Gender Equality: Empowering People for a Stronger Middle Class

Brampton – The Government of Canada is committed to breaking down barriers to gender equality in education, employment and entrepreneurship, so that women and girls can contribute to—and benefit from—Canada’s success and prosperity.

When women have equal opportunities to succeed, they are powerful agents of change—driving strong economic growth, bringing new perspectives, and improving the quality of life for their families and their communities.

Through Budget 2018, the Government is taking a leadership role in addressing some of the long-standing barriers to gender equality. Some measures include announcing legislation to tackle the gender wage gap in federally regulated workplaces; providing better parental benefits; and introducing a whole-of-government tool called the Gender Results Framework, which will guide government priorities and measure progress in achieving gender equality.

Through Budget 2018, the Government proposes to take important steps towards gender equality, such as:

· Introducing proactive pay equity legislation for federally regulated sectors.

· Investing $3 million over five years to support pay transparency requirements in federally regulated sectors.

· Introducing a new Employment Insurance Parental Sharing Benefit that will provide up to five additional weeks of Employment Insurance parental benefits when parents—including adoptive and same-sex couples—agree to share parental leave.

· Increasing support for women-led businesses under a new Women Entrepreneurship Strategy by, among other actions, making available $1.65 billion over three years in new financing for women entrepreneurs through the Business Development Bank of Canada and Export Development Canada and providing $105 million to the regional development agencies over five years to deliver nationally coordinated and regionally tailored support for women entrepreneurs.

· Building on Canada’s Feminist International Assistance Policy and providing an additional $2 billion over five years to help those in need around the world.

· Investing $19.9 million over five years to pilot a new Apprenticeship Incentive Grant for Women, to encourage women’s increased representation in male-dominated—and better-paid—Red Seal trades.

With equality of opportunity as a guiding principle, Budget 2018 takes the next steps in the Government’s plan to create good, well-paying jobs, improve lives and grow the economy for all Canadians.

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“We’ve been talking about gender equality long enough. The time for action is now and Budget 2018 shows that we are committed to moving forward in supporting greater gender equality at home and at the workplace. The EI Parental Sharing Benefit is just one of many ways our government is working to improve opportunities for women and support the middle-class.” – Raj Grewal, MP

Related Products
· Budget Plan

· Budget Speech

· Gender Backgrounder

· Pictures from Parental Leave Announcement with Minister Hajdu at Gore Meadows Community Centre