Beijing and beyond: women's health and gender-based analysis in Canada

On the tenth anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women, held in Beijing, this article evaluates Canada's progress in the area of women's health by critically examining the Women's Health Strategy. Introduced in 1999 by Health Canada, the Strategy is considered Canada's key response to its international commitments for promoting women's health and in particular for implementing a gender-based analysis in all programs, services, policies, and research. By reviewing each objective of the Strategy, the article illustrates the limited progress that has been made to date. It provides arguments for why and how all levels of government should work to improve their response to women's health in Canada and, specifically, how the Women's Health Strategy can be redesigned to be more effective in attending to the needs and concerns of all Canadian women.