By: Dr. Deborah Rosati
In a world gripped by financial volatility and geopolitical upheaval, organizations face unprecedented challenges. Only bold, forward-thinking leadership at the board level can enable companies to navigate complexity, adapt to disruption, and lead transformational change.
Yet as demand for strong board leadership peaks, progress toward gender-balanced corporate boards is slowing and, in some areas, reversing. According to Osler’s Diversity Disclosure Practices report, as of 2025, women hold 30.5 percent of disclosed board seats at TSX-listed companies. This is only a 0.7 percentage-point increase from 2024, the smallest annual increase since Osler began reporting this data 11 years ago.
The data make this slowdown clear: in 2025, fewer companies emphasised gender equity at the board and executive levels. The proportion of new or vacant board seats filled by women fell to 31.9% from 40.4% in 2024. The share of companies disclosing whether they consider the level of women’s representation when making director appointments also declined by 5.5 percentage points. For executive officer appointments, the decline was 7.9 points.
At Women Get On Board (WGOB), the slowing progress toward gender parity is a clear call to action. As Founder & CEO, I am committed to intensifying our efforts, expanding our community of advocates and allies, setting more ambitious targets, and empowering the next generation of women leaders.
Data shows that diverse companies deliver stronger results. A 2020 McKinsey study found that diverse workplaces were 48% more likely to outperform, 27% more likely to create value, and 19% more profitable than less diverse workplaces. When boards are more diverse, they bring a broader range of experience to the table—and it’s no surprise that more viewpoints lead to better decision-making.
That said, gender diversity in corporate governance must not stop at recruiting one woman per board. In the boardroom, a single woman often becomes isolated. She is seen as a token with little real influence. Similarly, when only two women sit on a board, they can still be marginalized. Women directors might raise valuable points or highlight risks others miss. Yet a pair can be easily dismissed as a minority with a niche concern. However, three women can transform a board. Together, they constitute a critical mass—not diverse additions, but a powerful, normalized voice. Three is the threshold at which the boardroom dynamic fundamentally changes. Women are regarded for their individual expertise, not merely as representatives of the female perspective. This leads to richer debates, greater innovation, and better decision-making.
At WGOB, we call this effect “The Power of Three.” While the impact of a critical mass of women on boards is evident, progress toward gender equity in corporate governance is under threat. Women’s representation on the boards of the largest publicly traded U.S. companies has fallen below the 30% benchmark. The share of new director appointments going to women dropped to 22% in the first quarter of this year, down from roughly 40% in 2023. Women of colour were especially affected, with their representation declining to 7.3%. This regression is being driven by a broader rollback of diversity initiatives across the corporate sector. Federal appeals courts have blocked Nasdaq’s diversity rules. BlackRock has abandoned its 30% target for diverse directors on S&P 500 boards. Fidelity has ended its policy of pressuring homogeneous boards to pursue more diverse candidates. As a result, boards are reverting to recruiting familiar profiles and filling open seats exclusively with current or former CEOs. These practices severely narrow the path for women to secure these powerful positions. Women are less likely to fit the traditional profile.
The cost of losing the Power of Three is immense. If boards continue to appoint fewer women, the timeline for achieving gender parity in corporate governance will move even further out of reach. Projections have recently been pushed back to 2044—five years later than previously expected.
The Power of Three is more than a metric; it’s a catalyst for effective governance. As board diversity regresses when it’s needed most, we must act now. Double down on gender equity in the boardroom and ensure women are not only present but also have the critical mass to make an impact. WGOB was launched in 2015 as a social-purpose company with a vision to build a national movement that connects, promotes, and empowers women to serve on corporate boards with certainty and courage. Since then, more than ten years have been dedicated to amplifying women’s voices and transforming boardrooms and beyond.
WGOB is guided by the Power of Three philosophy—the belief that one woman in a boardroom is a token, two are a presence, and three create an authentic voice for change. This vision guides WGOB to elevate the voices of women leaders, board members, and professionals across Canada through education, mentorship, and allyship.
