Authors: John M. Valley, Jessie Armour and Shae-Lynne Shaheen
Mid-year results for 2025: women on boards
The representation of women among Canada’s largest companies for the first time declined compared to the prior year, but the overall impact was offset by continued progress among companies outside the S&P/TSX Composite Index, resulting in a small overall increase in the representation of women on Canadian boards. Women comprise 38% of the boards of the S&P/TSX Composite companies (compared to 38.1% in mid-year 2024) and 30.5% of the boards of all TSX-listed companies (compared to 29.8% in mid-year 2024). There was also a noticeable decline in the number and percentage of companies disclosing the number of women directors this year.
Number and percentage of women directors
As of July 31, 2025, 560 companies had disclosed the number of women directors on their boards, with women holding 1,352 board positions at these companies, out of a total of 4,440 board seats. Compared to 2024, the number of board positions declined by 8.6%. Based on these results, women held 30.5% of the total board seats among companies providing disclosure for 2025. This represents the smallest year-over-year increase since the Diversity Disclosure Requirement came into effect, being an increase of only 0.7 percentage points from mid-year 2024. Over the previous decade, there was an average increase of approximately two percentage points per year.
S&P/TSX 60 companies reported that women held 229 of 596 total board seats, or 38.4%, among the 52 members of the index that provided disclosure during this period. This represents a decrease of 1.3 percentage points compared to mid-year 2024 (39.7%).
FIGURE 8
2025 proportion of total board seats held by women (all companies)
Total companies that disclosed: 560
On the broader S&P/TSX Composite Index, women held 697 of the 1,835 board seats, or 38%, a decrease of 0.1 percentage points compared to last year (38.1%). As noted in previous years’ reports, the S&P/TSX Composite Index results typically fall between those for the S&P/TSX 60 companies and the TSX companies more broadly. These results generally exceed the latest results in the United States and are on par with results in Australia, but continue to lag the United Kingdom, where women held 43.4% of the board seats among the FTSE 350 in 2024.
For the companies disclosing the number of women directors on their boards, women held an average of 2.41 board seats, and for the 557 companies disclosing the percentage of women on their boards, there was an average of 29.2% of women directors on these boards. These figures reflect a slight increase from 2.37 and 28.4% for the corresponding period in 2024.
In mid-year 2025, we saw a slight change in the number of boards without any women directors among those companies disclosing. The number of such boards fell by one percentage point to 9.3% from 10.3% in mid-year 2024 (compared to a decline of approximately 0.3 percentage points between mid-year 2023 and mid-year 2024). For the first time in four years, we noted that one S&P/TSX Composite Index company among those for which disclosure was available as of July 31, 2025, reported having an all-male board.
FIGURE 9.1
Average number of women directors
Total companies that disclosed: 2021: 629 | 2022: 648 | 2023: 632 | 2024: 610 | 2025: 560
Total S&P/TSX 60 companies that disclosed: 2021: 54 | 2022: 52 | 2023: 53 | 2024: 56| 2025: 52
FIGURE 9.2
Average percentage of women directors
Total companies that disclosed: 2021: 614 | 2022: 635 | 2023: 613 | 2024: 602| 2025: 557
Total S&P/TSX 60 companies that disclosed: 2021: 55 | 2022: 54 | 2023: 56 | 2024: 56| 2025: 56
FIGURE 10
2025 proportion of women directors (all companies)*
Total companies that disclosed: 560
*Percentages may not add to 100 due to rounding.
For mid-year 2025, we observed almost no change in the number of companies that disclosed having more than one woman board member. As highlighted in Figures 11.1 and 11.2, 69.5% of the companies that reported the number of women on their board indicated that they had more than one woman director — which is almost on par with the 69.3% reported for the same period last year. The decrease in the number of companies reporting two, three or five or more women on their boards was offset by a corresponding increase in the number of boards with one or four women directors, while the percentage of women directors was driven by increases in the percentage of boards indicating that 15–24% or 35% or more of their board members were women.
FIGURE 11.1
Number of women directors (all companies)
Total companies that disclosed: 2021: 629 | 2022: 648 | 2023: 632 | 2024: 610 | 2025: 560
Percentage of companies with:*
*Percentages may not add to 100 due to rounding.
