Actively Engaged: A Policy on Sport for Women and Girls

Action Plan 2009-2012

Objective

This Action Plan describes Canadian Heritage’s initial activities to implement the new policy on sport for women and girls.

Context

The Action Plan forms part of a suite of linked policy documents, including the policy which sets out the intended direction, and the Policy Accountability Framework which describes the measurement and evaluation strategy.

While the policy and the logic model in the accountability framework are intended to be long-term documents, there will be a series of action plans, each three-to-five years in duration and regularly updated throughout the life of the policy.  This action plan includes an overview of activities that will be undertaken by Canadian Heritage.  Each group within Canadian Heritage with a sport-related mandate – namely Sport Canada, and International Affairs – will be responsible for its own activities, and may develop more specific plans to guide internal work.

The activities in this action plan have been identified through analysis of Canadian Heritage program and activity areas, and in consultation with an advisory group of sport community members.  It should be noted that the action plan is intended to ensure that considerations for the active engagement of women and girls are fully integrated into all sport-related programs and activities of Canadian Heritage.  The action plan activities are organized based on the Policy Intervention areas outlined in the policy, namely:

• Program Improvement
• Strategic Leadership
• Awareness
• Knowledge Development

Implementation actions:

1. Establish performance indicators for each of Canadian Heritage’s programs and initiatives (e.g. Sport Support Program, Hosting Program, Athlete Assistance Program, Sport Canada Research Initiative, Games missions, international bilateral agreements) that assist in monitoring the engagement of women and girls in sport and identify gender gaps.
   
   
2. Improve Canadian Heritage’s funding practices to encourage funded organizations or programs to actively engage women and girls in sport, through regular updates to its contribution program tools.  These include the Sport Funding and Accountability Framework tools (eligibility, assessment and accountability), hosting tools (e.g. assessments and Multi-party Agreements), provincial/territorial bilateral agreement processes and international sport initiatives.
   
   
3. Support and encourage organizations funded through Sport Canada via on-going liaison processes to actively engage women and girls as governance leaders, coaches, technical leaders, officials and athletes participants (as appropriate), including through the provision of facilitation expertise and use of readiness and gap analysis tools.
   
   
4. Ensure that Canadian Heritage program enhancements or new initiatives are designed and developed with consideration of active engagement of women and girls, particularly in designated roles.  Examples identified to date as important to addressing barriers for women and girls include: working with organizations to adapt governance structures, volunteer and professional development, new/revised inclusive policies for organizations, targeted research, high-performance coach mentorships and development, and officials development.

Implementation actions:

1. Ensure gender equity considerations in Canadian Heritage staffing and assignment actions related to sport (including for Games Missions, presentations, international delegations, and attendance at the Sport Leadership Conference), in accordance with Public Service Commission and departmental guidelines and best practices, particularly in leadership roles and where there is interaction with the sport community.
   
   
2. Advocate with Provincial/Territorial Governments to support and/or develop sport programs and initiatives that actively engage women and girls in sport as athlete participants, coaches, technical leaders and officials, and as governance leaders (as appropriate).
   
   
3. Advocate with other governments individually and in sport-related fora to support and/or develop sport programs and initiatives that actively engage women and girls in sport as athlete participants, coaches, technical leaders and officials, and as governance leaders, as applicable.
   
   
4. Advocate with other federal government departments to consider gender equity in their involvement with sport events or programs, and ensure that joint initiatives actively engage women and girls as appropriate (e.g. activities coordinated via the Working Together Initiative or the Joint Consortium for School Health).
   
   
5. Promote the active engagement of women and girls and considerations of gender equity in Canadian Heritage supported sport programs, services and initiatives.  This includes the work of funded organizations (such as National Sport Organizations or Canadian Sport Centres), and the work of supported groups such as Podium Canada or the Long-Term Athlete Development Experts Group.

Implementation actions:

1. Ensure existing social marketing and promotion of sport and physical activity supported by Canadian Heritage includes considerations of gender equity and includes messages specifically encouraging the active engagement of women and girls.  This includes Canadian Heritage sport-related communications, and jointly supported initiatives such as ParticipACTION.
   
   
2. Actively share promising/best practices of actively engaging women and girls between organizations and initiatives funded through Canadian Heritage.
   
   
3. Develop and deliver workshops to assist organizations funded through Canadian Heritage to maximize the active engagement of athlete participants, coaches, technical leaders and officials, and as governance leaders.
   
   
4. Examine with Broadcasting and Digital Communications Branch the feasibility and effectiveness of policies and initiatives to promote media and broadcast content of women and girls in sport.
   
   
5. Promote internationally the benefits of quality sport experiences for women and girls through bilateral agreements and participation in multilateral commissions and working groups.

Implementation actions:

1. Identify a baseline of women and girls actively engaged as athlete participants, coaches, technical leaders and officials, and as governance leaders within sport organizations with whom Sport Canada has contribution agreements.
   
   
2. Develop and implement tools (including knowledge sharing) to assist staff in the gender based analysis of Canadian Heritage sport-related programs and activities.
   
   
3. Develop and promote tools (including knowledge sharing) to assist organizations funded through Sport Canada in the gender based analysis of their programs and initiatives.
   
   
4. Support research and knowledge dissemination initiatives that further the understanding of active engagement of women and girls as athlete participants, coaches, technical leaders and officials, and as governance leaders.
   
   
5. Ensure that existing key studies such as the Status of the Athlete and Status of the Coach studies include gender sensitive data and gender based analysis.
   
   
6. Actively participate in national and international conferences where there is a significant exchange of information on the active engagement of women and girls in sport.

For more information, read Actively Engaged: A Policy on Sport for Women and Girls.

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