Executive Summary:

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.

There are 36 women in the top offices in Canada’s largest public companies, compared to 31 a year earlier. The numbers were calculated based on the Top 100 Publicly-traded Canadian Companies, ranked by revenue. This is the fourth consecutive year of the annual Rosenzweig Ranking.

Among the findings of the Annual Rosenzweig Report:

69 per cent of Canada’s biggest companies are run at the highest levels by men and men only; 92.8 per cent of the highest-paid executive positions are held by men; and
The top leadership role of Chief Executive Officer (CEO) is a position held by 5 women at six companies on the list compared to 92 men. (Within the top 100 companies, 1 woman and 2 men hold the top position in more than one company.)

Since the launch of the Annual Rosenzweig Report in 2006, its numbers suggest that women at the top echelons of corporate Canada face a glass ceiling.

We see some positive news in that the 7.2% number is the highest we have seen since we began this study. Still, as we suggested in previous years, in order to achieve gender equality at the highest levels of corporate Canada, we believe a lot more must be done.

Gender diversity is good for business and good for corporate Canada. The more we know about and understand the barriers to the corporate advancement of women, the sooner we will eliminate the glass ceiling.