Canada Women Soccer Facts
The Canada women's national soccer team is overseen by the Canadian Soccer Association. It is ranked 9th in the world. The team reached international prominence finishing in 4th place at the FIFA Women's World Cup 2003, losing to their archrival American team in the bronze medal match.
In 2008, Canada qualified for its first ever Olympic women's football tournament, and finished second in their group with a 1-1-1 record. This was good enough to qualify them for the knockout stage, where they lost to the number one team in the world, the United States in the quarterfinals.
World Cup record
• China 1991 - Did not qualify
• Sweden 1995 - 10th Place
• USA 1999 - 12th Place
• USA 2003 - 4th Place
• China 2007 - 9th Place
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada_women%27s_national_soccer_team
http://www.canadasoccer.com/tourney/FIFA_WWC/national.asp
• Women’s National Team, Women’s U-20 Team, and Women’s U-17 Team. (High Level teams)
Women Status in Canada
• Canada is a world leader in the promotion and protection of women's rights and gender equality. These issues are central to Canada's foreign and domestic policies. Canada is committed to the view that gender equality is not only a human rights issue, but is also an essential component of sustainable development, social justice, peace, and security.
• After a hard struggle, women's groups managed to have equality of the sexes included in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms which was part of the Canadian Constitution established in 1982
• The National Action Committee (NAC) was formed as a result of the frustration of women at the inaction of the federal government in regards to the recommendations of the Royal Commission. Beginning in 1972 as a coalition of 23 women's groups, by 1986 it had 350 organizational members, including the women's caucuses of the three biggest political parties. One of the most effective ways of improving the status and well-being of women is by ensuring their full, equal and effective participation in decision-making at all levels of political, economic and social life. This approach promotes and protects women's human rights while allowing society to benefit from the diverse experiences, talents and capabilities of all its members.
• In 1995 Setting the Stage: the Federal Plan for Gender Equality, the federal government of Canada established the incorporation of women's perspectives in governance as a central priority in foreign and domestic policy on gender equality and women's rights.
http://www.international.gc.ca/rights-droits/women-femmes/equality-egalite.aspx
• The Canadian Human Rights Commission, 1977, states that all Canadians have the right to equality, equal opportunity, fair treatment, and an environment free of discrimination on the basis of sex, sexual orientation, marital status and family status, in employment and the provision of goods, services, facilities or accommodation within federal jurisdiction.
• The Government of Canada is implementing a gender mainstreaming
- The Government of Canada adopted the Federal Plan for Gender Equality in 1995, as a response to the Beijing Platform for Action created at the Fourth World Conference on Women (1995) The key commitment of the Federal Plan was to "implement gender-based analysis throughout federal departments and agencies"
- The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the Canadian Human Rights Act outline legal obligations to ensure gender equality in Canada.
Women in the 2008 Election Campaign
• The 2008 election was one of records for women in Canadian politics. 69 or 22.4% of winning candidates in the 2008 election were women. This is both a record number and record percentage of MPs who are women.
The number of women elected for each party, and the proportion of women in the party's elected caucus, are as follows:
• Bloc - 15 (30.6% of caucus)
• Conservative - 23 (16.1% of caucus)
• Liberal - 19 (24.7% of caucus)
• NDP - 12 (32.4% of caucus)
http://www.sfu.ca/~aheard/elections/women.html
Women Quick Facts
• Canada ranks 50th in the world for women’s participation in politics.
• The occasion of Canada's National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence against Women on December 6, 2010, marking the 21st anniversary of the murder of 14 young women at l'École Polytechnique de Montréal.
• October is Women History month- October is Women's History Month in Canada. Proclaimed in 1992 by the Government of Canada, Women's History Month provides an opportunity for Canadians to learn about the important contributions of women and girls to our society - and to the quality of our lives today.
• International Women’s Day in Canada over 50 events in celebration for 2011
• Theme in Canada- Status of Women (Federal Gov): Strong Leadership. Strong Women. Strong World: Equality
http://www.swc-cfc.gc.ca/dates/whm-mhf/index-eng.html
Maps of Women’s Stats: http://womanstats.org/mapEntrez.htm
Women Economics in Canada
• In the 2009 Gender Gap Index, Canada ranked 25th.
• In 2009, Canada was ranked 73rd in the UN Gender Disparity Index. Canada has been strongly criticized by several UN human rights bodies on the issues of women’s poverty and the endemic violence against Aboriginal women and girls.
• On March 12, 2009, the House of Commons adopted the Public Sector Equitable Compensation Act (PSECA), as part of an omnibus bill entitled Budget Implementation Act 2009. The PSECA will entrench existing patterns of female inequality, and have a
profoundly discriminatory impact on the women working for the federal public service. This new law will weaken the pay equity provisions in existing Canadian law, and replace the current legislative framework for public sector workers with ineffective and regressive legislation.
• Women and girls in Canada are facing an array of social, economic, and structural challenges. Many women and girls across Canada are struggling to realize their potential while facing the multiple pressures of poverty, violence, and isolation. We acknowledge their strength and courage.
http://www.fafia-afai.org/files/2010-02-22-Canada-Beijing+15-NGO-Report-EN.pdf
Population-33,311,389
Region-OECD
Income Group-High income
Female Population-16,818,235
% of Women in the Workforce-75%
http://wbl.worldbank.org/ExploreEconomies/Canada
Same-Sex Marriage
• On July 20, 2005, Canada became the fourth country in the world and the first country in the Americas to legalize same-sex marriage nationwide with the enactment of the Civil Marriage Act which provided a gender-neutral marriage definition.
• The decision by the Ontario government to recognize the marriage that took place in Toronto, Ontario on January 14, 2001, makes Canada the first country in the world to have a same-sex marriage
Organizations Working on Gender
There are many Canadian organizations working on promoting gender equality, both in Canada and Overseas.
In Canada, the Status of Women Canada (SWC) is a federal government organization that "works with federal agencies to ensure that gender dimensions are taken into account in the development of policies and programs - by conducting gender-based analysis and supporting research". To learn more about the SWC, you can visit
The Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) "is Canada's lead agency for development assistance, with a mandate to support sustainable development in developing countries in order to reduce poverty and to contribute to a more secure, equitable, and prosperous world... All initiatives in Canada's aid program make gender equality considerations explicit, and a wide range of [Canadian funded] projects directly address gender-based issues. To learn more about CIDA, you can visit
There are also several non-governmental, educational and research organizations (please feel free to add examples) that promote gender equality in Canada. Canada also has private organizations such as Gender Equality Incorporated (GEI) that support efforts in Canada and overseas to promote gender equality. GEI works with government, non-government, corporate and other sectors to ensure that Canada's vision and commitment towards gender equality is realized.
Click here to find out more about GEI