2023–24 Departmental Results Report: 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 .

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

Applicability

All organizations must complete GBA Plus supplementary information tables in departmental plans and departmental results reports on an annual basis.

Section 1: Institutional GBA Plus governance and capacity

Governance

The Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) has a GBA Plus Framework to coordinate related work and to operationalize commitments to the Health Portfolio, the Department for Women and Gender Equality, within the CIHR Strategic Plan 2021-31 and the Tri-Agency EDI Action Plan. The CIHR GBA Plus Responsibility Centre leads, enhances, supports, and monitors implementation of CIHR’s GBA Plus Framework and the actual practice of GBA Plus. It is compromised of the GBA Plus Focal Point and staff of the Equity Policy Team within the Equity Strategy Branch, as well as CIHR’s GBA Plus Champion, currently the Vice-President, Research—Learning Health Systems.

Strategic guidance on GBA Plus/EDI-related matters is also provided by CIHR’s Science Council, while operational guidance and decision-making is provided by senior management. CIHR’s Governing Council is responsible for developing and approving CIHR’s strategic directions and applies an EDI lens to all deliberations.

CIHR has continued to work with its Employee EDI Committee which serves an advisory function to the Senior Leadership Committee on matters related to Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, Accessibility and Anti-racism (IDEAA). In the past year, the committee has completed the drafting of its Terms of Reference and was consulted on a range of initiatives, including the Year 1 Accessibility Progress Report and the upcoming Official Languages Action Plan 2024-2027.

In 2023–2024, CIHR also continued to engage the research community to inform action plans that address issues of systemic ableism and systemic racism in CIHR’s funding system. This included working with the CIHR External Advisory Committee on Accessibility and Systemic Ableism to co-develop the forthcoming Anti-Ableism Action Plan and dialogue on anti-Black racism and Black Health which built on engagements from 2022–23.

CIHR continued to work with the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council to implement the Tri-Agency  EDI Action Plan. This work is coordinated through an Interagency Committee on EDI supported by an Interagency EDI Policy Working Group.

Capacity

The GBA Plus Framework seeks to build GBA Plus organizational capacity and sustain the practice of GBA Plus through three streams:

• GBA Plus in CIHR-Funded Research: Aims to ensure that GBA Plus is considered in research design, methods, analysis, and interpretation and/or dissemination of findings.
  • Operationalized through the CIHR Sex and Gender-Based Analysis in Research Action Plan and the CIHR Institute of Gender and Health Strategic Plan.
• GBA Plus in CIHR’s Funding System: Aims to ensure equitable access to CIHR funds across eligible individuals.
  • Operationalized through the Gender Equity Framework, CIHR Strategic Plan 2021-2031 Action Plan for Year 3 (2023–24), and the Tri-Agency EDI Action Plan.
• GBA Plus in CIHR’s Workplace: Aims to ensure CIHR conducts its business in an equitable manner.
  • Operationalized through federal legislation (such as the Employment Equity Act, the Canadian Multiculturalism Act, the Official Languages Act, the Accessible Canada Act), policies (Harassment in the Workplace Policy), and mandatory GBA Plus and EDI-related training commitments for employees.

In 2023–24, CIHR published the Accessibility progress report 2023, which outlines CIHR’s commitments and action, and highlights the progress made on priority areas of its Accessibility Plan 2023-2026 from April 1, 2023 to September 30, 2023.

In December 2023, CIHR was notified that an inspection of its Accessibility Plan and feedback process description would be conducted pursuant to the Accessible Canada Act and the Accessible Canada Regulations. The Accessibility Plan Inspection Report identified 12 incidences of non-compliance: 2 relating to headings and 10 relating to the feedback process and details required on the steps taken to remove barriers. A corrective action plan was put into place and CIHR was commended for achieving a record low level of non-compliance as compared to other government departments that were previously audited.

In 2023–24, CIHR continued its IDEAA Learning Series for CIHR staff. Two learning events were held on IDEAA topics relevant to the health research funding system and the workplace.

