B4| REPORTONBUSINESS O THEGLOBEANDMAIL| MONDAY,MARCH9,2020
$PINI$NHN <SIS
DILBERToldman Sachs recently an-
nounced that they will no
longer do initial public of-
ferings for companies without
one “diverse” board member –
with the focus on women. They
did not do it for good public rela-
tions. They say that IPOs for
companies going public with
women on their boards per-
formed significantly better than
those that did not.
Are investment bankers in
corporate Canada willing to con-
sider something similar?
As former deputy chiefs of
staff to different prime ministers,
we were the first women to be
national campaign directors for
our respective parties. We know
firsthand the difference that
women make at senior levels of
organizations, and we know how
hard it can be for them to get
there.
While there is a long way to
go, there is evidence of progress
in the Canadian public sector.
Mainstream political parties
acknowledge, and work to var-
ying degrees, to improve upon
the gender imbalance among
candidates and those named to
positions of leadership. And
across the country, we see intelli-
gent, well-qualified women from
the private sector being appoint-
ed to government agencies and
Crown corporations, and more
women being named to senior
levels of the public service.
Yet, the private sector drags
behind. In an annual report by
Osler, Hoskin and Harcourt LLP,
the 2019 Diversity Disclosure
Practices study found“...agrad-
ual decline in the year-over-year
rate at which women are being
added to company boards.” The
study looked at the mid-year re-
sults for 2019 from the disclosure
reports filed by 657 companies
listed on the Toronto Stock Ex-
change. According to the filings,
women held just 18 per cent of
the board seats, up less than 2
per cent over mid-year 2018.
Only five companies reported
that 50 per cent or more of their
board members are women:
Dream Unlimited Corp., Diversi-
fied Royalty Corp., MCAN Mort-
gage Corp., New Gold Inc., and
Saputo Inc. A staggering 158 of
657 companies (24 per cent) list-
ed on the TSX still have all-male
boards.
Contrast that with the United
States, where not one of the S&P
500 companies has an all-male
board.
Australia and Britain are near-
ing 30 per cent for women on the
boards of publicly traded compa-
nies. In September of 2018, Cali-
fornia became the first U.S. state
to require publicly traded com-
panies based there to have fe-
male board members. New Jer-
sey and Michigan put forward
similar legislation a year later,
and New York is also considering
it.
Is legislation required in Cana-
da to see substantial improve-
ment? Is that the only way to
banish all-male boards? Could
access to capital be a better driv-
er of change instead?
There is evidence that institu-
tional investors are increasingly
looking to see gender diversity.
New diversity disclosure policies
for publicly traded companies
have illuminated the issue and
made it easier for investors to see
where diversity gaps exist. But
will disclosure alone be enough
to change decades of corporate
behaviour?
From our experience in poli-
tics, we know that when women
are asked to run for election,
they are much more likely than
men to say they don’t think theyare qualified. And they are less
likely to champion themselves
for promotions or high-profile
positions.
For many of those 158 compa-
nies with all-male boards, is the
barrier that they simply do not
know any smart, professional,
experienced women? Are they
relying on head-hunting firms to
find qualified candidates, and
when those firms come back
with a list of men, not challeng-
ing them?
Are search firms struggling
with the same obstacles Cana-
da’s political parties have been
working to overcome: gettingmore women to recognize their
own merit and champion them-
selves for these positions?
There is an impressive, un-
tapped network of women
across this country. Women with
expertise are in every industry,
all with proven leadership skills.
But it takes more than a head-
hunter reading a LinkedIn page
to find them.
To the 158 TSX companies
with all-male boards: Putting
women on your board of direc-
tors is good for business. But like
all things in business, it takes in-
novative thinking and a real net-
work to get it done.CorporateCanadaÌsboardsaredraggingtheir{eetongenderdiíersity
MICHELECADARIO
JENNIBYRNE
OPINIONMicheleCadarioandJenniByrne
haverunnationalpolitical
campaignsandprimeministers’
offices.TheynowrunJ&M
LeadershipNetwork.
