A group of U.S. institutional investors is petitioning the Securities and Exchange Commission to impose an obligation on companies to report on certain prescribed environmental, social and governance issues. “In response to changing business norms and pressure from investors, most of America’s largest public companies are attempting to provide additional information to meet these changing […]
A growing number of institutional investors believe integrating environmental, social and governance factors into their portfolios can help generate alpha, according to a new survey by RBC Global Asset Management Inc. This represents a major jump, from 24 per cent in last year’s survey to 38 per cent this year. On the other hand, 20 per […]
A new study in the Journal of Applied Psychology looked at the underlying negative effects of longer legislated maternity leaves on a woman’s career. Defining leaves as one year and longer, the study referred to recent legislation in Canada and Scandinavian countries that encourages prolonged time off for new parents. It looked at the perceived negative effects of longer leaves […]
The majority (82 per cent) of global employers are planning to conduct a gender pay or pay equity review in the next three years, according to a new survey by Willis Towers Watson. The survey, which polled almost 2,000 global employers, including 88 Canadian employers, found 57 per cent indicated that fair pay is a priority for the next three […]
The Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce is launching a Canadian bond framework focused on a commitment to promoting women in corporate leadership roles. The bond framework aims to meet the increasing demand by institutional investors for options to commit dollars to socially responsible investments, according to a press release from the bank. “This new social bond framework […]
I am woman. Hear me roar. It may seem a rather cliched way to open my first editorial for Benefits Canada, but it’s no exaggeration to say 2018 has been a watershed year for bringing attention to gender equality and diversity on a global scale. And whether we’re whispering, shouting or roaring, I believe we […]
Women made up nearly half (47.7 per cent) of Canada’s workforce in 2016, according to figures from Statistics Canada, marking a noteworthy rise on 1976’s 37.3 per cent. While that’s good news for the labour force in general, women continue to come up short in some sectors, including financial services. Camilla Sutton, president and chief […]
The province of Ontario is tackling pay transparency by introducing legislation that requires employers to track and publish information about compensation in their organizations. The proposed legislation, if passed, will require all publicly advertised job postings to include a range or rate of salary, prohibit employers from inquiring about a job candidate’s past compensation and prohibit reprisals against employees who […]
Canada’s largest institutional investors are calling for a boost in the representation of women on board and executive management teams of S&P/TSX composite index companies to 30 per cent by 2022. Within the 215 largest issuers on the index, women occupied only 18 per cent of board seats as of September 2016, according to a review by the […]
Companies with gender diverse leadership reap many benefits including better returns on equity, according to Delaney Greig, engagement analyst at the Shareholder Association for Research and Education. “Where there’s more woman on boards and in senior management you see that returns on equity tend to be higher and above the market, and the same goes for […]