FIGURE 11.2
Percentage of women directors (all companies)
Total companies that disclosed: 2021: 614 | 2022: 635 | 2023: 613 | 2024: 602| 2025: 557
Percentage of companies reporting:*
*Percentages may not add to 100 due to rounding.
Based on the disclosure provided, for mid-year 2025, women comprised 50% or more of the board at 49 companies. This represents a notable increase from the 41 companies which we reported had met that threshold for mid-year 2024. Of the companies reporting that their board was comprised of 50% or more women, over half are in the S&P/TSX Composite Index.
Canada’s largest companies continue to be leaders in the reported levels of gender diversity. S&P/TSX 60 companies typically have a minimum of three women directors. Among the 52 S&P/TSX 60 companies that provided disclosure, 96.1% (or 50 companies) had three or more board positions held by women, while two companies had only two women directors.
However, for the first time in our data since the Diversity Disclosure Requirement was introduced, we observed a declining year-over-year trend in the percentage and average number of women on the boards of S&P/TSX 60 companies, which may be linked to the decline observed over the past two years in the rate at which S&P/TSX 60 companies were adding women to boards. Among the S&P/TSX 60 companies that disclosed the number of women directors on their boards, there was an average of 4.4 women per company (down 0.14 from the corresponding period in 2024) and an average of 38.3% women directors reported (down 1.1 percentage points from mid-year 2024).
FIGURE 12.1
Number of women directors (S&P/TSX 60 companies)
Total companies that disclosed: 2021: 54 | 2022: 52 | 2023: 53 | 2024: 56 | 2025: 52
Percentage of companies with:*
*Percentages may not add to 100 due to rounding.
FIGURE 12.2
Percentage of women directors (S&P/TSX 60 companies)
Total companies that disclosed: 2021: 55 | 2022: 54 | 2023: 56 | 2024: 56 | 2025: 56
Percentage of companies with:*
*Percentages may not add to 100 due to rounding.
Women board representation by industry
As in previous years, the average number and percentage of women directors varied significantly across industries. Also consistent with previous years, on an industry-by-industry basis, there continued to be varying degrees of growth in 2025 compared to 2024. These changes are illustrated in Figures 13.1 and 13.2.
For mid-year 2025, the Utilities & Pipelines and Communication & Media industries had the highest average percentage and highest average number of women directors. On the other hand, the Energy Services and Life Sciences industries continue to have the lowest proportion of women directors.
FIGURE 13.1
Number of women directors by industry
Total companies that disclosed: 2024: 610 | 2025: 560
FIGURE 13.2
Percentage of women directors by industry
Total companies that disclosed: 2024: 602 | 2025: 557
New director appointments
For mid-year 2025, we observed a significant year-over-year decline in the rate that women were added to boards. We monitor the progress TSX-listed companies are making in adding women to their boards, whether they are being nominated for election as new directors in 2025 or were appointed during the year to fill a vacancy that occurred since the last shareholders’ meeting or as a result of an increase in board size at the relevant company. At the 604 companies that fully or partially satisfied the Diversity Disclosure Requirement, 461 board seats became available. Women were nominated to fill 147, or 31.9%, of the total number of newly created or vacated board seats. This represents a decrease of 8.5 percentage points compared to 40.4% at mid-year 2024, which itself was a decrease from the rate of 45.3% reported at mid-year 2023.
The rate at which women were added to boards of S&P/TSX 60 companies also declined compared to mid-year 2024. This reinforces the trend noted in previous years of S&P/TSX 60 companies appointing women at a lower rate than the overall average for companies listed on the TSX, as women were nominated to fill 30% of the newly created or vacated board seats this year (compared to 32.3% at mid-year 2024).
Among S&P/TSX Composite companies, this trend continues. Women were nominated to fill 35.9% of the newly created or vacated board seats this year, a significant decline from what was observed in both mid-year 2024 (41.5%) and mid-year 2023 (54.7%).
