Board Diversity: Are You an Agent of Change?
It still surprises me that there has not been more progress in corporate Canada to add more women to TSX-listed boards. It has been seven years since the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) implemented disclosure rules mandating that TSX-listed companies "comply or explain" their board diversity figures. The move was intended to lead to positive changes in how corporate boards recruit new board members. According to the recent Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt report, 2021 Diversity Disclosure Practices, 23.4 % of board seats among TSX listed companies in 2020 have women on their boards, increasing almost 2% since 2019. This increase shows some progress but is still lagging in gender parity and the Canadian government’s 50-30 Challenge. The 50-30 Challenge acts as a framework to accelerate diversity actions in many Canadian organizations and encourage other Canadian organizations to adopt practices to improve equity. According to the same report, "Few companies have achieved gender parity on their board. Last year there were ten companies where 50% or more of the directors were female, increasing from only five in 2019. This year witnessed [...]
