We recently evaluated a three-year project to develop, test and implement tools designed to support gender equality in Canadian private sector organizations. The project was led by the Global Compact Network Canada (GCNC) in partnership with a network of private-sector partners and advisers, and funded by the Department for Women and Gender Equality (WAGE).
We’re excited to share two tools with you that were developed by GCNC and its partners over the course of this project:
- The Blueprint for Gender Equality, a comprehensive, actionable roadmap that is designed to guide and assist organizations looking to improve workplace gender equality.
- The Maturity Model, a self-assessment tool that organizations can use to identify opportunities to improve gender equality in the workplace.
Each of these tools is being championed by leaders in the private sector, including IKEA Canada, Starbucks Canada, Unilever Canada and TELUS.
In a forum held on Dec 2, 2020, GCNC and its network of partners formally launched these tools and highlighted the achievements, opportunities, and next steps in advancing gender equality in the Canadian workplace.
Our role as evaluators was to work with GCNC to identify lessons learned that could inform future efforts to engage the private sector in work on gender equality initiatives and to help GCNC report back to its funder. Our team assessed the achievement of planned results and the effectiveness of partner engagement, and helped GCNC identify lessons about what works and what more is needed in promoting gender equality in the private sector.
In short, we helped GCNC document this project’s accomplishments and impact. This timeline below visually depicts key milestones and the work involved in bringing different partners on board while building new tools and relationships along the way.
Our evaluation highlighted the following findings:
- The importance of effective partnerships
- The value of having an adaptive project management approach
- The development of high-quality resources for Canadian companies
- A collaborative approach to partner engagement
More lessons learned from the project are documented here.
At the conclusion of the project, apart from celebrating success in the development of tools, during the facilitated session partners brainstormed on how to keep the momentum going. Moving forward, partners are committed to using the Blueprint and/or Maturity Model and plans include:
- Secure support from senior leadership for gender equality
- Align their organizations’ gender equality activities with global commitments
- Support their organizations’ broader commitments to the Sustainable Development Goals
We’re pleased to see these tools being shared and used by leaders in the private sector. If you’d like more information about this project, feel free to reach out to Cathexis or to the GCNC team:
- Ayman Chowdhury, Project Leader
- Sandra Espinosa, Project Manager
- Brittany Gataveckas, Project Associate