The bad news: men still make up the overwhelming majority of boardroom members in Canada.
The good news: this probably won’t always be the case – but we are going to have to wait a while to see balanced gender representation on corporate boards.
Babies born this year will be the first generation to experience gender parity on Financial Post (FP) 500 boards, according to a Canadian Board Diversity Council (CBDC) study released November 19.
Currently, according to the study, only 17.1% of FP500 board members are women. This is up slightly from 15.6% last year.
CBDC founder Pamela Jeffery said we have a long way to go.
“We’re making progress, with more women than ever before sitting on Canada’s corporate boards, but it’s simply not enough,” Jeffery said. “At a growth rate just shy of two percentage points over the previous year, we wish this number was stronger.”
Jeffery pointed out that it’s not just women who are underrepresented in the boardroom.
“We’re still not seeing substantial progress, particularly in other areas of diversity, including Aboriginal peoples, visible minorities and people with disabilities, despite the fact that there are many highly qualified candidates out there.”
The report points out that in spite of the fact that these particular groups make up nearly a quarter of the population, they barely make a showing on boards. For example, Aboriginals make up 19% of Canada’s population and comprise only 0.8% of boards.
The study found that most directors believe their boards already have a lot of diversity, but only 25% of FP500 companies have diversity policies.
On the boards of B.C.’s 10 biggest publicly traded companies, according to data compiled by Business in Vancouver in March 2014, the number of women were, at that time:
- Telus Corp. (TSX:T): one out of 13;
- 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. (TSX:WFT): one out of nine;
- First Quantum Minerals (TSX:FM): one out of 12;
- Canfor Corp. (TSX:CFP): none;
- 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.
Interestingly, however, a lot of women say they aren’t interested in being promoted into more senior roles. A Randstad Canada study released earlier this week said that 48% of women don’t aspire to move up. This number was particularly high – 76% – for women over 55. (See the infographic below for more details of this study.)
The lack of a mentor was cited as a reason for many women not seeking to advance. Across Canada, 77% of women surveyed said they have never had a mentor. In British Columbia, 44% of women said they have never been a mentor.
Some of the biggest things many women perceived as holding them back from advancing in their careers were the fear of absences due to family obligations (53%), the fear of possible maternity leave (51%) and the perception of women in senior roles (36%).
- With files from Jen St. Denis and Tyler Orton
@EmmaHampelBIV
