Women make up just 8% of top executives in Alberta's largest companies, says report

While more than a third of board members atAlberta's largestcompaniesin 2016 are women,fewer than 10per cent are at the top executive level, according to a new report.

The second annual Alberta Women on Boards Indexis meant to shine a light on the gender diversityof boards of directors within publicly traded TSX andTSX-Venture(TSXV) Alberta companies. It'scompiled by the University of Calgary'sHaskayneSchool of Business and theAlberta Securities Commission (ASC).

There's both encouraging and discouraging news in the report, saidLorenFalkenberg,Haskayne'sassociate dean of research and co-chair ofthe study's advisory committee.

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One of the biggest increases happened in the province's largest TSX-listed companies, where women accounted for 32 per cent of new boarddirectors. That'sabout a10 per cent increase from lastyear.

"It indicates that there is a willingness to start to put women on boards and it's the largest companies where you really are seeing the most change," she said.

"They are the ones that are most visible they are the ones who are willing to take leadership saying it's time to make this change."

When it comesto Named Executive Officers (NEOs) forTSX-listAlberta companies, the research shows eight per cent were women. This category was a new addition to the index,saidFalkenberg.

NEOsare the top five highest paid ina company.

"Now that data is very discouraging. There's really only eight per cent women there we have a lot more qualified women than eight per cent," she said.

Other findings in the study, as of Sept. 14, include:

• Alberta's largest companies are leaders in diversifying their boards, showing women hold 23 per cent of board positions at Alberta companies included in the TSX 60.
• Seven of the 10 new board members appointed to these companies in the last year are women.
• All of these companies have at least two female directors on their board.
• Women hold 11 per cent of board positions of all TSX-listed Alberta issuers, an increase fromnine per cent in 2015.
• The number of TSXV-listed board positions held by women has remained steady at four per centover the last three years.
• Women hold the chair position on the boards of seven Alberta issuers.

"This research is important because unless we make the lack of women on boards a visible issue or we indicate that we are tracking it, there's no reason for the current boards to change," said Falkenberg.

"Is it fast enough? That could be questioned, but there is change."

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