Women on Canadian Corporate Boards of Directors: Still a Long Way to go

Abstract

Increasing research attention has been devoted to understanding the roles and responsibilities of boards of directors of North American corporations (Gillies, 1992; Lorsch & MacIver, 1989; Fleischer, Hazard & Klipper, 1988). Initially, boards had honorary or at best advisory roles to CEOs appearing as “ornaments on a corporate Christmas tree” (Mace, 1971). They also have functioned as “old boy’s clubs” (Leighton & Thain, 1993). Board Members were appointed exclusively at the request of the CEO. But events of the 1970s and 1980s have brought about changes in both the composition and functioning of boards. A majority of board members now come from outside the corporation (outside directors), board membership has grown, corporate boards have created more committees, corporate directors take their jobs more seriously, and directors bring a greater variety of abilities and skills to the boards on which they serve. Despite these changes, corporate boards of directors continue to be criticized.

This research was supported in part by the School of Business, York University. I would like to thank Mary Mattis and Catalyst for permission to use their survey. Rachel Burke and Elizabeth Kurucz assisted with the collection of the data and Cobi Wolpin helped with data analysis. Parts of this chapter were published in French in Gestion (1998)