In 2023–24, CIHR adopted the Public Service Recruitment System to leverage the built-in self-declaration and consent form, allowing applicants to self-declare and be given the options to use the data for the appointment process or statistical purposes only. CIHR’s previous recruitment system did not allow for this data collection.

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

During 2023–24, ten full-time equivalents (FTEs) were dedicated to working on GBA Plus.

Section 2: Gender and diversity impacts, by program

Core responsibility: Funding Health Research and Training

Program name: Investigator-Initiated Research

Program goals: This program provides funding to conduct research in areas related to health aimed at the discovery and application of knowledge. Funding is provided to researchers and academic organizations to conduct research, translate knowledge, and build capacity through research training and salaries. CIHR’s Investigator-Initiated Research Program collects sufficient data to enable the monitoring and reporting of program impacts across different identify dimensions.

Target population: All Canadians

Distribution of Benefits

Specific Demographic Group Outcomes: No particular group is negatively or positively affected.

Key program impacts on gender and diversity

Not available

Key program impact statistics

Core responsibility: Funding Health Research and Training

Program name: Research in Priority Areas

Program goals: This program provides funding for targeted grants and awards aimed at addressing priority areas identified by CIHR in consultation with other government departments and agencies, partners, and stakeholders. CIHR’s Research in Priority Areas Program collects sufficient data to enable the monitoring and reporting of program impacts across different identity dimensions.

Target population: All Canadians

Distribution of Benefits

Specific Demographic Group Outcomes: No particular group is negatively or positively affected.

Key Program impacts on gender and diversity

Key Program Impacts Statistics: In 2023–24, 74.9% of CIHR-funded research in the Research in Priority Areas Program integrated sex and gender considerations, exceeding the target of 54%.

Core responsibility: Funding Health Research and Training

Program name: Training and Career Support

Program goals: This program provides funding directly to promising current and next generation researchers to support training or career development. CIHR’s Training and Carer Support Program collects sufficient data to enable the monitoring and reporting of program impacts across different identity dimensions.

Target population: All Canadians

Distribution of Benefits

Specific Demographic Group Outcomes: No particular group is negatively or positively affected.

Key program impacts on gender and diversity

Key program impact statistics: In 2023–24, 84.9% of CIHR-funded research in the Training and Career Support Program integrated sex and gender considerations, exceeding the target of 63%.

GBA Plus Data Collection Plan

To monitor GBA Plus in its funding system, CIHR tracks diversity in applicants for and recipients of CIHR funding across all its three programs through the Tri-Agency Self-identification Questionnaire. The questionnaire collects information from applicants to the three programs of CIHR across eight identity dimensions, including age, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, population group, language, and identity as Indigenous or a visible minority. This information enables CIHR to identify, understand and address diversity and potential inequities with its funding system. Aggregate results are reported internally, the Program Information Profiles (PIPs), and externally in the Canada Research Coordinating Committee (CRCC) annual report and in four related indicators in the Departmental Results Framework.

CIHR has also expanded this data collection to peer reviewers. This new information will help CIHR better understand where systemic barriers exist, and to design equitable and inclusive programs that support the full and fair participation of all members of the health research community.

Definitions

Scales

Gender Scale

• First group: predominantly men (80% or more men)
• Second group: 60% to 79% men
• Third group: broadly gender-balanced
• Fourth group: 60% to 79% women
• Fifth group: predominantly women (80% or more women)

Income Level Scale

• First group: strongly benefits low income individuals (strongly progressive)
• Second group: somewhat benefits low income individuals (somewhat progressive)
• Third group: no significant distributional impacts
• Fourth group: somewhat benefits high income individuals (somewhat regressive)
• Fifth group: strongly benefits high income individuals (strongly regressive)

Age Group Scale

• First group: primarily benefits youth, children or future generations
• Second group: no significant intergenerational impacts or impacts on generations between youths and seniors
• Third group: primarily benefits seniors or the baby boom generation.

Date modified:

2024-12-17