This is the 9th Annual Rosenzweig Report on Women at the Top Levels of Corporate Canada. Since we started, the percentage of female NEOs (Named Executive Officers) who lead the 100 biggest public companies in Canada has moved from 4.6 percent to approximately 8 percent. The flip side is that we started from an appallingly low number so the increase, in real terms, leaves us far short of our ultimate goal. Indeed, the needle did not move forward this year over last year.

The Annual Rosenzweig Report looks at the 100 largest publicly-traded companies in Canada, based on revenue, and examines how many of the top-paid leadership roles are held by women. Under law, public companies in Canada are required to disclose the compensation of their CEO, CFO and the next three highest-paid employees. These employees are referred to as Named Executive Officers (“NEOs”) in the reports filed with the Ontario Securities Commission. This is the eighth year Rosenzweig & Co. has compiled this report, demonstrating our ongoing commitment to diversity and to tracking Canada’s progress on this important topic.

This year, in the Seventh Annual Rosenzweig Report, our findings clearly indicate that progress has stalled, with the same number of women in senior executive-level positions as last year.

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.