Tax Incentives to Encourage Greater Representation of Women in Senior Management Positions and on Boards 2021

BACKGROUND:While women make up almost 50% of the Canadian labour force, they hold less than 20% of board directorships and less than 17% of executive officer positions in Canada. This is despite women
obtaining more than 50% of the Bachelor’s degrees and 50% of the Master’s degrees in Business,
Management and Public Administration.

The approach taken in Canada to date has been to adopt a “comply or explain” regime for publicly
listed entities. Since 2014, TSX listed corporations have had to disclose details about the
representation of women on boards and in senior management as well as details on written diversity
policies; however the total number of board seats held by women has only increased marginally and
the number of women in senior management positions has largely remained flat.

Internationally, Canada is behind many other jurisdictions such as the UK, Australia and US to name a
few.

Tax incentives have been successfully used by the Canadian government as a means of encouraging
action on the part of participants in the private sector. One of the most prominent examples is the
Scientific Research and Experimental Development (SR&ED) Program which uses tax incentives
(e.g., income tax deduction, an investment tax credit) to encourage Canadian businesses to
participate.