CSA Multilateral Staff Notice 58-316: Review of Disclosure Regarding Women on Boards and in Executive Officer Positions - Year 9 Report

CSA Multilateral Staff Notice 58-316
Review of Disclosure Regarding Women on Boards and in Executive Officer Positions Year 9 Report October 5, 2023

Highlights of review findings at a glance
Board seats
Executive officer positions
Policies and targets
Term limits
64% of issuers adopted a policy relating to the representation of women on their board 43% of issuers adopted targets for the representation of women on their board 5% of issuers adopted targets for the representation of women in executive officer positions 27% of board seats were held by women 8% of the chairs of the board were women 43% of vacated board seats were filled by women 5% of issuers had a woman chief executive officer (CEO) 17% of issuers had a woman chief financial officer (CFO) 71% of issuers had at least one woman in an executive officer position 23% of issuers adopted director term limits 36% of issuers adopted other mechanisms of board renewal (but not director term limits) 38% of issuers did not adopt director term limits or other mechanisms of board renewal

Disclosure review
Purpose of report
This report outlines key findings from a recent review of public disclosure required by Form 58-101F1 Corporate Governance Disclosure of Regulation 58-101 respecting Disclosure of Corporate Governance Practices (Regulation 58-101) regarding women on boards and in executive officer positions. This is the ninth consecutive annual review of this disclosure that we have conducted.1 The review was completed primarily for the purposes of identifying key trends. A qualitative assessment of compliance with the disclosure requirements was not conducted. Disclosure requirements Subject to certain exceptions2 , issuers listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) and other non-venture issuers are required to provide disclosure on an annual basis in the following five areas:
The objective of the disclosure requirements is to increase transparency for investors and other stakeholders regarding the representation of women on boards and in executive officer positions, and the approach that issuers take in respect of such representation. 1 The trends from our first eight annual reviews are set out in CSA Multilateral Staff Notices 58-307 (year 1), 58-308 (year 2), 58-309 (year 3), 58-310 (year 4), 58-311 (year 5), 58-312 (year 6), 58-313 (year 7) and 58-314 (year 8). 2 Certain TSX listed issuers, such as exchange traded funds, closed-end funds, designated foreign issuers and SEC foreign issuers are not subject to the disclosure requirements. Number and percentage of women on boards and in executive officer roles Targets for the number or percentage of women on its board and in executive officer positions Director term limits and other mechanisms of board renewal Written policies relating to identification and nomination of women directors Consideration of the representation of women when identifying and nominating directors and making executive officer appointments

Review sample
As of May 31, 2023, approximately 1,776 issuers were listed on the TSX, of which approximately 744 were subject to the disclosure requirements. The data summarized in this report is based on a review sample of 602 issuers that had year-ends between December 31, 2022 and March 31, 2023 (Year 9) and filed information circulars or annual information forms by July 31, 2023. A breakdown of the issuers in the review sample by market capitalization and industry is set out in Annex A.

Year-over-year comparison of key trends
The following is a snapshot of the year-over-year comparison of the key trends identified in our reviews3 :
3 Due to the scope of our sample, our findings, and the comparisons between the current year and the prior eight years provide only a partial picture. The issuers in the current year and the prior year samples vary for several reasons including:

• issuers being delisted from the TSX,
• issuers’ listings of securities being moved to the TSX-V,
• corporate reorganizations resulting in issuers no longer being listed on the TSX,
• issuers filing information circulars after July 31, 2022 (Year 8),
• issuers completing initial public offerings and becoming listed on the TSX, and
• issuers ceasing to be reporting issuers. 4 Where a percentage is not identified in this table for a particular trend in a specific year, it is generally because that trend was not
  included in our reporting during that year’s review process.
  Trends4 Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Year 6 Year 7 Year 8 Year 9 Board representation Total board seats occupied by women 11% 12% 14% 15% 17% 20% 22% 24% 27% Chairs of the board who are women -- -- -- -- 5% 6% 6% 7% 8% Board vacancies filled by women -- -- 26% 29% 33% 30% 35% 45% 43% Issuers with at least one woman on their board 49% 55% 61% 66% 73% 79% 82% 87% 89% Issuers with three or more women on their board 8% 10% 11% 13% 15% 20% 24% 30% 36% Board seats occupied by women for issuers with < $1 billion market capitalization 8% 9% 10% 11% 13% 15% 16% 18% 21% Board seats occupied by women for issuers with $1-2 billion market capitalization 11% 13% 17% 19% 20% 24% 24% 27% 30% Board seats occupied by women for issuers with $2-10 billion market capitalization 17% 18% 18% 21% 23% 26% 28% 31% 33% Board seats occupied by women for issuers with over $10 billion market capitalization 21% 23% 24% 25% 27% 31% 30% 33% 35%

5 Where a percentage is not identified in this table for a particular trend in a specific year, it is generally because that trend was not included in our reporting during that year’s review process. 6 The decrease in year 5 is driven in part by a change in methodology used to capture executive officer data. Issuers may have included in their disclosure, positions and/or targets for a group other than executive officers, as that term is defined in Regulation 58-101. In year 5, we focused more closely on disclosure regarding “executive officers” as defined. Trends5 Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Year 6 Year 7 Year 8 Year 9 Executive officers Issuers with at least one woman in an executive officer position6 60% 59% 62% 66% 64% 65% 67% 70% 71% Issuers with a woman CEO -- -- -- 4% 4% 5% 5% 5% 5% Issuers with a woman CFO -- -- -- 14% 15% 15% 17% 19% 17% Policies Issuers that adopted a policy relating to the representation of women on their board 15% 21% 35% 42% 50% 54% 60% 61% 64% Targets Issuers that adopted targets for the representation of women on their board 7% 9% 11% 16% 22% 26% 32% 39% 43% Issuers that adopted targets for the representation of women in executive officer positions6 2% 2% 3% 4% 3% 4% 6% 4% 5% Term limits Issuers that adopted director term limits 19% 20% 21% 21% 21% 23% 23% 21% 23%

Board seat findings
The percentage of board seats held by women increased from 11% in year 1 to 27% in year 9. This year, 653 board seats were vacated and 500 of those seats were filled. Of those filled seats, approximately 43% (217 seats) were filled by women.

Other notable findings
Variation among industries
The number of women on boards varied by industry. The manufacturing, retail and utilities industries had the highest percentage of issuers with one or more women on their boards. 7 The mining, biotechnology and financial services industries had the lowest percentage of issuers with one or more women on their boards. Over the past 9 years, the percentage of issuers with at least one woman on the board has increased by 20% or more in each of the manufacturing, real estate, technology, oil & gas, financial services and mining industries. Refer to Annex B for a year-over-year comparison of the percentage of issuers with one or more women on their boards by industry. 7 The larger Canadian banks, which are part of an industry that has generally been an early adopter of diversity initiatives, are not captured in the data sample for this review.

The number of women in executive officer positions also varied by industry. The retail, real estate, utilities and manufacturing industries had the highest percentage of issuers with one or more women in executive officer positions. The mining, technology, oil & gas and biotechnology industries had the lowest percentage of issuers with one or more women in executive officer positions. Over the past 9 years, the percentage of issuers with at least one woman in an executive officer position has increased by 20% or more in each of the utilities, manufacturing, biotechnology, oil & gas and technology industries. Refer to Annex C for a year-over-year comparison of the percentage of issuers with one or more women in executive officer positions by industry.

Diversity measures and board seats held by women There was a correlation between issuers adopting certain diversity measures and the proportion of board seats held by women.

Issuers who set targets for the representation of women on their boards had a greater proportion of board seats held by women. Issuers that adopted board targets had an average of 32% of their board seats held by women, compared to 22% for issuers without targets. Issuers that adopted a written policy relating to the representation of women on their board also tended to have a greater proportion of board seats held by women. Issuers that adopted a policy relating to the representation of women on their boards had an average of 30% of women on their boards, compared to 19% for issuers with no such policy.