Starting in 2022, Institutional Shareholder Services began recommending withholding votes for the election of the chair of the nominating committee of S&P/TSX Composite companies if women make up less than 30% of the board and the board has not adopted a 30% target to be achieved within a reasonable time. Despite changes to its approach in the United States, Institutional Shareholder Services continued to apply this policy in 2025. The declining trend in the rate of new women director appointments may be a consequence of such companies having made gender representation a key focus in prior years and, in several cases, having achieved the targets previously set.
Board policies related to diversity and the identification and nomination of women directors
Overall, 566 companies reported on whether they adopted board diversity policies in 2025. This marks a notable decrease in the proportion of companies providing such disclosure, down 4% compared to 2024. Among these 566 companies, 418 (representing 73.9%) disclosed that they had a written board diversity policy. This marks an increase in adoption when compared to the 72.3% of companies that reported having adopted such a policy in mid-year 2024, suggesting that those with board diversity policies were more likely to disclose. Among S&P/TSX 60 companies, 50 of the 54 companies reporting indicated that they had adopted a written board diversity policy; this represents 92.6% of all S&P/TSX 60 companies reporting at mid-year 2024 and is a slight decrease from the 92.9% reported in 2024.
FIGURE 14
General board diversity policy adoption rates
Total companies that disclosed: 2021: 648 | 2022: 658 | 2023: 650 | 2024: 632 | 2025: 566
Total S&P/TSX 60 companies that disclosed: 2021: 55 | 2022: 54 | 2023: 56 | 2024: 56 | 2025: 54
The Diversity Disclosure Requirement seeks disclosure on whether the boards have adopted a written policy that specifically relates to the identification and nomination of women directors. Not all companies disclosing that they had adopted a written board diversity policy stated whether the policy specifically related to the identification and nomination of women directors, and some companies specifically disclosed that they did not. At mid-year 2025, 559 companies disclosed whether they had a written policy related to the identification and nomination of women directors, and 372 (66.5%) of these companies indicated that they had such a policy. Following the trend on adoption of written board diversity policies, this represents an increase of one percentage point compared to the 65.5% reported at mid-year 2024. This change is illustrated in Figure 15.
Among S&P/TSX 60 companies, 55 companies specifically disclosed whether they had a written policy related to the identification and nomination of women directors, with 49 (89.1%) stating that they had adopted such a written policy. S&P/TSX Composite Index companies adopted such policies at a higher rate than the S&P/TSX 60 companies, with 91.4% of S&P/TSX Composite Index companies disclosing that they had a written policy for the identification and nomination of women directors. It is noteworthy that only 52.9% of companies outside the S&P/TSX Composite Index providing disclosure indicated that they had adopted a written policy of this type.
The disclosure from companies reporting that they have adopted a board diversity policy indicates that a broad range of diversity characteristics are considered. Of these specific diversity characteristics, it is unsurprising that gender is referenced most frequently.
For mid-year 2025, we saw a sustained high number of companies indicating that their board diversity policies reflect the diversity characteristics identified in the CBCA Requirement: visible minorities, Indigenous Peoples and persons with a disability. Age, skills/expertise, geography and 2SLGBTQ+ characteristics were also frequently cited.
FIGURE 15
Adoption rates for diversity policy focused on women (all companies)
Total companies that disclosed: 2021: 648 | 2022: 653 | 2023: 650 | 2024: 634| 2025: 559
Figure 16 is a list of the top five diversity characteristics — other than gender — identified by companies in order of the frequency with which they are cited.
FIGURE 16
Top five disclosed diversity policy characteristics beyond gender
1. Ethnicity/race/culture
2. Age
3. Skills/expertise
4. Persons with disabilities
5. Indigenous persons
Companies that have not adopted a written policy with respect to the identification and nomination of women directors are required to explain why. Among those companies that disclosed a reason for not adopting such a policy, the most common reason given (by a significant margin) was the concern that doing so would compromise their focus on merit, consistent with our findings in prior years. The top four reasons for not adopting policies are listed in Figure 17 in the order of the frequency with which they occurred.
