Andrew MacDougall
Sep 12, 2016
In an article published in The Globe and Mail, journalist Janet McFarland examines the current state of gender diversity in Canada’s boardrooms, relying in large part on the recent report released by Osler, Diversity Disclosure Practices. According to the report, McFarland indicates, minimal progress has been made in increasing the number of women on the boards of TSX-listed companies, with women holding an average of only 13 percent of those board seats as of July 31, 2016. One of the authors of the report, Osler partner Andrew MacDougall, offers additional insight into gender diversity, the impact of the comply-or-explain rules that were introduced in 2015 and the results of the firm’s survey.
“I was expecting better this year,” Andrew said. “The results are a wake-up call that really we do need people to step up and take more action. I do think that if nothing further is done by industry, then the government is going to take further steps.
“What I’m concerned about is that people may rest on their laurels and not take the harder step of actually making changes to the composition of the board and taking actions to improve the representation of women in leadership positions and executive ranks.”
If you subscribe to The Globe and Mail online, you can find out more by reading Janet McFarland’s full article, “Gender diversity regulations show little results in Canada’s boardrooms,” dated September 12, 2016 or download Osler’s 2016 Diversity Disclosure Practices report.