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.

Since we began tracking the advancement of women in the corner offices of Canada’s largest publicly traded companies, we have found both progress and disappointment along the way. This year – the Fifth Annual Rosenzweig Report – our findings lack both sentiments: progress is stalled, but we are not overly disappointed because we believe the economic turmoil, or global recession, has played a significant role.