In the past six years the numbers have risen modestly, however remain well below a reasonable initial target of 20%. This target represents one woman at the most senior level in every Top 100 company and is more consistent with the make-up of the talent pool of corporate officers one level below.

Since we began tracking the advancement of women in the corner offices of Canada’s largest publicly traded companies, we have found both progress and disappointment along the way. This year – the Fifth Annual Rosenzweig Report – our findings lack both sentiments: progress is stalled, but we are not overly disappointed because we believe the economic turmoil, or global recession, has played a significant role.

The number of women executives at the highest levels of corporate Canada increased from one year ago with a year-over-year increase of 24 per cent. This year we determined that 7.2% of the top paid executive positions were held by women compared to 5.8% in our 2008 report.