Canadian securities regulators release data regarding women on boards and in executive officer positions

Toronto - Securities regulatory authorities in Alberta, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Québec and Saskatchewan (the participating jurisdictions) today published CSA Multilateral Staff Notice 58-311 Report on Fifth Staff Review of Disclosure Regarding Women on Boards and in Executive Officer Positions.

The notice summarizes results from a review of the disclosure of 641 issuers with year-ends between December 31, 2018 and March 31, 2019. The review, conducted by the participating jurisdictions, focuses on disclosure requirements regarding the representation of women on boards and in executive officer positions, as set out in National Instrument 58-101 Disclosure of Corporate Governance Practices.

Key trends from this year’s review include:

• The total number of board seats occupied by women increased to 17 per cent in 2019, compared to 11 per cent in 2015.
• Seventy-three per cent of issuers had at least one woman on their board, an increase from 49 per cent in 2015.
• When board vacancies were filled, a third of those positions were filled by women.
• Five per cent of issuers had a female chair of their board.
• Half of issuers adopted a policy relating to the representation of women on their board, representing a significant increase since 2015.

“Publishing this data reflects our commitment to ensuring investors have information to help them make informed decisions,” said Louis Morisset, CSA Chair and President and CEO of the Autorité des marchés financiers.

The CSA will continue to monitor trends in this area.

The CSA intends to publish the underlying data from the review by early 2020.

The notice can be found on the websites of the participating jurisdictions.

The CSA, the council of the securities regulators of Canada’s provinces and territories, co-ordinates and harmonizes regulation for the Canadian capital markets.