Canada’s Gender Equality Week highlights the country’s commitment to inclusivity and equality – a commitment reflected beyond Canada’s borders through international assistance efforts. As part of the 2023 edition, we are sharing a new Canadian-funded project underway in Central America addressing gender equality gaps through local governance.

El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras make up the dry corridor of the northern triangle of Central America. In this region, barriers threaten the physical, economic, and political autonomy of women, young people, and the Indigenous population. At the source of these barriers are power inequalities, creating difficult living conditions related to high levels of poverty, forced migration, lack of employment, violence, and crime.

Canada’s response

Within the dry corridor, 12 municipalities are the focus of Canada’s new Women Leading Change Project. Funded by Global Affairs Canada, the project promotes gender equality and the empowerment of women, youth and Indigenous People to foster leadership and decision-making.

Led by Alinea International, a consortium of implementing organizations is working on this issue, as well as preventing and responding to sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) by strengthening mechanisms managed by municipal governments. The local implementing organizations include Mancomunidad Trinacional Fronteriza Río Lempa (MTFRL) and Centro de Investigación, Capacitación y Apoyo a la Mujer (CICAM).

“As a woman, I work to motivate and accompany women to gain power for themselves individually and collectively; and when women access power, they immensely improve the lives of all the people who are in their family, community, and municipal environments,” said Ana Hernández, Gender Equality Advisor for the project.

Work in these areas contributes to the achievement of substantive equality, which refers to modifying the circumstances that prevent people from fully exercising their rights – aligned with the principles of Canada’s Feminist International Assistance Policy.

The project team engages municipal governments to institutionalize commitments to gender equality into local governance. This means:

Identifying gender inequality gaps and addressing them in local public policies
Allocating budget to interventions designed to achieve equality
Integrating a gender approach into public investment projects
Strengthening Municipal Women’s Offices for the integral development of women
Promoting and strengthening mechanisms and spaces for community participation that account for the rights, needs, and interests of all – without distinctions based on sex, gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, age, disability, religion, or other areas of vulnerability

Municipal Women’s Offices provide a key link. They promote the integral development of women at the municipal level and a means for the project team to collaborate with municipal governments. Psychologists and lawyers assigned to Municipal Women’s Offices provide psychological and legal assistance – a key component of the project, along with delivering operational technical assistance.

What’s next

In the coming months, the project team will focus on expanding the leadership and participation of women in the management, negotiation, and defence of public policies; developing a communication campaign for SGBV prevention; and implementing action plans to eliminate barriers in SGBV services.

Efforts will also be undertaken to strengthen the Women and Youth Network, implement the trinational equality policy, and lay the foundation for the adoption of gender-based violence strategies by all 12 municipalities.

alinea’s whistleblower policy

1.1 Purpose

The following Whistleblower Policy has been established to provide guidance to Alinea International employees and sub-contractors on how to deal with known or suspected improper conduct within the organization. The objectives of this Policy are to:

Create awareness of the Policy and available whistleblower protections
Act as a reference guide to potential whistleblowers wishing to make a disclosure
Define the structure of the whistleblower system, including reporting and investigation procedures, whistleblower protections, and confidentiality, among others
Improve the communication and transparency in the processes associated with whistleblowing and assure protection against derogatory consequences, namely reprisals and detrimental action
Complement the current communication channels between employees, sub-contractors and immediate managers, and hierarchical channels flowing to the President and Senior Management team
Provide guidance to all parties involved in either whistleblowing or whistleblower protection.

1.2 Scope

Alinea requires all employees and sub-contractors to observe high standards of business and personal ethics in the conduct of their duties and responsibilities. All employees and sub-contractors of Alinea are required to comply with applicable laws and regulations of Canada and the countries where we operate. Any allegations of known or suspected improper conduct or mismanagement of organizational resources will be dealt with in accordance with this Policy, and reasonable steps will be taken to protect those who come forward with allegations. Alinea’s Whistleblower Policy covers both internal and external whistleblowing, and establishes the controls and procedures for dealing with allegations of malpractice, fraud and violations of our code of ethics and/or laws or regulations that govern our operations. This Policy is intended to encourage employees and sub-contractors to report known or suspected improper conduct or mismanagement of organizational resources and to enable Alinea’s Senior Management team to address and correct inappropriate action. It is the responsibility of all Board of Directors’ members, the Senior Management team, employees and sub-contractors to report concerns about known or suspected malpractice, fraud and violations of our code of ethics and/or laws or regulations that govern our operations. This Policy is applicable to all employees and sub-contractors of Alinea International.

1.3 Reporting Procedures

Alinea recognizes the value of transparency and accountability in its administrative and management practices and supports the making of disclosures that reveal improper conduct or mismanagement of organizational resources. Our internal controls and operating procedures are intended to detect and prevent malpractice, fraud and violations of our code of ethics and/or laws or regulations that govern our operations. As detailed in Alinea’s Employee Policy and Onboarding manuals, employees and sub-contractors are encouraged to share complaints and/or concerns regarding ethical or legal violations with their immediate managers. If the employee or sub-contractor is not comfortable speaking with their immediate manager or is not satisfied with the response, they are encouraged to speak with the Gatineau or Calgary Office Managers, the Vice Presidents or, as required, the Chief Financial Officer. All members of the Senior Management team are required to report complaints and/or concerns about suspected ethical or legal violations in writing to Alinea’s Ethics Committee who has the responsibility to investigate all reported complaints and/or concerns. In the event that the complaint and/or concern is about the President, it should be raised by the employee or sub-contractor to their immediate manager or the Ethics Committee who will determine how the investigation will proceed. All reports will be promptly investigated and appropriate corrective measures will be taken if warranted by the investigation. Alinea’s Ethics Committee is responsible for acknowledging receipt of the suspected violation and notifying the whistleblower of the outcome of the investigation. Anyone filing a written complaint concerning suspected improper conduct or mismanagement of organizational resources must be acting in good faith and have reasonable grounds for believing the information disclosed indicates a violation. Personal grievances or complaints related to employment are not covered under Alinea’s Whistleblowing Policy. For cases such as this, employees and sub-contractors are advised to first refer to Alineas Employee Policy and Onboarding manuals when considering a disclosure under the Whistleblowing Policy. Any allegations that prove not to be substantiated and which prove to have been made maliciously or knowingly to be false will be viewed as a serious disciplinary offense.

1.4 Confidentiality

Maintaining confidentiality is crucial to ensure reprisals are not made against the whistleblower. Alinea is committed to safeguarding the identity of the whistleblower and to protecting the whistleblower against detrimental action taken in reprisal for allegations of suspected improper conduct or mismanagement of organizational resources. The Ethics Committee is responsible for ensuring whistleblowers are protected from direct and indirect detrimental action, and that the culture of the workplace is supportive of suspected allegations being made. Any employee who retaliates against someone who has reported a violation in good faith is subject to discipline up to and including termination of employment.

1.5 Review

Alinea is committed to implementing ‘best practice’ policies and procedures for dealing with allegations of suspected improper conduct or mismanagement of organizational resources (as defined by this Policy) and the management and protection of whistleblowers making allegation(s). This Policy will be reviewed periodically to ensure it meets the objectives of relevant legislation and remains effective for Alinea, and may be changed at the discretion of the Board of Directors at any time. For allegations of fraud, securities law, or human rights concerns, or when you are not satisfied or uncomfortable with following the Company’s open door policy, individuals should contact the Company’s Ethics Committee directly.

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Gender Equality Week: Women Leading Change in Central America