Departmental Results Report 2021-22: Gender-based analysis plus
Section 1: Institutional GBA plus capacity
Two key actions in 2021-22 advanced the implementation of gender-based analysis plus (GBA plus) governance within the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) and helped build institutional GBA plus capacity:
the creation in May 2021 of the external Advisory Committee to Address Anti-Black Racism; and
the incorporation of a GBA plus lens into an umbrella evaluation of tri-agency programs supporting research talent.
Both of these initiatives will provide qualitative and quantitative information to inform SSHRC’s understanding of the differential impacts of its program activities on marginalized or underrepresented groups, and could point to program design measures to improve access to SSHRC funding, and broader participation in the research enterprise.
SSHRC’s Advisory Committee to Address Anti-Black Racism is composed of 11 members from the Canadian community of Black researchers. The committee is mandated to advise SSHRC’s Vice-President, Research, on ways to break down existing barriers, to ensure equitable access for Black scholars, and to amplify their voices and enhance their visibility in SSHRC research and research training programs.
SSHRC continues to incorporate a GBA plus lens to its program evaluations. In 2021-22, it launched a tri-agency—that is, involving SSHRC, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research—program evaluation for talent programs that integrates a framework for equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) and GBA plus. Data collection is complete and the evaluation report is expected in fall 2022.
GBA plus departmental capacity was also advanced through information and resources available on a new external EDI webpage; continued collection of self-identification data from funding applicants, co-applicants and merit reviewers (since 2018); and an annual update to SSHRC’s EDI dashboard. The questionnaire and dashboard are important sources of administrative data on the participation of underrepresented groups in SSHRC’s funding programs. In 2021-22, SSHRC monitored any changes in application rates and award rates of specific subgroups to identify any ongoing differential impacts of the pandemic. SSHRC also undertook a deeper analysis of the application rates and award rates for Black researchers and trainees in SSHRC’s funding opportunities, to support the work of the Advisory Committee to Address Anti-Black Racism.
SSHRC continued to implement mandatory training for all staff: Introduction to GBA Plus; and Diversity and Inclusion. Bias in Peer Review is mandatory training for program delivery staff. Staff members who handle self-identification data must take the Introduction to Security Awareness course and the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Data and Privacy Protection course. Recent completion rates for staff training are as follows:
SSHRC administers some programs on behalf of the three federal research funding agencies through the Tri-agency Institutional Programs Secretariat (TIPS). TIPS advanced its EDI objectives in 2021-22 by continuing to implement and monitor the requirements of the 2019 Addendum to the 2006 Canadian Human Rights Settlement Agreement (a federal court order) for the Canada Research Chairs Program. This work includes requiring participating institutions to set equity targets principally based on Canada’s population within their allocation of chairs (50.9% women, 7.5% persons with disabilities, 4.9% Indigenous Peoples and 22% members of racialized minorities), which will need to be met by 2029. It also involves requiring institutions to implement their own EDI action plans for the program.
TIPS provides equity training for all members of its tri-agency executive management governance committees and implements action plans related to EDI objectives from the management responses to the program evaluations for the Canada Excellence Research Chairs, Canada 150 Research Chairs and Canada First Research Excellence Fund.
Section 2: Gender and diversity impacts, by program
Terms used in this section are explained in Definitions.
Core responsibility: Funding Social Sciences and Humanities Research and Training
Core responsibility: Institutional Support for the Indirect Costs of Research
Program name:
Research Support Fund
Target population:
Colleges and/or universities
Distribution of benefits:
First group
Second group
Third group
Fourth group
Fifth group
By gender
Men
Women
By income level
Low
High
First group
Second group
Third group
By age group
Youth
Senior
Program name:
Internal Services
Target population:
SSHRC staff
Distribution of benefits:
First group
Second group
Third group
Fourth group
Fifth group
By gender
Men
Women
By income level
Low
High
First group
Second group
Third group
By age group
Youth
Senior
Other key program impacts on gender and diversity:
The Introduction to GBA Plus course and associated mandatory training given to policy and program delivery staff enabled those employees to define key concepts of GBA plus and to recognize how various identity factors can influence the experience of members of designated groups in dealing with the federal government.
A mandatory Bias-Awareness Training for Staffing Purposes course was offered throughout the year. The course provides a range of examples and strategies for mitigating the impacts of biases in the staffing process. The course is designed for executives, managers, supervisors and staff participating in hiring committees. Subsequently, a bias-awareness checklist with tips for the screening and interview processes was developed to remind managers to be aware of their possible biases so they can try to eliminate them from these processes.
Ongoing communication continued with managers through the quarterly human resources bulletin and with all staff through monthly learning emails, highlighting various learning opportunities related to EDI and GBA plus.
GBA plus data collection plan
SSHRC has developed its data collection and analysis for its programs through the self-identification questionnaire. SSHRC collects self-identification information from all applicants, co-applicants and collaborators, and merit review committee members. This data collection allows SSHRC to monitor the equity performance of its programs and, eventually as needed, design measures that achieve greater EDI. SSHRC’s EDI dashboard interactively presents an aggregated summary of applications, awards, success rates and committee participation in relation to the identity factors collected on the self-identification questionnaire (age, gender, Indigenous, visible minority, disability).
