Marie Senécal-Tremblay (EMBA 2013) has been invited as a speaker at the CGA Corporate Governance Center

Marie Senécal-Tremblay (EMBA 2013), a Citizenship Judge, Citizenship Commission – Canada, has been invited to present the results of the EMBA McGill – HEC Montréal final paper at part of DISTINGUISHED SPEAKER SERIES of the CGA Corporate Governance Center at the Telfer School of Management last week.

The topic of her conference was «Moving from Words to Action: Getting to greater diversity in Canadian corporate boardrooms ». This follows the 3 Minutes to Change the World speech she was invited to do in April 2013 with the McGill Graduate Studies department.

Here is the abstract of her presentation :

Given its universality, gender diversity is the de facto gateway for other types of functional, internal and external demographic diversity, such as nationality, culture, experience and tenure. By its external measurable nature, it acts as proxy for diversity writ large in the same way that corporate board performance acts as proxy for corporate governance writ large. In Canada, decades of public debate stand in sharp contrast to the absence of movement on this issue over the same long period.

This research uses complexity theory insights which when applied to management science, champions an emerging analytical approach, focused on policy context, looking from within and the identification of patterns. Combined with in-depth field interviews and a broad literature review this approach seeks to 1) understand the key characteristics of Canadian corporate culture; 2) compare Norway’s legislated quotas with Canada’s actions over the same timeframe; and 3) examine innovative initiatives such as the equality of opportunity based ‘Rooney Rule’ in the United States. An incremental public policy approach which builds on identifiable, innate corporate characteristics is compared with the recent Ontario government mandate to the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC), the OSC’s subsequent course of action and its proposed regulatory ‘comply and explain’ amendments to National Instrument 58-101.

This paper aims to make a contribution by answering why public debate and voluntary actions are necessary but not sufficient to effect change on this complex public policy issue. A better understanding of this multi-factorial ecosystem is essential for the emergence and development of an informed, effective public policy course of action that is well-adapted to Canada’s corporate and national cultural contexts.

Source : CGA Corporate Governance Center