While progress is being made for some groups, Black leaders are mostly absent from Canadian boards of directors, according to a new report by Ryerson University’s Diversity Institute. The study, which builds on similar research by the Diversity Institute over more than a decade, shows women continue to make slow progress but in some cases representation of racialized people is moving backwards. The situation for Black leaders, analysed for the first time, is particularly dire. 

DiversityLeads 2020, supported by TD Bank Group via the TD Ready Commitment, is a first-of-its kind comprehensive Canadian analysis of the representation of women, Black people, and other racialized persons among 9,843 individuals on the boards of directors across sectors in eight cities: Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Calgary, Halifax, Hamilton, London, and Ottawa. The study examined data from large companies; agencies, boards, and commissions (ABCs); hospitals; the voluntary sector; and educational institutions.  When comparing the representation of women, Black people and racialized persons on boards, local demographics are considered.

While racialized people represent 28.4 percent of the population across the eight cities studied, they occupy only 10.4 percent of board positions in the sectors analysed. Universities and colleges have the highest level of representation of racialized people in board roles (14.6%), while the corporate sector has the lowest level of representation (4.5%).

Among 1639 corporate board members, the study found only 13 who were Black (0.8%).  In Toronto, where 7.5 percent of the city’s population is Black, there were almost no members on corporate boards (0.3%). In Calgary, where 3.9% of the population is Black, 1.9% of members on corporate boards were Black. Black leader representation on boards across all sectors were disproportionately lower than other racialized groups, highlighting a need to continue tracking this population as a distinct group with disaggregated data.

Black people represent 5.6 percent of the population across the eight cities studied, however they occupy only 2 percent of the board positions overall in the five sectors analyzed. Municipal ABCs (2.9%) and University and Colleges leaders (2.7%) have the highest representation of Black people on boards. The hospital sector (1.9%), voluntary sector (1.9%) and provincial ABCs (1.6%) have medium representation of Black people on boards. The corporate sector (0.8%) and school board directors (1.0%) have the least representation of Black people on boards.

Overall (all regions and sectors), 40.8 percent of board of director positions are held by women in the five sectors examined. School board directors in the education sector tend to have the highest proportion of women (47.3%) and while making progress, women are still only 25.3 percent of corporate board members.  The differences between organizations within the corporate sector shows that that some companies find plenty of well qualified candidates while others do not. Across Canada 13.4 percent of corporate boards have over 40 percent women but 11.0 percent have none. For example, in Toronto’s corporate sector, 18.9 percent of corporate boards now have at least 40 percent women, yet 5.4 percent still have none.

Research has shown that Indigenous peoples, members of the LGBTQ2S+ community, and persons with disabilities are rarely members of boards. This study could not produce reliable data on the representation of these groups, but used interviews to explore the perceptions and experiences with boards of people who identify as Indigenous, LGBTQ2S+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning, and two-spirit), and persons with disabilities.  Among the 36 respondents, 90 percent had non-profit sector board experience and 30 percent had public sector board experience, but only 8 percent had experience on corporate boards. Some of the barriers that were identified include: corporate culture, lack of social networks, discrimination (which is compounded for people with intersecting identities), pressures to refrain from self-identification, and a lack of mentorship or support. The majority (80%) of participants in the qualitative study were positioned at the intersection of more than one underrepresented identity (e.g., as a woman and an Indigenous person).  Many were reluctant to discuss or reveal their identity at all for fear of discrimination.

To download the report which was made possible through the generous support of TD via the TD Ready Commitment, visit Ryerson.ca/diversity.