Status of Women Ministers address key issues affecting women at 32nd Annual Meeting

DETTAH, NT, June 20, 2014 /CNW/ - The 32^nd Annual Meeting of Federal-Provincial-Territorial (FPT) Ministers responsible for the Status of Women took place this week in Dettah, Northwest Territories. The meeting was co-chaired by Parliamentary Secretary for Status of Women, Susan Truppe, and the Honourable Bob McLeod, Premier of the Northwest Territories and Minister Responsible for Women.

Participating ministers addressed key priorities at the meeting, including ending violence against women and girls. In particular, ministers discussed the serious issue of violence against Aboriginal women and girls, hearing from experts who shared their insights on this issue.

Ministers examined the work underway to address sexual violence against women, including two recently-published fact sheets on sexual violence, and expressed their support for a National Knowledge Exchange on Sexual Violence in 2015, which will coincide with the next FPT Ministers meeting.

The meeting also focused on promoting and advancing women in non-traditional occupations and, in particular, increasing the number of women working in the resource development sector of the economy. Ministers exchanged best practices for engaging women in the skilled trades, mining and other natural resource sectors and committed to working together to advance promising approaches to support their increased participation. Ministers also learned of the opportunities and challenges Aboriginal women face working in the natural resource industries.

Ministers will continue considering gender and diversity and exploring best practices within the development of government policies, programs and initiatives, recognizing that the use of an analytical tool that assesses the potential impacts of policies, programs or initiatives on diverse groups of women, men, girls and boys, is an important way to advance gender equality.

Quick Facts:

• Two fact sheets based on the report on sexual violence are now available online.
• Ministers reviewed the outcomes of the FPT-sponsored Cyberbullying and Online Sexual Exploitation in the Lives of Girls and Young Women Knowledge Exchange event held in October 2013.
• Ministers  supported the outcomes of the FPT-sponsored Best Practices for Supporting Women in Non-Traditional Occupations Knowledge Exchange held in March 2014.
• The next Annual Meeting of the FPT Ministers Responsible for the Status of Women will be hosted by Manitoba in 2015.
  

Quotes:

"The Government of Canada is committed to partnering with the provinces and territories to address the important issues facing women and girls in Canada today. Through collaboration, we can improve the safety, security and prosperity of women living in every community, all across our country."

Parliamentary Secretary Susan Truppe, on behalf of
The Honourable Dr. K. Kellie Leitch
Minister of Labour and Minister of Status of Women

"The annual meeting is an important opportunity for governments to focus on violence against women and other serious barriers to equality that continue to exist today. It is important to have these discussions in the north where these issues directly affect many of our residents. Our discussions on women in leadership and skilled trades were excellent opportunities to hear about how systemic barriers can be addressed."

The Honourable Bob McLeod
Premier of the Northwest Territories and Minister Responsible for Women

Additional Links

• Fact sheets on sexual violence against women
• Best Practices for Supporting Women in the Skilled Trades and Technical Professions Summary Report

Ce texte est également disponible en français.

For news releases and information on Status of Women Canada, go to women.gc.ca.

SOURCE: Federal-Provincial-Territorial (FPT) Ministers Responsible for the Status of Women

Nanci-Jean Waugh, Director General, Communications and Public Affairs, Status of Women Canada, Tel: [phone]; Brenda Norris, Media Liaison, Government of the Northwest Territories, Tel: [phone], Email: [email protected]