Response of the Permanent Mission of Canada to the United Nations in New York to the audit of the Gender Pledge

"Let's walk the talk"

September, 2021

In September 2018, the Permanent Mission of Canada to the United Nations in New York (PRMNY) officially launched its Gender Pledge.  At the time, Global Affairs Canada had already adopted a Feminist International Assistance Policy (FIAP) and a Feminist Foreign Policy (FFP), and multiple government departments were signatories to Canada's National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security (2017-2022). 

The Gender Pledge, with the goal of affirming gender equality not only in policy but also to articulate it in practice, encompassed the Mission's commitments to gender equality through two dimension.  First, a set of commitments in institutional gender mainstreaming and the promotion of gender equality within the Mission's operations and work practices.  Second, commitments on targeted and integrated initiatives to promote gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls of diverse backgrounds across the work of the Mission in the United Nations system and with external stakeholders. 

The audit was triggered by a Management commitment in the pledge to "regularly conduct a gender audit every two years to assess and review the differential impact of working methods and working conditions on men and women, to encourage work-life balance, and to review the institutionalization of gender equality in the policies, programs, structures, and interactions of the mission."  The Mission is pleased that the findings of the audit demonstrate that the existence and implementation of the Gender Pledge has had significant impact on the staff working at the Mission and in the duties performed within the UN system.  It is seen as being critically important to the Mission's efforts to promote gender equality, and the empowerment of women and girls.  The Mission is also pleased that the application of a gender lens or gender analysis, supported by factual information, is becoming a routine part of the staff work across all Mission's files.  The audit also revealed that regular and intensive consultations with civil society partners on gender equality and the rights of women and girls are a routine part of many officers work to inform the Mission's position on many files at the UN.

The Mission intends to continue the key aspects of the Gender Pledge that the audit recommends be maintained:

• Management commits to continued leadership on gender equality and pursue ways to enhance work-life flexibility/balance for staff.
• All staff will be invited once again to read and sign the Gender Pledge.  Furthermore, all new Staff will be briefed on the Gender Pledge and prior signing the pledge will meet with the Gender co-Champions to discuss and clarify any aspects of the pledge. 
• We will continue to value female representation and leadership, including unequivocally advocating for gender balance in delegations, panels, events, etc. 
• We will continue to advocate for strong gender language in resolutions adopted by the main bodies of the UN in New York, and in Canadian national statements delivered in these bodies.
• We will continue to advocate for women to be appointed to senior positions within the UN system, in support of the UNSG's Gender Parity Pledge.

To ensure that the Gender Pledge is delivered upon in concrete terms, the Mission will:

• Highlight and discuss one of the Gender Pledge commitment in its "all staff meeting" once a month.  This will create more frequent opportunities to reflect and exchange information across Mission sections on challenges, progress, and good practices in implementing commitments of the Gender Pledge, and with the objective of developing gender analytical "implementation tips/tools" to continue to drive the implementation of the Pledge.
• Include commitments to implement the Gender Pledge within performance agreements of all Mission staff to ensure that they are responsible and accountable for their efforts to implement the Pledge through concrete objective, targets and indicators.
• Conduct training and awareness-raising events for all staff on Gender, Diversity and Inclusion topics, as well as increase knowledge on Gender Based Analysis (GBA+) within the Mission.  Relevant training in these areas will be discussed with all Mission staff and reflected in their individual Learning and Development Plan within their performance agreements.
• Develop Mission Workplace Sexual Harassment and Violence Prevention Guidelines and ensure training for all Mission staff on these Guidelines.
• Forge new and deeper partnerships with civil society organizations and meaningfully consult with them on intergovernmental processes implicating all Mission components with a view to gaining additional perspectives on the differentiated impact of our work on people with a particular emphasis on women and girls.

In the implementation of the Pledge, the Mission will conduct outreach to other missions, within the UN system and amongst senior UN officials on Canada's approach to gender equality to encourage others to support Canada in our advocacy efforts across different files.

The Mission will evaluate progress in a stock-taking session in mid-2022.  This will enable us to reflect on overall progress against the audit, the efficacy of specific efforts taken since the audit, and any changes required to strengthen our collective commitment to the Pledge.

We, all Mission staff, remain deeply committed to the Gender Pledge, as achieving gender equality is not the sole responsibility of gender experts but of everyone of us.