Ontario Securities Commission proposes amendments for disclosure of women on boards

Proposed amendments would require more disclosure, reporting of female representation

The Ontario Securities Commission is proposing a number of rule amendments that would require TSX-listed issuers in Ontario to disclose more about the representation of women on company boards and in senior management roles.

The proposed amendments would require annual disclosure regarding:

• director term limits

• policies regarding the representation of women on the board,

• the board’s or nominating committee’s consideration of the representation of women in the director identification and selection process

• the issuer’s consideration of the representation of women in executive officer positions when making executive officer appointments

• targets regarding the representation of women on the board and in executive officer positions

• the number of women on the board and in executive officer positions

The proposed amendments are based on feedback received by the OSC in response to a previous staff consultation paper.

“Our proposed amendments are intended to encourage more effective boards and better corporate decision making, which will benefit investors and the capital markets,” said Howard I. Wetston, chair and CEO of the OSC.

"This is about helping TSX-listed issuers tap into a pool of talented and capable resources currently under-represented on today's boards and senior management.”

There is a 90-day comment period on the amendments which will end April 16, 2014.

Comments must be submitted in writing to [email protected].

Latest stories