Among Canadian companies providing disclosure for 2023, women held 29 per cent of board seats, up from 26 per cent in 2022, according to Osler Hoskin & Harcourt LLP’s latest diversity report.
The report tracked companies subject to the Canada Business Corporations Act that disclosed the number of women, Indigenous peoples and visible minorities represented at the board level and in executive positions in 2023 up until July 31.
“After nine years of disclosure, it would not be a surprise if progress in increasing the representation of women on boards began to show signs of slowing,” noted the report. “Yet we continue to see the proportion of women on boards increase year over year at a rate comparable to prior years.”
Read: More women on boards, but work required to increase overall diversity: report
Among S&P/TSX 60 companies, 38.2 per cent of all board seats were held by women, with that number dropping to 36.2 per cent among the broader S&P/TSX composite index. Similar to last year, there were no all-male boards among S&P/TSX composite index companies. Across all TSX-listed companies, only 10.6 per cent of boards had no women directors in 2022, compared to 11.6 per cent in 2022.
On average, 21 per cent of executive officers were women, up slightly from 20 per cent in 2022 and 18 per cent in 2021. Among S&P/TSX 60 companies, 27 per cent of executive officers were women, up from 19.8 per cent last year.
Just 10.2 per cent of board positions were held by directors who are members of visible minorities, Indigenous peoples or persons with a disability.
“Current interest in increasing visible minority representation on public company boards should result in increased representation, potentially at an increased rate if the Canadian Securities Administrators mandate disclosure of visible minority representation,” said the report.
Read: Number of women on boards increasing but overall diversity still lagging: report