Great things have been happening in Canada’s film and television industry when it comes to gender equality, and now, as The Hollywood Reporter details, Telefilm Canada, the country’s biggest film financier, has unveiled measures to ensure half of the movies it finances will now be directed or written by women.

“Our goal is to level the playing field for Canadian female talent, and we encourage creators to submit projects directed and/or written by women,” Telefilm executive director Carolle Brabant said in a statement. The country wants to close the gender gap by the year 2020.

Taking a cue from the National Film Board of Canada, which earlier this year promised to divide funding equally between male and female directors, Telefilm is taking the same course.

“Telefilm will now, for projects of equal quality, favor projects that have a woman as director and/or a woman as writer,” the agency’s report said.

The company will implement immediate action for female directors and writers, and introduce their measures for female producers by next September.

“This can only benefit the industry as whole. Increased competition can lead to better quality projects that connect with audiences whose tastes and interests are changing along with the cultural landscape,” Brabant added.

In addition to the National Film Board and Telefilm initiatives, other exciting things are taking place in Canada as well. As Women and Hollywood previously reported, the CBC is launching the Breaking Barriers Film Fund, investing an initial $7.5 million dollars into the cause of diversifying creators and directors over the next three years. And over the summer, CBC announced that at least half of the episodes of some of its most popular scripted programs will be directed by women.

Our neighbors to the north are making major moves to increase the number of women in key roles in the entertainment industry. America, take note.