Osler releases tenth annual Diversity Disclosure Report: progress in corporate Canada loses momentum

Analysis from Osler’s tenth annual 2024 Diversity Disclosure Practices: Diversity and leadership at Canadian public companies [PDF] report indicates that efforts by Canadian public companies to increase the diversity of their leadership have hit a plateau after years of encouraging progress.

“As Osler celebrates publishing the tenth edition of our report, we can reflect on the progress corporate Canada has made to increase the diversity of their leadership, highlight innovative best practices and identify the work that is still to be done, especially for diverse groups beyond gender,” says Andrew MacDougall, who leads Osler’s Corporate Governance practice and is a partner in the Corporate group.

Osler’s comprehensive and industry standard-setting report has become the preeminent publication on the diversity practices of Canadian public companies. It analyzes diversity disclosure by TSX-listed companies and corporations governed by the Canada Business Corporations Act (CBCA) subject to disclosure requirements. As in previous years, the report provides detailed information on TSX-listed companies to show year-over-year comparisons and chapters summarizing the results of our review of CBCA company disclosure. The online version of the report also includes graphics demonstrating trends over the 10-year period that Osler has published the report. Members of Osler’s highly regarded Corporate Governance team also highlight best practices to improve diversity and inclusion among boards and executive teams and examples of excellence in disclosure.

For the first time, the report features audio interviews with corporate leaders who are deeply engaged in practices to increase diversity, equity and inclusion within their organizations. These leaders have provided their views on the potential for future progress. 

“Over the past 10 years, Osler’s report has tracked the progress that Canadian public companies have made adding women and other diverse groups to their boards and executive leadership. The number of board seats held by women increased by an average of 2.1 percentage points per year in the first nine years of our report, and the level of representation of women on boards increased to 29.8% in that time. However, this year marks a departure from these steady increases,” says John Valley, Chair of Osler’s Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) practice and a partner in the Corporate group.

“This year’s report showed that the proportion of women on Canadian boards and in executive officer positions continues to increase but at a slower rate than in previous years,” says Joanna Cameron partner in Osler’s Corporate Group. “We found that looking beyond gender, there was virtually no percentage change in the number of CBCA board seats and executive roles held by other diverse groups. On a positive note, however, the representation of visible minorities among executive officers did increase, reflecting a continued focus on the executive pipeline.”

Notably, while the number of women in executive leadership inched upward, the percentage of women CEOs declined. On boards, among the 443 vacant or newly-created board positions which became available, a woman was chosen to fill an empty seat 40.4% of the time — a significant decline from the record-breaking increase of 45.3% from last year. Representation of Indigenous Peoples and persons with a disability remains sparse at both levels, with virtually no progress since last year.

Without a push from investors or regulators to drive change, the prospect of further progress will continue to be incremental.

Key highlights from the report include:

• Women now hold 29.8% of board seats among all TSX-listed companies disclosing the number of women directors on their boards
• At S&P/TSX 60 companies, women hold 39.7% of all board seats
• At S&P/TSX Composite Index companies, women hold 38.1% of all board seats
• 9.6% of the time, the chair of a TSX-listed company is a woman
• 4.5% of the time, the CEO of a TSX-listed company is a woman (down from 5.2% last year)
• Members of visible minorities hold 10.2% of CBCA public company board seats

• 3.2% of the time, the CEO of a TSX-listed company is a visible minority
• Indigenous Peoples hold 1% of CBCA public company board positions
• Persons with a disability hold 12 CBCA public company board positions
• 43.9% of TSX-listed companies have targets for women directors
• 10.9% of TSX-listed companies have targets for women executive officers

Research methodology

Data presented in our 2024 Diversity Disclosure Practices report was obtained by surveying public disclosure documents filed on SEDAR+ by all TSX-listed companies other than venture issuers, exchange-traded funds, closed-end funds and structured notes, including CBCA corporations that are listed on the TSX. The data presented in this report in response to the CBCA requirement was obtained by surveying public disclosure documents filed on SEDAR+ by “distributing corporations” governed by the CBCA, including venture issuers, that are subject to that requirement. Generally speaking, a “distributing corporation” is a corporation with publicly traded securities. Research methodology is detailed in the report in chapter 8.

Further analysis

Interested in learning more about diversity in corporate Canada? Read our full report [PDF] or contact Andrew MacDougall, John Valley or Joanna Cameron in Osler’s Corporate Governance Group.