Advancing Intersectional Leadership for a More Inclusive and Prosperous Canada

The world we live in was not built for accomplished executive women. From office temperature settings to out-of-sync-with-school working hours, the workplace as we know it was built for men. White men. Women remain underrepresented in leadership roles, confront a persistent gender pay gap that is even worse for racialized women, and shoulder the disproportionate burden of unpaid care. These ongoing challenges have forced too many women out of the workforce, threatening decades of progress.

It is beyond time to change that—not only because I think it’s unfair, but because I know that when leadership becomes intersectional and inclusive of women, Canada will be a more prosperous nation.

Canada’s Progress: A Long Road Ahead for Intersectional Gender Equality

Our country has taken some strides toward achieving gender equality, but there are still gaps that need to be filled and a long road ahead, particularly as it relates to women with intersecting identities. Nonetheless, The Prosperity Project’s Annual Report Card (ARC) shows that there has been an increase in the number of women on corporate boards and executive teams. Unsurprisingly, however, Black women, Indigenous women, Women of Colour, women with disabilities, and women who identify as 2SLGBTQIA+ are mostly absent.

Specifically, the ARC highlights that Indigenous women represent less than 2% of those in corporate director, executive officer, senior management roles, and the pipeline to senior management positions. The representation of Black women is also notably low, with only 0.9% at the corporate director level. Women with disabilities and those who identify as 2SLGBTQIA+ are also underrepresented, making up less than 3% of these leadership roles combined.

The Need for Cultural Change in Canadian Workplaces

As the leader of a charity that champions the economic participation and success of women, I know that the key to seeing progress is changing the culture. We hear it from participants of our Canadian Household Perspective (CHP) surveys all the time; women feel undervalued, overlooked for promotions, under-supported, prone to microaggressions and sexual harassment (yes, this still happens in 2024!), and underpaid compared to their male counterparts.

Developing a culture of inclusion needs to be treated with the same seriousness as every other business strategy. And it needs to be driven from the top with a genuine approach rather than a “box ticking” point of view.

Leaders can begin with an honest look at their own diversity data. The Prosperity Project’s (TPP) ARC collects data from Canada’s top 500 companies by revenue to assess women’s representation at four levels of leadership through an intersectional lens. The individual report sent to participating companies helps them determine their gaps and enables them to set concrete, ambitious goals and targets on where they want to be in 5, 10, and 15 years. It’s then up to the top executive to measure outcomes rigorously along the way and hold their leadership team accountable for outcomes.

An often-overlooked point of data—included in TPP’s ARC—is the number of women in the pipeline to leadership. Canada has tended to focus on gender parity at the board and executive levels. While this is of great importance, to achieve their gender parity goals, companies must increase women’s representation in the pipeline to leadership.

Struggles in Recruitment and Retention of Women in Mid-Level Careers

Yet, companies tell me all the time that they are struggling with recruitment and retention of women at the mid-level—a period where many women decide to have children. They struggle to attract women to their companies or sectors, and they struggle to keep them. Fortunately, I also hear from women across Canada through our CHP report, so I know that challenges with recruitment and retention can be addressed.

The words I hear most from women are “pay gap,” “childcare,” and “flexible work.” If companies want to become leaders in the recruitment and retention of women, these are the issues that they need to tackle.

Statistically speaking, as a white heterosexual woman, I am paid 87 cents for every dollar earned by a man, but this disparity is even greater for women of Colour, Black women, and women with disabilities. Companies that demonstrate that they are committed to closing the pay gap among their own employees through transparency and merit-focused policies will have the recruitment upper hand.

Similarly, as a mother, I understand why childcare and flexible work make it to the top of the barriers list every time. I love my job. I love being a leader and a part of Canada’s workforce. But I don’t love any of it enough to sacrifice my family’s well-being or my ability to have a quality family life. That means if I have a choice between a leadership role that gives me the flexibility to be there for my family and a leadership role that requires my physical presence all day, every day, with no room for my family life, I will choose flexibility every single time.

A Call for Intersectional Gender Equality in Leadership

The bottom line is that changing culture is not easy, but it can be done. It requires individuals, companies, and governments to recommit to intersectional gender equality in leadership. By taking action, we can build more prosperous industries and a more prosperous Canada.