Excerpts from the report:
There is a widespread belief in Canada that women have achieved equality with men. Although much progress has been made over the past decades, however, women in Canada continue to earn less than men, to experience higher levels of poverty, and to be disproportionately affected by domestic violence. The inequalities are even more marked for certain groups in Canada, such as Aboriginal women.
Addressing this equality gap requires a dual approach: developing policies, programs and legislation that are women-specific as well as ensuring that legislation, programs and policies which are not specifically targeted for women do not inadvertently maintain or exacerbate any equality gap.
Gender-based analysis is not an end in itself but a tool to ensure that programs and policies benefit women and men equally. The Committee recognizes that care must be taken not to prescribe actions which would result in meaningless reporting burden on departments without addressing the persisting inequalities between men and women.