Turning Exceptions into the Rule: Bridging the Gender Gap in Corporate Boardrooms and the C-Suites of Canadian Corporations
Abstract
This paper contextualizes the under-representation of women on the boards and in the executive suites of publicly-listed Canadian corporations by reviewing recent studies and statistics on the subject, dispelling traditional justifications for the gender imbalance and critically examining commonly proposed strategies to bridge the gap between policy and reality. Unfortunately, the current “comply or explain” regime was found to be ineffective. The author recommends that the provincial securities regulators band together to institute a mandatory quota system.
References
Amendment Instrument for NI 58-101 Disclosure of Corporate Governance Practices. (2014). Retrieved July 9, 2017, from Ontario Securities Commission : http://www.osc.gov.on.ca/documents/en/Securities-Category5/20141211_58-101_amd-governance-practices.pdf
Andrew MacDougall, J. V. (2016). 2016 Diversity Disclosure Practices: Women in leadership roles at TSX-listed companies. Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP.
Burke, R. J. (2000). Women on Corporate Boards of Directors: Understanding the Context. In R. J. Mattis, Women on Corporate Boards of Directors: International Challenges and Opportunities. Berlin, Germany: Springer Science+Business Media.
Catalyst Inc. (2015). Catalyst Accord: Women On Corporate Boards In Canada. Retrieved July 12, 2017, from Catalyst Inc.: http://www.catalyst.org/catalyst-accord-women-corporate-boards-canada
Catalyst Inc. (2016, June 7). Beyond “Comply or Explain”: New Catalyst Report for Ontario Government Makes Bold Recommendations to Advance Women on Boards. Retrieved July 10, 2017, from Catalyst Inc.: http://www.catalyst.org/media/beyond-comply-or-explain-new-catalyst-report-ontario-government-makes-bold-recommendations
Catalyst Inc. (2016). Gender Diversity on Boards in Canada: Recommendations for Accelerating Progress. Retrieved July 10, 2017 http://www.catalyst.org/knowledge/gender-diversity-boards-canada-recommendations-accelerating-progress
Catalyst Inc. (2017, May 10). Statistical Overview Of Women In The Workforce. Retrieved July 9, 2017, from Catalyst Inc.: http://www.catalyst.org/knowledge/statistical-overview-women-workforce
Credit Suisse. (2014). The CS Gender 3000: Women in Senior Management. Credit Suisse Research Institute . Retrieved from https://publications.credit-suisse.com/tasks/render/file/index.cfm?fileid=8128F3C0-99BC-22E6-838E2A5B1E4366DF
CSA Multilateral Staff Notice 58-307 Staff Review of Women on Boards and in Executive Officer Positions – Compliance with NI 58-101 Disclosure of Corporate Governance Practices. (2015, September 28). Retrieved July 9, 2017, from Ontario Securities Commission: https://www.osc.gov.on.ca/documents/en/Securities-Category5/csa_20150928_58-307_staff-review-women-boards.pdf
Financial Post. (2016, September 26). Women on corporate boards in Canada falls far short of 30 per cent target. Financial Post. Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
(2014). Good for Business: A Plan to Promote the Participation of More Women on Canadian Boards. Government of Canada's Advisory Council for Promoting Women on Boards.
Increasing the Representation of Women on Canadian Boards. (2016, November 28). Retrieved July 11, 2017, from Government of Canada - Status of Women : http://www.swc-cfc.gc.ca/initiatives/wldp/wb-ca/rep-rap-en.html
Kotecha, A. A. (2017, March 22). Canada‘s approach to board diversity needs a rethink. Globe and Mail. Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Leighton, D. (2000). Making Boards Work: Recruiting for Balance, Competence and Results. In R. J. Mattis, Women on Corporate Boards of Directors: International Challenges and Opportunities. Berlin, Germany: Springer-Science+Business Media.
Lu, V. (2016, September 28). Virtually no change in getting woman on boards in Canada, stats show. Toronto Star. Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
McFarland, J. (2015, November 24). Board Games: The push for new blood in Canada's boardrooms. Globe and Mail. Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Sandberg, S. (2013). Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.
Women Still Missing In Action From Senior Management Positions In Canadian Organizations. (2011, August 31). Retrieved July 10, 2017, from The Conference Board of Canada: http://www.conferenceboard.ca/press/newsrelease/11-08-31/women_still_missing_in_action_from_senior_management_positions_in_canadian_organizations.aspx
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Papers published in the Dalhousie Journal of Interdisciplinary Management must be the original, unpublished work of the author. Contributors are responsible for obtaining any copyright clearances required in relation to their work.
Authors submitting a paper to the Dalhousie Journal of Interdisciplinary Management automatically agree to grant a limited license to DJIM if and when the manuscript is accepted for publication. This license gives permission for DJIM to publish the paper in a given issue and to maintain the work in the electronic journal archive. DJIM also submits issues to institutional repositories and Open Access repositories.
Contributors agree to each reader accessing, downloading, or printing one copy of their article for their own personal use or research. All other copyrights remain with the author, subject to the requirements that any republication of the work be accompanied by an acknowledgement that the work was first published in the Dalhousie Journal of Interdisciplinary Management and that the DJIM Editorial Chair must be notified of any republication of a work first published in DJIM.
Dalhousie Journal of Interdisciplinary Management
c/o School of Information Management
Faculty of Management
Dalhousie University
Kenneth C. Rowe Management Building
6100 University Avenue
Halifax, Nova Scotia B3H 3J5
Canada
Email: djim@dal.ca
Authors should recognize that, because of the nature of the Internet, the publisher has no control over unauthorized copying or editing of protected works.
