In June 2021, the Prime Minister’s Office announced funding to advance gender equality at home and abroad because “women and girls have been disproportionately affected by the global COVID-19 pandemic, which threatens to roll back the hard-fought social and economic progress that they’ve made.”
Women make up nearly half of the workforce in Canada; however, when it comes to private sector businesses in which women hold majority ownership—small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs)—women are grossly underrepresented, owning only 17.5 per cent of SMEs. On the boards of securities issuers listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) and other non-venture issuers, representation is trending in the right direction . . . albeit slowly.
Among the findings, the Review of Disclosure Regarding Women on Boards and in Executive Officer Positions reported:
27 per cent of board seats are held by women, an increase of three per cent since the last review, the percentage of board vacancies filled by women decreased by two per cent–from 45 per cent last year to 43 per cent this year,
89 per cent of issuers have at least one woman on their board (an increase of two per cent),
36 per cent of issuers have at least three women on their board (an increase of six per cent), and
Eight per cent of issuers have a woman chairing their board, up one per cent from the last review.
For the past nine years, participating Canadian securities regulators have published their key findings regarding representation of women on boards and in executive officer positions based on a review of public disclosure documents. In October 2023 the Canadian Securities Administrators released its newest report that “summarizes the corporate governance disclosures of 602 non-venture issuers and has been published by securities regulatory authorities in Alberta, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Northwest Territories, Nova Scotia, Nunavut, Ontario, Quebec and Saskatchewan.”
Across the spectrum
Representation varied by industry sector. Manufacturing, retail and utilities industries had higher representation of women on their boards—one or more—than mining, biotechnology and financial services industries.
The number of women in executive officer positions also varied by industry. The retail, real estate, utilities and manufacturing industries had higher representation of women in executive positions—one or more—than the mining, technology, oil and gas, and biotechnology industries.
When targets for the representation of women on their boards were set, a greater proportion of board seats were held by women—an average of 32 per cent, compared to 22 per cent of those without targets.
Similarly, those enterprises which adopted a written policy relating to the representation of women on their board, had a greater proportion of board seats held by women—an average of 30 per cent, compared to 19 per cent of those without a written policy.
Representation matters
As it turns out, the differences between how men and women approach entrepreneurship go a long way toward explaining why board representation and women in executive officer positions matter. In general, women tend to approach business growth more conservatively, not that they are less risk averse, as studies show that male and female entrepreneurs have similar risk tolerances. Where men tend to be more focussed on the economy and cost, women place value on social contribution and quality. Where men tend to be more task-oriented managers, women tend to value relationships and relationship building. Diversity has the potential to impact every aspect of the effective operation of an enterprise from how decisions are made, to how it grows, the risks taken, and how problems are solved and communicated. Bringing diverse viewpoints to the leadership table is more than doing the right thing—it’s also good for business growth and the bottom line.
