Women make up 17% of the board members in Canada’s finance and insurance companies: Catalyst

Women made up 17.4% of the total number of directors in 81 finance and insurance companies surveyed in 2009 by Catalyst, an organization that provides resources related to the women’s leadership development. The biennial count in 2009 Catalyst Census: Financial Post 500 Women Board Directors surveyed 478 of the National Post’s Top 500 companies in 2009. Overall, Catalyst’s survey found the percentage of female board directors nudged upward by only one percentage point in two years. Leading the way was the arts, entertainment and recreation industry. Women filled up 36% of the board seats in this industry, although only six companies in this industry were included in the survey. The mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction industry had the lowest percentage (6.7%) of women board directors. Fifty-nine companies in this industry were surveyed. Individual property and casualty insurers appeared in lists for both the ‘Companies with 25% or More Female Directors,’ and in the list of ‘Companies with Zero Women Directors.’ The Manitoba Public Insurance Corporation (6 out of 10 directors), the Insurance Corporation of B.C. (3 of 9 directors), Chubb Insurance Company of Canada (2 of 8 directors) and ING Canada Inc. (now Intact, with 3 of 12 directors), all had 25% or more female directors. Axa Canada Inc. (6 directors), Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd (6 directors), Groupe promutuel, fédération de sociétés mutuelles d’assurance générale (10 directors) and Kingsway Financial Services Inc. (7 directors) each reported having zero women on their boards. Catalyst began producing the biennial census in 1998 to assess the status of women on boards of the largest companies in Canada.