Substantial rise in number of companies with at least one female board member: report
The representation of Canadian women on boards is seeing promising results.
For one, Canadian women now occupy 29% of board seats, up from 11% in 2015, according to a new report.
In addition, the percentage of companies with at least one female board member rose to 90% from just 49% 10 years ago, says the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA).
Women in executive officer roles have also increased, with 72% of companies reporting at least one female executive in 2024, up from 60% in the initial review.
However, the pace of change is not uniform. The report noted a decline in the proportion of board vacancies filled by women, dropping from 43% in 2023 to 37% in 2024.
Expanded scope for diversity disclosure
The CSA said that it expects this will be the final year it conducts a review of the above-noted disclosures.
“After 10 consecutive annual reporting periods under the current disclosure standards, we are exploring potential changes to diversity-related disclosure requirements.”
An April 2023 CSA Notice and Request for Comment sought public feedback on amendments to Form 58-101F1 Corporate Governance Disclosure of NI 58-101 and proposed changes to National Policy 58-201 Corporate Governance Guidelines, says the CSA.
"Investors have advised that they value disclosure about an organization's diversity and we continue to work toward a harmonized national diversity disclosure framework that goes beyond the representation of women,” said Stan Magidson, CSA chair and CEO of the Alberta Securities Commission.
A recent report from the U.S. found that progress on corporate boardroom diversity appears to be slowing as fewer directors view their boards as diverse.
