UN Global Compact Network Canada embarked upon the Gender Equality Leadership in the Canadian Private Sector project after receiving funding from the Department for Women and Gender Equality. Over the course of three years, the project engaged over twenty private sector enterprises and expert organizations to develop, test and implement a set of tools designed to eliminate barriers faced by women in the workplace and accelerate gender equality for all employees and workers.
The tools resulting from this project include a Blueprint for Gender Equality Leadership in the Canadian Private Sector, a Maturity Model assessment tool and a resource database. Together, these tools can guide any organization looking to advance gender equality.
To access the Blueprint, Maturity Model, and resource database, please review this PDF.
Please note that our Blueprint for Gender Equality Leadership in the Canadian Private Sector website is currently down and we are working on getting it back online as soon as possible. Thank you for your understanding.
Project Deliverables and Resulting Tools
The Blueprint for Gender Equality Leadership in the Canadian Private Sector and Maturity Model work together to accelerate the advancement of gender equality in the workplace.
Over the course of the project, participating companies and advisory partners provided realistic insights about gender equality in the Canadian private sector and tested the applicability of the Blueprint and Maturity Model. Thanks to this collaboration, any organization can find value in consulting the Blueprint and Maturity Model no matter its size, industry, location, lifespan or how far advanced it is when it comes to achieving gender equality.
The Blueprint for Gender Equality Leadership in the Canadian Private Sector
The Blueprint is a comprehensive tool that contains information, recommendations, best practices from Canadian companies and resources to help organizations and individuals advance gender equality and learn more about what workplace inclusion should look like. The Blueprint can be used by any organization looking to implement solutions to systemic, cultural and institutional barriers that must be addressed in order to achieve gender equality in the workplace. The Blueprint was founded on three cornerstones of gender equality – Leadership, Inclusion and Transparency and Accountability – and the following gender equality attributes:
- Leadership
- Inclusion
- Organizational Culture
- Capacity Building and Awareness Raising
- Intersectionality
- Internal Communication
- Closing Gender Wage Gaps
- Recruitment, Retention, and Promotion
- Career Development
- Workplace Flexibility
- Workplace Safety and Wellbeing
- Marketing and Advertising
- Supply Chain
- Outreach Initiatives and Partnerships
- Transparency and Accountability
- Baseline Assessment of Gender Equality
- Goal Setting
- Measuring and Evaluating
- Reporting
To download a PDF of the Blueprint, please click here.
The Maturity Model
The Maturity Model is a self-assessment questionnaire that provides organizations with a tangible way to assess their current gender equality status and progress over time. Its structure is guided by the Blueprint’s cornerstones and the questions in the assessment correspond to the Blueprint’s gender equality attributes so that users can refer to the Blueprint to learn about what companies can do to take their results to the next level.
If you would like to view the Maturity Model questions in a PDF prior to completing the questionnaire online, please click here.
Project Overview and Accomplishments
The Gender Equality Leadership in the Canadian Private Sector project launched in 2018 on International Women’s Day in Ottawa with The Honourable Minister of Status of Women, Maryam Monsef (currently the Minister for Women and Gender Equality and Rural Economic Development.)
The project was built on active collaboration between Local Network Canada and the private sector to create a set of tools that any organization or individual could use to advance gender equality. The insight provided by over 20 participating companies and advisory partner organizations ensured that the project’s insights and outputs are accurate, relevant, realistic and applicable to different types of organizations in the Canadian private sector.
Between March 2018 – December 2020, the Gender Equality Leadership in the Canadian Private Sector project team:
- Conducted primary and secondary research and gathered tools, resources and guidelines related to improving gender equality and inclusion in the workplace
- Organized workshops and feedback sessions with participating companies to identify challenges and discuss potential solutions for advancing gender equality
- Participated in and attended external conferences, workshops and panels on gender equality across Canada
- Held annual year-end workshops with participating companies and advisory partners to gather feedback and insight to improve the project deliverables
- Collaborated with gender equality experts, certification companies, benchmarking organizations and subject matter specialists to ensure the project deliverables and recommendations were realistic and useful for the Canadian private sector
- Produced the Blueprint for Gender Equality Leadership in the Canadian Private Sector, an actionable roadmap with key recommendations and best practices designed to guide organizations looking to advance gender equality
- Created the Maturity Model, a comprehensive self-assessment tool that organizations can use to take stock of their current status and identify successful practices or priority areas to help further embed gender equality into the business core.
- Held a virtual forum, Business for Gender Equality 2020: A forum to fast-forward progress in the Canadian private sector, to publicly release the Blueprint, Maturity Model and resource database, and discuss the future of gender equality in Canadian workplaces with leaders, advocates, and experts from Canada and abroad.
Let's Make A
Positive Impact Together!
If you're interested in joining the UN Global Compact and tapping into its vast network in Canada, we invite you to take the next step. Become a Participant and help lead the charge to advance sustainable development and social responsibility with us.
Join Today© UN Global Compact Network Canada | Website by Mediasuite