Boosting Diversity Calls for Bold Approach

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The Globe and Mail – Boosting Diversity Calls for Bold Approach

Boosting diversity on boards and in senior management will be high on the agenda of many Canadian companies in 2015 thanks to new diversity reporting regulations from the Ontario Securities Commission, writes Egon Zehnder consultant Pamela Warren in The Globe and Mail. Egon Zehnder’s analysis of Canada’s 50 largest publicly traded companies reveals that although women accounted for 18.3 percent of all board seats in 2014, they held only 2 board chair positions and represented less than 4 percent of executive directors. How can firms address this shortfall of women at the top? Strategies recommended by Warren include broadening the definition of leadership experience to focus on competences rather than track records, and committing to candidate shortlists that are 50 percent female. Urging companies to be bold on diversity, Warren concludes: “The new securities rules […] are an opportunity for organizations to turn their commitment to diversity into action. Our research shows that countries and companies can achieve great progress voluntarily without government-imposed quotas.”

Full story: Pamela Warren: Let’s get serious about diversity in The Globe and Mail (4 January 2015).