Representation of Women in Canadian FP500 Boards Stagnant

Annual Report Card statistics show underrepresentation of women at board level

TORONTO, March 8, 2019 /CNW/ - PhaseNyne (parent company of Women's Executive Network, Canadian Board Diversity Council, and Stevens Resource Group) has released their ninth Annual Report Card (ARC). The report reveals representation of women on Canadian boards and at C-suite level is borderline stagnant. In some cases, representation is decreasing. According to the report, there are three key gaps that need to be addressed for the future health of Canadian companies:

1.	Underrepresentation of women at the executive level (19.6 % in 2017 versus 19.5 % in 2018) of FP500 companies is causing issues in the talent pipeline for future board appointments
2.	FP500 boards are not reaching their "Critical Mass" (i.e. three or more female directors sitting on board threshold to increase their organization innovation (43.2 % of FP500 have reached their "Critical Mass"; while 41.9 % FP500 boards have one or two female directors, and are just below the "Critical Mass" threshold, and 15% of FP boards have no female representation)
3.	Current board members should use their current network to identify board-ready women to fill open board positions. Presently, 91.3% of board members claim they know between two to six FP500 board-ready women in their network, while 46.7% of FP500 directors reported to have six or more board-ready women within their personal network and 44.6% claim they know between two to five board-ready women.

The report shows a slight increase of women and visible minorities serving on boards, by 1.9% and 1.6% respectively. Unfortunately, results also show that there has been a decrease of representation of people in the LGBTQ community, people with disabilities and indigenous peoples. Paradoxically, 81% of Directors feel that their board is diverse, while 63% of respondents were men. Additionally, almost 50% of Directors know six or more women ready to join a board, yet less than 20% of Directors are women.

"For the health of FP500 and TSX60 companies and the Canadian economy, we must grow our pipeline's representation, nourish our future talent, and give opportunities to people who provide new perspectives and insights to build innovation," says Sherri Stevens, President and CEO of PhaseNyne. "We need representation at the executive level in order to achieve representation at the board level – the talent pipeline is where the board of directors of tomorrow will come from."

BMO is a proud sponsor of the Annual Report Card (ARC). Diversity and inclusion are core BMO values that guide their thinking and actions and help define them as an organization, creating an environment where everyone is valued, respected and heard. BMO's commitment to building a diverse workforce and fostering an inclusive culture helps them better understand different communities' needs, goals and perspectives, and be well-positioned to serve them.

For more information about this year's Annual Report Card, please visit: https://boarddiversity.ca/cbdc/annualreport/  

Cision is the exclusive newswire of Women's Executive Network.

About PhaseNyne
PhaseNyne (parent company of Women's Executive Network - WXN, Canadian Board Diversity Council – CBDC, and Stevens Resource Group - SRG) provides the tools and resources to help corporate boards boost their diversity efforts, including the Diversity 50 list, which will be released in early 2019 and features a cohort of 50 diverse, qualified candidates ready for corporate board director appointments. Additionally, PhaseNyne's Get On Board Governance Education Program is designed to complement existing director education programs, equipping board-ready, high-potential diverse candidates with the tools to pursue board placement. 

SOURCE Women’s Executive Network

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