In the international arena, Canada is considered a leader in terms of women's rights. Canada has been active in numerous United Nations forums (such as the Commission on the Status of Women, Commission on Human Rights, UNESCO, Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women) in supporting the advancement of women's concerns. Such involvement has also extended to other international forums, including the Commonwealth Women's Affairs Ministers Meetings, and the Organization of American States Inter-American Commission of Women.
Even before the UN Decade for Women began in 1976, the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) was supporting programmes that had a positive effect on women: in health, nutrition and income generation. Since producing its 1976 guidelines and releasing its innovative 1984 policy on Women in Development (WID), CIDA has worked consistently – both internally, and with its partners, other donors, and international institutions – to promote women’s full participation as both agents and beneficiaries of development. In 1995, CIDA expanded its WID policy into a WID and Gender Equality policy.
CIDA has observed the links between the status of women and the attainment of other social and economic objectives, and in reaction CIDA has developed strategies to address the increasing feminization of poverty, and to empower women to both earn sustainable livelihoods and influence political and economic decision makers. CIDA achieves its policy objectives through different means. For example, Policy Dialogue through which CIDA and its partners exchange views and information; and Programming Frameworks through which CIDA works with its partners to link its programming priorities with the projects that CIDA supports.
Other significant Canadian achievements in the field of women’s issues and rights include:
- In 1967 the Royal Commission on the Status of Women was established.
- In 1977 Parliament adopted the Canadian Human Rights Act, which forbids discrimination on the basis of sex and ensures women equal pay for work of equal value. The Act also created the Canadian Human Rights Commission, to promote knowledge of human rights in Canada and to encourage people to follow principles of equality; to provide a way to resolve individual complaints; and to help reduce barriers to equality in employment and access to services.
- The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms contains a clause ensuring that “the rights and freedoms referred to in it are guaranteed equally to male and female persons.”
- The Women’s Legal Education and Action Fund (LEAF) was founded to pursue women’s equality rights through litigation under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
- Canada initiated the 1993 UN Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women.
- Canada led a resolution at the 50th session on the Commission on Human Rights in 1994 to appoint a Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women to obtain information on violence against women and to recommend measures to eliminate such forms of violence. The Special Rapporteur has reported annually to the Commission on Human Rights since 1995.
- On International Women’s Day, March 8, 1993, the UN Commission on Human Rights adopted by consensus a first-ever resolution, introduced by Canada, aimed at integrating the rights of women into mainstream UN human rights mechanisms.
- The Federal Plan for Gender Equality, which was presented in 1995 at the Fourth UN World Conference on Women, details over 300 federal commitments to promote women's equality. One of the most important components of the Plan is a requirement that federal departments and agencies conduct gender-based analysis in order to ensure the integration of women's perspectives in the development, analysis and implementation of government legislation, policies and programs.
- Status of Women Canada was instrumental in developing the Framework for Integration of Women in APEC which was accepted by APEC Heads of State in 1999.
- In March 1999, Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) updated its policy on Gender Equality to guide the implementation of its Women in Development and other program priorities. The revised gender policy places a greater emphasis on the human rights of women and girls and links eradication of inequality between women and men to sustainable development, and especially to poverty reduction.
