIDA also supports gender equality results in its programming for fragile states and humanitarian assistance. Key areas of emphasis include the equitable participation of women in peacebuilding and disaster preparedness initiatives; measures to prevent and respond to sexual and gender-based violence; and protection of women and girls during humanitarian crises.

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CIDA's expectations of multilateral partners-in both the United Nations system and international financial institutions-also involves attention to gender equality results. CIDA's Framework for the Assessment of Gender Equality Results (PDF 269 KB, 25 pages) emphasizes that partners are expected to report on how their development results are supporting greater equality between women and men.