Gender-based analysis plus SIT for the 2021-22 Departmental Results Report

Publication type
Departmental results report

Section 1: Institutional GBA Plus Capacity

OSFI is a prudential financial regulator, focused on financial stability and the solvency, liquidity, safety and soundness of federally regulated financial institutions (FRFIs) and private pension plans (FRPPs). OSFI's focus is on controlling and managing risks to FRFIs and FRPPs to ensure such institutions can continue to provide services and maintain market confidence.

OSFI does not provide services or benefits to individual Canadians. Its clientele is restricted to federally regulated entities, which include all banks in Canada, and all federally incorporated or registered trust and loan companies, insurance companies, cooperative credit associations, fraternal benefit societies, and private pension plans. OSFI's scope of regulation does not include consumer or consumer-related issues or the securities sector, which are the responsibility of other agencies, both federal and provincial.

OSFI is one of the agencies under the Finance portfolio. In the context of its legislative and regulatory work, including statutory amendments and regulatory amendments, work is normally led by the Department of Finance where OSFI's role in this regard is typically a supporting role.

GBA Plus is the analysis of all intersecting identity factors of diverse groups of women, men and gender-diverse people to be more inclusive in the approach to developing, delivering and evaluating initiatives. The Government of Canada recently renewed its commitment to GBA Plus and is working to strengthen its implementation across all federal departments. GBA Plus is being used in the development of policies, programs and legislation.

For the 2021-22 reporting period, OSFI did not have any Full-Time Employee Equivalents (FTE) dedicated to GBA Plus implementation and GBA Plus was not measured. However, a new Culture, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (CDEI) unit was created in 2021-22 and subsequently, a DEI Strategy and 3-year Action Plan were developed with positive implications for GBA Plus work. Diversity and inclusion are core values OSFI upholds. For the 2021-22 reporting period, GBA Plus was taken into consideration when determining data collection and reporting plans pertaining to OSFI’s Investment Plan for 2022-26.

In the future, the OSFI reporting framework and program inventory will be reviewed from a GBA Plus perspective. Furthermore, consideration will be given to how to apply GBA Plus to internal policies that impact OSFI employees. In addition, GBA Plus training will be offered to all managers through Women and Gender Equality Canada and OSFI will develop and implement a Pay Equity Plan.

Section 2: Gender and Diversity Impacts, by Program

Core Responsibility: Financial Institution and Pension Plan Regulation and Supervision

Program Name: Risk Assessment and Intervention – Federally Regulated Financial Institutions

Target Population: Specific regions or sectors of the economy: Financial and Insurance Sectors

Distribution of Benefits: Not available

Key Program impacts on Gender and diversity: Not available

Other Key Program impacts on gender and diversity: These responses apply to all OSFI programs and core responsibilities as presented in the current reporting framework.

In its regulatory and supervisory role, OSFI’s primary interactions and clientele are federally regulated financial institutions and pension plans and the scope of regulation does not include consumer or consumer-related issues or the securities sector. Given its mandate, OSFI does not provide direct services or benefits to individual Canadians. At a high level, OSFI's programs, supporting its first core responsibility, align with the "Economic Participation and Prosperity" pillar of the Gender Results Framework.

GBA Plus Data Collection Plan: In reporting year 2021-22, OSFI was not in a position to quantify the distribution of benefits by gender, income level, or age group. Similarly, no program indicators identified impacts on these sub-populations. In the future, OSFI’s programs will be reviewed from a GBA+ perspective.

Program Name: Regulation and Guidance of Federally Regulated Financial Institutions

Target Population: Specific regions or sectors of the economy: Financial and Insurance Sectors

Distribution of Benefits: Not available

Key Program impacts on Gender and diversity: Not available

GBA Plus Data Collection Plan: Nothing to report for 2021-22. Same response as above.

Program Name: Regulatory Approvals and Legislative Precedents

Target Population: Specific regions or sectors of the economy: Financial and Insurance Sectors

Distribution of Benefits: Not available

Key Program impacts on Gender and diversity: Not available

GBA Plus Data Collection Plan: Nothing to report for 2021-22. Same response as above.

Program Name: Risk Assessment and Intervention - Federally Regulated Financial Institutions

Target Population: Specific regions or sectors of the economy: Financial and Insurance Sectors

Distribution of Benefits: Not available

Key Program impacts on Gender and diversity: Not available

GBA Plus Data Collection Plan: Nothing to report for 2021-22. Same response as above.

Core Responsibility: Actuarial Services to Federal Government Organizations

Program Name: Actuarial Valuation and Advice

Target Population:

  • Specific regions or sectors of the economy: Public Sector (Federal Departments and Agencies; Members of Parliament)
  • All Canadians: General Public

Distribution of Benefits: Not available

Key Program impacts on Gender and diversity: Not available

Other Key Program impacts on gender and diversity: Demographic trends are considered in actuarial analyses, and the Office of the Chief Actuary performs an enabling function to other government organizations through the provision of actuarial services. It provides checks and balances on future costs of pension plans under its responsibility and performs statutory actuarial valuations of various programs, including the Canada Student Loans Program.

At a high level, the Actuarial Valuation and Advice program align with the "Economic Participation and Prosperity", "Education and Skills Development", and "Poverty Reduction, Health and Well-Being" pillars of the Gender Results Framework.

GBA Plus Data Collection Plan: Nothing to report for 2021-22. Same response as above.

Core Responsibility: Internal Services

Program Name: Internal Services

Target Population: All OSFI Employees

Distribution of Benefits: Not available

Key Program impacts on Gender and diversity: Not available

Other Key Program impacts on gender and diversity: In 2021-22, a new Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) unit was created, and several activities began that have positive implications for GBA Plus work in 2022-23. These included:

  • Inclusion of a Workforce Planning Pillar with OSFI’s Human Capital Strategy, underlining OSFI’s commitment to a diverse and inclusive workforce including taking proactive steps to remove real or potential biases, or systemic barriers in OSFI’s people management, recruitment, and promotion processes.
  • Examination of hiring and promotion processes, tools, and practices to determine where OSFI can improve access and representation.
  • Inclusion of DEI-related corporate commitments into performance management agreements for all employees.
  • Conduct of a diversity and inclusion diagnostic to assess OSFI’s current state with regards to inclusion and belonging, ensuring all employees had the opportunity to be heard and supporting the development of OSFI’s first-ever DEI Strategy and Action Plan.

OSFI is currently developing mechanisms for measuring the success and progress of the DEI Strategy. For this work, OSFI will leverage the Centre for Global Inclusion’s DEI benchmarks as a starting point that will help track progress against the broader vision for DEI at OSFI.

GBA Plus Data Collection Plan: In 2021-22, OSFI did not collect data specifically for GBA Plus analysis. However, it did acquire data from the annual organizational Self-identification Campaign (March 2022). The self-identification campaign collected voluntary data from staff on topics such as; gender, race, disability, etc. These data will assist in future integration into programs and for our employment systems review planned for 2022-23.