Term limits
Of the 23% of issuers we reviewed that had adopted director term limits, 33% adopted age limits alone, 31% adopted tenure limits alone, and 36% adopted both age and tenure limits. Issuers that adopted term limits had an average of 34% of women on their boards, compared to 24% for issuers with no term limits. Issuers that adopted other mechanisms of board renewal alone had an average of 27% of women on their boards, compared to 21% for issuers with no term limits or other mechanisms for board renewal.

Questions
If you have any questions regarding this report, please contact:
Autorité des marchés financiers
Olivier Girardeau
☏ 514 395-0337, ext. 4334
📧📧 olivier.girardeau@lautorite.qc.ca
Ontario Securities Commission
Jo-Anne Matear
☏ 416 593-2323
📧📧 jmatear@osc.gov.on.ca
Jodie Hancock
☏ 416 593-2316
📧📧 jhancock@osc.gov.on.ca
Jonathan Blackwell
☏ 416 593-8138
📧📧 jblackwell@osc.gov.on.ca
Alberta Securities Commission
Nicole Law
☏ 403 355-4865
📧📧 nicole.law@asc.ca
Jennifer Smith
☏ 403 355-3898
📧📧 jennifer.smith@asc.ca
Financial and Consumer Affairs Authority of Saskatchewan Heather Kuchuran ☏ 306 787-1009 📧📧 heather.kuchuran@gov.sk.ca The Manitoba Securities Commission Patrick Weeks ☏ 204 945-3326 📧📧 patrick.weeks@gov.mb.ca Financial and Consumer Services Commission (New Brunswick) Amélie McDonald ☏ 506 635-2938 📧📧 amelie.mcdonald@fcnb.ca Nova Scotia Securities Commission Valerie Tracy ☏ 902 424-5718 📧📧 valerie.tracy@novascotia.ca

Annex A

Annex B
The following is a year-over-year comparison of the percentage of issuers with at least one woman on their board by industry:
Industry Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Year 6 Year 7 Year 8 Year 9 Biotechnology 65% 57% 56% 56% 67% 59% 64% 85% 82% Financial Services 59% 67% 60% 61% 73% 77% 85% 86% 88% Manufacturing 60% 68% 84% 89% 93% 93% 95% 98% 98% Mining 35% 38% 54% 59% 62% 72% 78% 80% 82% Oil & Gas 40% 40% 45% 56% 70% 73% 81% 84% 89% Real Estate 64% 66% 59% 73% 80% 90% 89% 91% 94% Retail 78% 79% 89% 84% 86% 91% 94% 88% 96% Technology 39% 52% 52% 68% 73% 84% 74% 86% 92% Utilities 86% 82% 86% 81% 85% 87% 90% 90% 95%

Annex C
The following is a year-over-year comparison of the percentage of issuers with at least one woman in an executive officer position by industry:
Industry Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Year 6 Year 7 Year 8 Year 9 Biotechnology 48% 66% 71% 64% 61% 73% 82% 71% 69% Financial Services 64% 63% 66% 71% 76% 71% 74% 75% 79% Manufacturing 61% 81% 79% 80% 70% 74% 76% 87%8 87% Mining 52% 49% 52% 56% 52% 52% 57% 55% 50% Oil & Gas 49% 46% 48% 53% 54% 58% 58% 66% 69% Real Estate 76% 76% 80% 80% 83% 79% 79% 85% 87% Retail 82% 71% 68% 76% 80% 78% 88% 88% 90% Technology 45% 44% 59% 52% 55% 68% 55% 61% 69% Utilities 65% 73% 67% 75% 70% 75% 79% 85%8 87% 8 This percentage has been updated/corrected, as compared to the amount originally disclosed in the year 8 report.