Whether the high-profile positions for women are simply sinecures for the well connected or actually add value for shareholders, women deserve their place in the boardroom, which remains an overwhelmingly male-dominated world.

At the behest of the Ontario government, the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) is taking on the issue of the dearth of female corporate directors in Canada. Earlier this year, the OSC issued a consultation paper, which outlines proposed new disclosure requirements for corporations concerning their approach to gender diversity. Generally, commenters on the paper support the initiative. In fact, many say the OSC will have to do more if it hopes to actually change anything.

But there are also those who question whether this should be a concern for securities regulators at all. Indeed, if gender diversity produces better-run companies, and higher shareholder returns, then it is in companies’ own interests to pursue diversity.

But the true value of redressing the gender imbalance in corporate boardrooms isn’t to enhance the performance of companies; it’s about creating a more egalitarian society.

The presence of more women isn’t going to magically transform corporate governance into a universally useful endeavour. Regardless of gender mix, some boards of directors will be effective governors that actually keep management on their toes and help enhance shareholder value. Others will continue to be empty exercises in rubber-stamping and box-ticking.

What it will do is help dismantle one more relic of male domination in corporate Canada – and that sends a message to women in the workforce, and girls in school, that they have a fair shot in Canadian society.

This may not seem like the job of securities regulators. But the reality is that, since the corporate governance scandals of the late 1990s, securities regulators do have the role of setting governance standards in Canada.

In this case, the OSC is just a conduit for a much more important public imperative: improving social and economic equality.

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