Statistics Canada says 18.1 per cent of director seats were held by women in 2017, a slight increase from 17.8 per cent in 2016.
TORONTO – About 60 per cent of Canadian boards were composed entirely of men in 2016 and 2017, but experts say regulations that took effect on Jan. 1 should go a long way to shrinking that number further, reported Canadian Press.
A Statistics Canada study of 10,108 public, private and government corporations revealed 61.7 per cent of those companies’ boards were devoid of women in 2016 and 61.2 per cent in 2017. The study, which was released Tuesday, showed 18.1 per cent of director seats were held by women in 2017, a slight increase from 17.8 per cent in 2016.
The numbers were also somewhat flat when boards had female members: Boards with one female director increased from 26.6 per cent in 2016 to roughly 27.7 per cent a year later and those with more than one female member amounted to 11.7 per cent in 2016 were down slightly to 11.1 per cent in 2017.
Such numbers come as no surprise to gender equity experts, who have watched for years as women have limped towards more representation in the top echelons of Canada’s business community, often being told that they are at lest a hundred years away from wage equality. The number of women on boards has been growing, they say, but not fast enough.
They’re hoping that will change with amendments to the Canada Business Corporations Act that came into effect this year and that require businesses to report on the representation of, at minimum, Indigenous peoples, persons with disabilities, members of visible minorities and women.
“This information is going to be used for the powers of good,” said Tanya van Biesen, the executive director of Catalyst Canada, an organization dedicated to increasing the representation of women.
“I’m encouraged by the fact that the government’s measuring this and is putting a spotlight on it, because, as we know, sunlight does good things for bringing issues to light and getting attention.”
Van Biesen is hopeful that the disclosures will bring change within a few years, but isn’t expecting boards to start filling up with women immediately after companies share such numbers because of how much of a transformation the business community needs.
Courtesy Canadian Presss
