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    Women Now Hold One-Third of Canadian Corporate Board Seats, ISS Corporate Solutions Analysis Finds

    ROCKVILLE, Md. (March 20, 2023) – ISS Corporate Solutions, Inc. (ICS), a leading provider of compensation, governance, cyber risk monitoring, and sustainability SaaS and advisory services to help companies improve shareholder value and reduce risk, today released the results of an analysis of companies in the S&P/TSX Composite index finding that for the first time and as of Jan. 1, 2023, women hold one-third of all board directorships.

    The number of female CEOs jumped from six in 2020 to nine in 2023, and the number of female non-employee chairs grew to 22 from 13 over the same period.

    The ICS analysis, examining trends in both gender and racial and ethnic diversity among board directorships spanning January 1, 2020, through January 1, 2023*, finds that women now hold 33.7 percent of all directorships compared with 27.9 percent at the start of the study period. By comparison geographically, slightly less, or 32.3 percent of all U.S. S&P500 directorships, are now held by women, according to ICS data. Female representation in leadership positions saw proportionally significant increases over the same study period, though their numbers remained low relative to male peers. The number of female CEOs jumped from six in 2020 to nine in 2023, and the number of female non-employee chairs grew to 22 from 13 over the same period. Examined by sector, the study finds that companies in the Utilities sector have the highest proportion of directorships held by women at 39.1 percent, while those in Health Care have the lowest proportion at 24 percent.

    Moreover, the data show racial and ethnic minorities now hold 14.1 percent of directorships, representing a material increase from 8.3 percent in 2020. By comparison, ICS data show that 23.6 percent of U.S. S&P500 directorships are now held by directors who are non-Caucasian. Black and Indigenous directors saw the most significant jumps in board representation over the study period, with a more than three-fold increase for both groups. Black directors, who held only 0.9 percent of directorships as of January 1, 2020, comprised 3.13 percent of directorships in 2023; Indigenous directors grew from holding only 0.36 percent of directorships in 2020 to 1.22 percent in 2023. As of 2023, Hispanic/Latin American directors saw the most representation on boards among racial and ethnic minorities, with 3.3 percent of directorships held by members of those groups. By sector, companies in the Consumer Discretionary space had the highest proportion of minority held directorships at 25.5 percent, while those in Health Care had the lowest proportion at 3.3 percent.

    “Canadian companies have a slight edge over their U.S. peers when it comes to board gender diversity, but far further to go as it applies to the prevalence of underrepresented minority groups,” said Marija Kramer, Head of ISS Corporate Solutions. “But directionally, our analysis shows racial and ethnic minorities making significant inroads in Canadian boardrooms and that trend may well accelerate as regulation and guidance spur companies to disclose more on individual director characteristics.”

    *The analysis of gender diversity figures looked at a total of 2,283 directorships as of Jan. 1, 2023, while the analysis of racial and ethnic diversity looked at a total of 575 directorships. The smaller sample sized used to assess racial and ethnic diversity can be attributed to less robust disclosure compared with that for gender and for which the regulatory disclosure regime is more mature. Information relating to race and ethnicity is sourced from company filings, company websites, disclosures by other companies on whose board the director sits, LinkedIn profiles where affirmative attestation of race and ethnicity is provided, and other public sources providing for the same.

    Companies turn to ISS Corporate Solutions, Inc. (“ISS-Corporate”) for expertise in designing and managing governance, compensation, sustainability, and cyber risk programs that align with company goals, reduce risk, and manage the needs of a diverse shareholder base by delivering data, tools, and advisory services. ISS-Corporate’s global client base extends across North America, Europe, and Asia, as well as other established and emerging markets worldwide. ISS-Corporate is a wholly owned subsidiary of Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. (“ISS”). ISS-Corporate provides advisory services, analytical tools and publications to companies to enable them to improve shareholder value and reduce risk through the adoption of improved corporate governance practices. The ISS research teams, which are separate from ISS-Corporate, will not give preferential treatment to, and are under no obligation to support, any proxy proposal of a corporate issuer nor provide a favorable rating, assessment, and/or any other favorable results to a corporate issuer (whether or not that corporate issuer has purchased products or services from ISS-Corporate). No statement from an employee of ISS-Corporate should be construed as a guarantee that ISS will recommend that its clients vote in favor of any particular proxy proposal or provide a favorable rating, assessment or other favorable result. For more information, please visit https://www.iss-corporate.com/

    ISS STOXX GmbH, through its group companies, is a leading provider of comprehensive and data-centric research and technology solutions that help capital market participants identify investment opportunities, detect qualitative and quantitative portfolio company risks, and meet evolving regulatory requirements. With roots dating back to 1985, we today deliver world-class benchmark and custom indices across asset classes and geographies and serve as a premier source of independent corporate governance, sustainability, cyber risk, and fund intelligence research, data, and related offerings. Our products and services give clients the scale and leverage they need to grow their business more effectively and efficiently.
    ISS STOXX, which is majority owned by Deutsche Börse Group, is comprised of more than 3,400 professionals operating across 33 global locations in 15 countries. Its approximately 6,400 clients include many of the world’s leading institutional investors who turn to ISS STOXX for its objective and varied offerings, as well as companies focused on ESG, cyber, and governance risk mitigation as a shareholder value enhancing measure. Clients rely on ISS STOXX’s expertise to help them make informed decisions to benefit their stakeholders.