FIGURE 17
Top four reasons disclosed for not adopting written board diversity policy focused on women
1. Compromises a focus on merit
2. Adequate systems already in place
3. Best candidate may not be selected
4. Policies limit talent pool or are too restrictive
Targets for women on boards
For mid-year 2025, 257 (or 46%) of the 559 companies disclosing whether they had adopted a target for the representation of women on the board reported that they had adopted such a target (a slight increase from 43.9% in mid-year 2024 and from 44.6% in mid-year 2023). Among the 55 S&P/TSX 60 companies that disclosed whether they had a target, 45 companies (81.8%) reported having a target. This represents a decrease from 2024, where 48 companies (87.3%) of S&P/TSX 60 companies that provided disclosure reported having targets.
FIGURE 18
Targets for representation of women on boards
Total companies that disclosed: 2021: 628 | 2022: 637 | 2023: 623 | 2024: 613 | 2025: 559
Total S&P/TSX 60 companies that disclosed: 2021: 53 | 2022: 54 | 2023: 56 | 2024: 55 | 2025: 55
Among the 257 TSX-listed companies that have adopted targets for women directors, just over two-thirds (67.7%) have adopted a target of 30%, reflecting both the fact that women hold just over 30% of all board seats among TSX-listed companies and the impact of institutional investor voting policies. The next most frequent targets for women directors were, in order, 40% and 33%.
Among those companies that reported not adopting targets, the reasons were generally similar to those given for failing to adopt written policies for the identification and nomination of women directors, with the vast majority indicating concerns about compromising their focus on merit or concerns that a target may result in someone other than the most qualified candidate being selected. The top five most commonly disclosed reasons are listed in Figure 19.
FIGURE 19
Top five reasons disclosed for not adopting a target for women directors
- Compromises a focus on merit
- Best candidate may not be selected
- Adequate systems already in place
- Gender diversity is one of many factors considered
- Limits talent pool or are too restrictive
Women board chairs and committee chairs
Women in board chair roles
There was no change in the proportion of boards where the board chair was a woman. Among the 604 companies providing full or partial diversity disclosure, we found 58 companies (or 9.6%) where a woman served in the board chair role, compared to 62 companies (also 9.6% of those fully or partially disclosing) at mid-year 2024.
Women in committee chair roles
Representation of women in board committee leadership roles continues to improve.
We found that, at 408 of the 604 companies that provided full or partial diversity disclosure, at least one woman was serving as the chair of a standing committee of the board. This now represents 67.5% of these companies, an increase from 65.8% of these companies last year. This year, 217 companies (35.9%) reported having one woman committee chair (a decrease of 1.3 percentage points from mid-year 2024), while 191 companies (31.6%) reported having more than one woman serving as a committee chair (an increase of three percentage points from 2024). An average of 1.08 women served as committee chairs among the companies that provided full or partial diversity disclosure in mid-year 2025, an increase over the average of 1.04 women committee chairs per company reported last year.
There was a modest increase in the percentage of women who chaired audit committees compared to last year’s results. Of the companies providing full or partial diversity disclosure, at 198 companies (32.8%) the audit committee chair was a woman, representing an increase of 1.6 percentage points from mid-year 2024.
Since the number of committees varies by issuer and the identity of committee chairs is not required disclosure, in some instances the information was not readily identifiable. However, our results suggest that the number of women assuming board leadership roles continued to increase incrementally again this year.
Voluntary disclosure of other diversity characteristics
A number of TSX-listed companies that are not CBCA corporations chose to provide voluntary supplemental disclosure regarding the representation of visible minorities, Indigenous Peoples, persons with a disability and those identifying within the 2SLGBTQ+ community on the board. This year, we saw a decrease in the number of issuers who provided disclosure regarding the representation of such groups among directors on a voluntary basis. The decreased level of voluntary reporting resulted in a decrease in the number of directors reported as being from such groups.
| Members of visible minorities | Indigenous Peoples | Persons with disabilities | 2SLGBTQ+ | |||||
| 2025 | 2024 | 2025 | 2024 | 2025 | 2024 | 2025 | 2024 | |
| Companies disclosing number of directors who are: | 118 | 133 | 45 | 53 | 38 | 43 | 18 | 34 |
| Number of directors who are: | 170 | 191 | 14 | 19 | 4 | 7 | 6 | 8 |
| Companies disclosing whether they have targets for directors who are: | 77 | 107 | 48 | 74 | 44 | 66 | 19 | 35 |