Ina2019reportlooking
at657companieslisted
ontheTorontoStock
Exchange,158ofthem–
or24percent–stillhad
all-maleboards.In
theUnitedStates,
meanwhile,notasingle
S&P500companystill
hasanall-maleboard.
GRAEMEROY/THE
CANADIANPRESSI
think 2020 is going to be a wa-
tershed year for profound and
sustained social change in
Canada and around the world.
Much of my hope actually
stems from the many disap-
pointments we saw in 2019 – fail-
ure or regression in addressing
climate change, Indigenous rela-
tions and gender disparity.
It is that failure to deliver that
has created a real sense of urgen-
cy to make change happen now.
An urgency being carried by our
youth, who are demanding that
we better share and protect our
planet; that the private sector,
governments and not-for-profits
take action to constructively
work together; and more simply,
that we build communities that
are equitable and provide space
for everyone to thrive and suc-
ceed.
When I arrived here as a two-
year-old child of refugees from
Kenya, our country was a much
different place. The visible
minority population was less
than 5 per cent, and the pay gap
between women and men was
about 20-per-cent wider than it
is today.
Growing up, my sister and I
didn’t give much thought to be-
ing a minority or that, as women,
we had less opportunities than
the men around us. But when I
entered the work world I began
to realize that, like many new
Canadians, I lived a dual life.
At home we celebrated all that
Canada offered, as well as the
traditions and practices of our
culture. But outside our home,
we hid our culture. What we did
on the weekends, the food we
ate, we were always conscious of
how we dressed and behaved so
people wouldn’t question our
right to be here.
Looking back, I realize I was
covering up who I truly was.
Fortunately, early in my work
career, a number of role models
emerged. Strong women who
saw the value in being different.
Women who mentored me,
sponsored me, listened to me
and encouraged me to be proud
of what makes me, me.
This made me realize the con-
stant covering – an unconscious
sense that I didn’t really belong –
had impacted my self-esteem
and reduced my comfort chal-
lenging the status quo. This was
not something I felt alone. It was
common for many minorities
and women in the workplace.
But I was lucky to work with
these incredible women, who
helped me be my authentic self
and find my true potential. This
had a huge impact on my per-sonal and professional life. To-
day, as chief inclusion and social
impact officer for KPMG, I am fo-
cused on making sure the people
in my organization feel safe and
welcomed for who they are.
We need them to be engaged
and committed, and to feel com-
fortable speaking up and shar-
ing. In a world where change is
happening faster than ever be-
fore, getting everyone to bring
their ideas to the table is critical
to success.
I recently talked to my mother
about her feelings on hiding her
true self as a visible minority
woman in Canada. Interestingly,
she did not feel she was treated
as an outsider – and never gave
much thought to what she had
to conceal to fit in.
I think for her, whatever shegave up in identity, whatever she
hid, she saw as a worthwhile
trade-off – Canada gave far more
than it took. But, like many new-
comers to Canada, I also know
my mom had far more to give
this country. Her unconscious
covering was a loss to our
community and country as a
whole.
As a parent myself as well as a
leader, I make sure that I share
the positive difference inclusion
and diversity can have on our
communities and in our work-
places. Similar to the women
who mentored me, I’m commit-
ted to do the same with the next
generation.
And it is this next generation
that drives my belief that pro-
found and positive change is
coming. They don’t hold the
same biases or baggage of previ-
ous ones. They believe in and de-
mand social justice, knowing
they can drive change with their
words, their feet and their wal-
lets.
I see it in my kids and their
friends. My daughter and son live
a much more authentic life than
I did, or my parents. They are
comfortable sharing their whole
selves – as are their friends.
As I look at the journey my
mom and I took, I hold great
hope that International Wom-
en’s Day 2020 will be one of the
last few years we’ll talk about
why change is not happening
fast enough.
It will instead be remembered
as the year when the covers
came off.ItÌstimewomenembracetheirtruecolours
Weneedallmembers
oftheworkforcetofeel
comfortablespeaking
andsharingideas
KRISTINEREMEDIOS
OPINIONChiefinclusionandsocialimpact
officeratKPMGinCanada
KristineRemedios
saysseveralrolemodels
earlyinhercareer
taughtherthevalue
ofbeingdifferent.