John M. Valley
Oct 20, 2023
With not much appetite in this country to support prescribed quotas for women directors, Canada is similar to the U.S. and Australia, but still below the U.K. in its board diversity, says John Valley in an interview with ALM Law.com following the publication of Osler’s 2023 Diversity Disclosure Practices report.
For the last nine years, which is the length of time Osler has been publishing its annual Diversity Disclosure Practices report, most TSX-listed companies have had to make diversity disclosures. John calls it a “modified comply or explain regime” because companies have to disclose the gender diversity composition of their boards and say if they have targets, but there are no prescribed percentages.
John says he expects more disclosure in the next few years as proxy advisors start to consider diversity beyond gender. He also explained why Osler began tracking diversity numbers nine years ago. “We wanted to make sure that there was a means of providing visibility for how the market as a whole was doing with respect to diversity,” says John.
If you are registered with Law.com, you can read the full article by author Gail J. Cohen posted on October 16, 2023.