The representation of women on company boards in British Columbia is one of the worst in the country, according to a Catalyst Canada study released March 3.
The study found that in B.C. in 2013, women made up 11.9% of all board members. This is below the national average of 15.9% and second only to Newfoundland and Labrador, where women made up 10.5% of all board members.
The province with the highest representation of women on boards was Nova Scotia, at 25.7%, followed closely by Saskatchewan (23.2%).
"Regardless of industry, corporations should tap in to the full talent pool when naming board members, as a strategy essential to business success," said Catalyst Canada executive director Alex Johnston.
Across Canada, the Catalyst study found that different types of companies had different levels of female representation on their boards.
In private companies, 18.6% of board members were women. Catalyst said this has actually decreased, from 19.0% in 2011, the last time the study has conducted.
Not all news is bad, however. In crown corporations, women made up an average of 30.4% of all boards – an increase of 3.6 percentage points compared with two years ago. There has also been some growth in public companies, with an increase from 10.3% in 2011 to 12.1%.
"Despite the overall numbers, we are excited to see growth for women on boards at public companies in Canada," said Johnston. "We believe this movement, along with other positive actions such as the Ontario Securities Commission's recent 'comply or explain' recommendations for all TSX-listed companies, signals an important shift.
"Corporate Canada is beginning to embrace what Catalyst has always known: that gender diversity on boards benefits corporate decision-making, helps drive better business results, and strengthens Canada's economic competitiveness."
In a list of B.C.'s publicly traded companies compiled by Business in Vancouver, the number of women on boards in the biggest companies were:
- Telus Corp. (TSX:T): one out of 13 total board members;
- Teck Resources (TSX:TCK.B, TCK.A): two out of 14;
- Finning International (TSX:FTT): one out of 11;
- Goldcorp Inc. (TSX:G): two out of 10;
- West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. (TSX:WFT): one out of nine;
- First Quantum Minerals Ltd. (TSX:FM): one out of 12;
- Canfor Corp. (TSX:CFP): no women on nine-member board;
- Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. (NYSE:LGF): one out of 12;
- Teekay Corp. (NYSE:TK): one out of 10; and
- Methanex Corp. (TSX:MX): two out of 11.
@EmmaCrawfordBIV
