Women are underrepresented on boards across the country, and the Government of Ontario has decided to do something about it.
That province is implementing a series of recommendations issued by Catalyst, a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting workplace gender equality, to address the dearth of women on boards.
“TSX-listed issuers cannot compete effectively in a global economy when they leverage the talents of only half their workforces,” Catalyst said in its report. “Issuers can and should be doing more to build inclusive workplaces that recognize, develop, and advance women and men.”
Currently, the percentage of women on corporate boards in Canada is around 21%. Almost half of all TSX-listed companies have no women on their boards at all. Per Catalyst’s recommendations, all TSX-listed companies that currently have at least one woman director in Ontario will be required to set a target of 30% for the number of women directors by 2017. Those companies with no women on their boards will need to have at least one by that time. These goals will need to be achieved within three to five years. As well, the companies will need to set up at least one mechanism that will facilitate renewal of board member and establish written policies to increase the number of women on boards.
Fiona Macfarlane, EY managing partner for British Columbia and chief inclusiveness officer, told Business in Vancouver the Province of B.C. could adopt these recommendations, which would be a “very positive” step.
“We don’t have a ‘supply’ issue in B.C.; there are many qualified women ready and able to serve on boards,” she said. “The Catalyst recommendations are excellent and quite achievable.”
Macfarlane was one of the contributors to the report, and she pointed out that although women now graduate from post-secondary institutions at a higher rate than men, there remains a noticeable lack of women at the executive or board level.
“We now clearly understand the business case for diversity and the fact that women are qualified for these roles, meaning the question is no longer why women should have a seat at the leadership table, but how,” Macfarlane said.
“The answer lies in the collaboration between men and women that has to take place at all levels of the organization to accelerate the path to gender parity.”
Having a diverse management team can only help a company’s bottom line, but a Hays report published earlier this year found that the vast majority of senior staff members in companies across Canada are male. That report, which was released on International Women’s Day, found that 82% of Canadian workers say the most senior individual within their company is male. This is lower than the global average of 79%.
[email protected]@EmmaHampelBIV
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