The presence of women on the board of directors and in the management of Canadian listed companies continues to grow, according to the most recent survey of the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA), which includes the Autorité des marchés financiers in Quebec.
Posted at 11:00 a.m.
In return for this positive observation, this annual survey carried out by the CSA shows the persistence of significant gaps in the presence of women in these director or senior executive positions according to the size of the market capitalization and the sector of activity of the companies.
Of the 599 companies listed in 2021, nearly a quarter (22%) of board positions are held by women.
This is two percentage points higher than in the previous survey, in 2020, and almost double the 12% percentage that was measured five years earlier.
Among executive positions, just over two-thirds (67%) of companies listed by the CSA in 2021 have “at least one woman in senior management.”
Again, this is an increase of two percentage points compared to the previous year’s reading.
But over several years, this progression is less marked compared to the level of 59% which had been measured five years earlier, and which was already well ahead of the percentage of women on boards of directors.
Market capitalization
It is among the companies with the largest market capitalization that the presence of women on the board of directors is the highest, and well above the average for all companies listed in 2021 by the CSA.
Thus, women hold 30% of directorships among companies with more than 10 billion on the stock market (23% five years earlier), and 28% of directorships among companies with 2 to 10 billion on the stock market ( 18% five years earlier).
Among companies with a market capitalization between 1 and 2 billion, women hold just under a quarter (24%) of director positions in 2021.
This is two percentage points higher than the level measured for all companies, but also up sharply from the low level of 13% that was measured five years earlier.
Among companies with less than 1 billion on the stock market, only 16% of director positions are still held by women in 2021.
However, while still low, this percentage has almost doubled from the level of just 9% that was measured five years earlier by the CSA.
Activity area
Finally, among other “noteworthy findings” in their most recent annual statement, the CSA indicate that “the number of women on the board of directors and in senior management differs according to the sector of activity” of the companies.
Thus, the manufacturing sector (95%) and those of retail trade (94%) and public services (90%) have the highest percentage of companies with at least one woman on their board, while the biotechnology (64%), technology (74%) and mining (78%) have the lowest percentage.
As for the presence of women in senior management, the CSA point out that “the sectors of retail trade (88%), biotechnology (82%), real estate and utilities (tied at 79%) have the highest percentage of companies with at least one woman in senior management, while the technology (55%), mining (57%) and oil and gas (58%) sectors have the highest percentage the weakest “.
22%
Percentage of board positions held by women in 2021 among publicly traded Canadian companies, up from 12% five years earlier
67%
Percentage of publicly traded Canadian companies with at least one female senior executive in 2021, up from 59% five years earlier