In their recently released 2025 Diversity Disclosure report, Osler revealed that progress to enhance diversity among senior leadership at Canadian public companies continued to lose momentum in 2025.
The annual report analyzes disclosure by TSX-listed companies and corporations governed by the Canada Business Corporations Act (CBCA) that are subject to disclosure requirements. Highlights from this year’s data include:
- The overall percentage of women on TSX-listed boards rose to 30.5%, but this represents only a 0.7 percentage point increase since 2024—the smallest annual increase since reporting began 11 years ago
- The proportion of new or vacant board seats filled by women fell to 31.9%, compared to 40.4% in 2024
- The number of companies that disclose whether they consider the level of representation of women in making executive officer appointments declined by 7.9 percentage points and the proportion of companies considering the representation of women in their director candidates declined by 5.5 percentage points
“At WGOB, we view the slowing progress towards gender parity as a call to action,” writes Deborah Rosati, Founder & CEO of Women Get On Board Inc. in a new blog post analyzing the results. “We commit to increasing our efforts, expanding our community of advocates and allies, aiming for more ambitious targets, and empowering the next generation of women leaders.”
Read Deborah Rosati’s analysis: Momentum Diminished: Why Canadian Corporate Board Diversity Progress Slowed in 2025
Download the full report: Diversity Disclosure Practices: Diversity and leadership at Canadian public companies report
