TORONTO, March 04, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- As International Women’s Day approaches, there is scant good news around workplace advancement for Canadian women – especially those in minority demographics. While The Prosperity Project’s Annual Report Card on Gender Equity and Leadership (ARC) identifies some positive movement toward gender parity for Canadian women in general, it finds a continued dearth of representation for women in corporate leadership positions. This is compounded by troubling statistics related to Black women, Indigenous women, women who identify as having a disability and 2SLGBTQIA+ women.
“Long-standing barriers and biases are still in the way of women’s careers – costing our economy billions of dollars and untold talent,” said Julie Savard-Shaw, Executive Director of The Prosperity Project, a registered charity that works for women’s economic advancement.
Conducted annually since 2021, the groundbreaking ARC research analyzes data voluntarily submitted by Canada’s largest public companies, private companies, federal and provincial crown corporations, co-operatives, and Canadian subsidiaries of foreign-owned corporations.
Highlights of the 2024 Annual Report Card:
- Canada is nowhere near achieving gender parity.
- In the past year there has been some moderate movement toward gender parity, as overall representation of women increased by 2.9% in Corporate Director roles, 5.5% in Executive Officer roles, 1% in Senior Management roles, and 1.2% in the Pipeline to Senior Management roles.
- However, the slight gain in the pipeline barely made a dent in the 11.8% drop of women in these roles reported in 2023. There also continues to be a wide chasm between men’s and women’s representation in Corporate Director and Executive Officer roles.
- No industry can claim victory in the quest for gender parity. The Finance and Insurance industry makes the strongest showing within the Pipeline to Senior Management role (45.4%) but few other industries surpass 40% representation of women at any level of leadership.
- In all industries, women have the lowest representation in leadership at the Executive Officer level, an indication of the obstacles facing women that prevent them from moving into the highest levels of corporate leadership.
- Private companies are catching up to crown corporations in achieving gender parity. The most significant indication of this is in women’s representation at the Executive Officer level, which was its highest (55%) in private corporations. In fact, this was the only group in which women leaders outnumbered men.
- While women in general are beginning to have a more substantial presence at leadership tables, Black women, Indigenous women, Women of Colour, women with disabilities, and women who belong to the 2SLGBTQIA+ community are all but entirely excluded.
- The miniscule representation of Indigenous women (0.4%), 2SLGBTQIA+ women (0.7%), and Black women (0.8%) at the Corporate Director level portrays a corporate world that remains accessible only to white, cisgender men and women.
- Among the very minor gains for women from underrepresented groups, the most significant increase was in the representation of Women of Colour in the Executive Officer role (3.5%) and the Corporate Director role (1.6%). There was a minute increase in the representation of Black women in the Executive Officer role (0.7%). However, these tiny increases are overshadowed by deeper concern about decreases in representation of Black Women and Women of Colour in Senior Management roles and Pipeline to Senior Management roles.
- Improvement in leadership representation of women with disabilities was negligible, with a 0.7% increase in Senior Management, and 0.8% increase in Pipeline to Senior Management roles compared to 2023.
- Representation of women who belong to the 2SLGBTQIA+ community has decreased within Corporate Director and Pipeline to Senior Management roles. Women who belong to the 2SLGBTQIA+ community express frustration at the lack of sponsorship by the companies they work for.
Of particular note in the 2024 ARC is the impact of negativity around diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives.
“The anti-DEI narrative is misguided. Unfortunately, it’s also growing,” Savard-Shaw said. “DEI initiatives do work – we are seeing the evidence – but they can’t simply be box-checking exercises. DEI requires a commitment to systemic, cultural change, or the old, destructive biases will persist.”
Specific challenges identified in the report include:
- Tokenization, with DEI initiatives designed as face-saving measures rather than genuine changes in culture and decision-making. This has the opposite effect, creating isolation and “otherism.”
- The phenomenon of the “glass cliff” – a variation on the “glass ceiling” metaphor, but in this case seeing women promoted during a crisis without the necessary support, leading to impossible expectations and eventually to burnout.
- Hiring being prioritized over promotion, resulting in diverse women being pooled in mid-level management, which in turn causes a “leaky pipeline” to senior management and executive roles. Underrepresented women are not getting the support they need to advance. The report notes that men, as well as white women, still vastly outnumber women of intersecting identities in these roles.
The 2024 ARC includes recommended corporate policies to give DEI initiatives a chance to take hold and make a discernable difference, including moving beyond performative actions to implementing organizational cultural shifts, and integrating DEI into retention practices.
Read the full 2024 ARC report at 2024 ARC Report.
About The Prosperity Project
The Prosperity Project has a mission to identify and eliminate the barriers and biases that impede women’s success; limiting their, and Canada’s, opportunities for increased prosperity. The Prosperity Project envisions a future where empowered women not only overcome obstacles to leadership but also actively contribute to the innovation and sustainable growth of diverse industries across the nation.
The Prosperity Project is actively bridging the gap between women and prosperity, emphasizing the economic significance of gender equality. Their strategic initiatives include the Annual Report Card, the Canadian Households’ Perspective, and Rosie Mentorship Program. Through tangible actions and impactful programs, The Prosperity Project is leading the charge towards a future in which women succeed and Canada prospers.
The 2024 Annual Report Card Partners and Sponsors are: Data and Analytics Partner KPMG in Canada; Impact Partner Room Foundation; Influence Partners BMO, CPP Investments, Cboe, RBC; Amplify Partners AGF, Telus, WSIB.
Visit The Prosperity Project website at www.canadianprosperityproject.ca.
Contact:
Kayla Folo
Kayla.folo@canadianprosperityproject.ca
