TSX companies refuse to adopt gender parity targets: Report – Metro News

Andrew MacDougall

Oct. 25, 2017

Increasing the number of women on the boards and in leadership positions of TSX-listed companies starts with setting targets, Osler partner Andrew MacDougall tells Metro News. In her article, author Tara Deschamps discusses data presented in Osler’s third annual 2017 Diversity Disclosure Practices Report: Women in leadership roles at TSX-listed companies (the Diversity Disclosure Report) that revealed companies are still lagging when it comes to adopting gender diversity targets. The article outlines how Osler’s report revealed that progress is slowly being made on board diversity, but that there is still a long journey ahead; 88% of TSX-listed companies haven’t introduced board diversity targets, according to the report. Andrew, a partner in Osler’s Corporate Practice Group who co-authored the Diversity Disclosure Report, explains.

“If you don’t set a goal, it is wishful thinking that you will achieve a positive result,” Andrew tells Metro News.

Osler’s report provides a snapshot on the representation of women in leadership roles at the executive and board levels of all TSX-listed companies, other than closed-end and exchange-traded funds, that made disclosure prior to July 31, 2017. The report also highlights notable developments affecting gender diversity both in Canada and internationally over the past 12 months.

For more information, read “TSX companies refuse to adopt gender parity targets: Report” in Metro News by Tara Deschamps, or see Osler’s 2017 Diversity Disclosure Report.