When combing through the ranks of MLAs to form his first cabinet, B.C. Premier John Horgan took a cue last week from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and created a gender-balanced cabinet.
But in C-suites and boardrooms across the country it’s a different story.
Women represent 12% of all boardroom seats among the 677 companies listed on the TSX, according to a report from provincial regulators released in 2016. That’s up from 11% a year earlier.
Meanwhile, Business in Vancouver’s annual Top 100 Highest-Paid Executives list shows gender disparity growing over the years when it comes to compensation.
Only four women, Sandra Stuart, Charlene Ripley, Dawn Moss and Fabiana Chubbs, were represented on the 2017 list, down from six women in 2016 and eight in 2015.
“The reality is we let the free market have its way over the last few decades and laissez-faire has done not much for us,” said Jennifer Reynolds, CEO of Women in Capital Markets, an organization that advocates for women working in Canada’s capital markets and serves as a professional network.
Reynolds said the onus will be on Ottawa to step up gender diversity in both boardrooms and the C-suite. In the fall, the federal government will review Bill C-25, which introduces sweeping changes to corporate governance including gender diversity at Canadian companies.
Recommendations from a 2014 report from Status of Women Canada called on corporations to ensure women were represented in 30% of boardroom positions within five years.
It also recommended Ottawa adopt a “comply or explain” requirement for publicly traded companies’ annual reports. If a company is not advocating more female representation on its board, it would be required to explain its lack of results within its year-end disclosure.
It’s expected those recommendations will move forward in Bill C-25 this fall.
Reynolds said current regulations clearly haven’t done enough to improve diversity.
“The numbers haven’t really moved. We’ve [gone] from 11% to 12% in the past year,” she said.
Meanwhile, a June report from McKinsey Global Institute estimated that creating total gender balance in the workplace would help Canada’s economy grow 0.6% annually by 2026. That growth would total $150 billion.
Reynolds said greater corporate diversity leads to different viewpoints and better decision-making, “but you need loud champions.”
Debby Carreau, CEO of Vancouver-based Inspired HR and chair of the YPO women’s network, is pushing the #GoSponsorHer initiative to bolster gender diversity in corporate Canada.
The initiative is calling on business people to focus not only on mentoring women in business but also on advocating for individuals.
“It’s really putting your neck out and your reputation on the line to endorse someone else,” Carreau told Business in Vancouver on Roundhouse Radio 98.3 FM.
“Sponsorship is more about being an advocate for someone and putting your hand up and saying this person has got high potential, you should promote them or you should hire this person. Or if you’re a [venture capitalist], you should really invest in this person.”
She said part of the problem women face is that their underrepresentation in the C-suite and boardrooms means they have smaller networks.
“A lot of our sponsors are simply opening doors for their sponsorees by making a couple of phone calls or making an introduction,” she said.
“Sometimes it’s as simple as that.
“If you took a look at CEOs today and you asked them what made them successful, almost 100% of CEOs as their No. 1 or No. 2 reason would say there was someone who took a vested interest in them and advocated for them.”
