Government of Canada launches its 2030 agenda National strategy, Goal 5 is to promote gender equality

Canada launched a program called the Moving Forward Together – Canada’s 2030 Agenda National Strategy, in support of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

One of the goals in the program is to, ‘Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls.’ This means the country is committed to providing equal rights to women.

Gender disparity everywhere contributes to the subordination and exclusion of women and girls, leaving half of the world's expertise, experience, and information on the sidelines and communities working at less than half of their potential. It is important to go beyond improving women's and girls' health to improving their social status in order for development assistance to have the greatest effect.

Role of the government

The government can play a crucial role in providing gender equality by looking at:

• Implement and track programs designed to end inequality and discrimination
• Serve as a role model for gender equality by providing non-discriminatory services to residents and using fair labor practices, such as gender equality on city councils.
• Ensure that all financial and business assistance services are gender-responsive (e.g., micro-credit for women)
• Maternity and childcare benefits, as well as employee integration trainings, should be prioritized.
• Improve responsive community development, smart and mixed-use land use, and public spaces that cater to both men and women, as well as young children.
• Women's groups should be involved in stakeholder meetings.

Government objectives

In order to achieve this goal, the Canadian government has a list of objectives it seeks to achieve by 2030, this includes:

• End all forms of discrimination against all women and girls everywhere
• Eliminate all forms of violence against all women and girls in the public and private spheres
• Eliminate all harmful practices, such as child, early and forced marriage
• Recognize and value unpaid care and domestic work through the provision of public services, infrastructure and social protection policies and the promotion of shared responsibility within the household
• Ensure women's full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision-making in political, economic and public life
• Ensure universal access to sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights
• Undertake reforms to give women equal rights to economic resources, as well as access to ownership and control over land and other forms of property, financial services, inheritance and natural resources, in accordance with national laws

These programs work at a variety of levels of change, from the person to the household, society, policies, legislation, and services, to ensure that everyone, especially girls and women, can understand their rights and achieve their full potential, and that the change is long-lasting.