Balance for better, better the world: AGF marks International Women’s Day
Author: Judy G. Goldring
March 8, 2019
March 8 is International Women’s Day – a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women while also marking a call to action to accelerate gender balance.
With this year’s theme – Balance for Better – International Women’s Day provides a unified direction to reinforce change not just today but throughout the year. A change that I’m pleased to say AGF has already been supporting for many years and is ingrained in our corporate culture.
Many companies are leading by example – with a higher representation of women directors and executives. As the President and Chief Administration Officer of a global asset management firm, I have made a commitment to champion change and improve diversity across our firm and our industry.
When it comes to diversity, and importantly, diversity extending beyond gender, we believe that smart corporate decision-making requires different points of view, which come from people with diverse backgrounds, experiences and perspectives working together.
We know that diverse boards are good for companies and good for the economy.
We currently have four women and six men – an industry leader at 40% – on our Board, which reflects our commitment to workplace diversity. In fact, the representation of women on our Board has set the tone for hiring practices throughout AGF.
With more than 30% of women in executive roles, we are committed to the advancement of women throughout the firm.
At AGF we are committed to:
- Board Diversity – We endeavour to have the best people on our Board. AGF’s Board is comprised of talented and dedicated directors with a diverse mix of expertise, skills and background. They bring new ideas, different perspectives and distinct voices to help AGF succeed. We recently interviewed the women on AGF’s Board of Directors, who were happy to share their thoughts on what makes a board successful.
- Internal Hiring Practices – AGF’s Sustainability Council includes an initiative on people – retaining the best talent and incorporating inclusion and diversity throughout the organization.
- Supporting Industry Organizations – AGF is a member of the 30% Club – an organization that encourages and supports companies to appoint more women at the board level as well as to senior management roles. It’s no secret that the financial services / wealth management industry is still mostly male, yet AGF is well-represented at industry organizations such as IFIC as well as female-focused events held by, among others, 100 Women in Finance, Women in Capital Markets, Women in ETFs, Women in Wealth Management – Wealth Professional.
We are part of a positive change taking place throughout Canada. According to Osler’s “2018 Diversity Disclosure Practices: Women in leadership roles at TSX-listed companies” report 28.4% of S&P/TSX board seats are now held by women, 68.8% of all companies have at least one female director and 18% of executive officers in financial services are women.
Although there is still work do be done, these figures prove that we are entering an exciting period in history where the world expects balance. There is an understanding that balance is not a women’s issue, it’s a business issue. The race is on for gender-balanced boardrooms, a gender-balance of employees, a gender-balanced government and more gender-balance in pay and wealth.
The future is promising. The future is visible. The future is balanced. This International Women’s Day, we can all reflect on the progress being made and look for opportunities to champion and push social change and diversity.
The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the opinions of AGF, its subsidiaries or any of its affiliated companies, funds or investment strategies.
AGF Investments is a group of wholly owned subsidiaries of AGF Management Limited, a Canadian reporting issuer. The subsidiaries included in AGF Investments are AGF Investments Inc. (AGFI), Highstreet Asset Management Inc. (Highstreet), AGF Investments America Inc. (AGFA), AGF Asset Management (Asia) Limited (AGF AM Asia) and AGF International Advisors Company Limited (AGFIA). AGFA is a registered advisor in the U.S. AGFI and Highstreet are registered as portfolio managers across Canadian securities commissions. AGFIA is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland and registered with the Australian Securities & Investments Commission. AGF AM Asia is registered as a portfolio manager in Singapore. The subsidiaries that form AGF Investments manage a variety of mandates comprised of equity, fixed income and balanced assets.
About AGF Management Limited
Founded in 1957, AGF Management Limited (AGF) is an independent and globally diverse asset management firm. AGF brings a disciplined approach to delivering excellence in investment management through its fundamental, quantitative, alternative and high-net-worth businesses focused on providing an exceptional client experience. AGF’s suite of investment solutions extends globally to a wide range of clients, from financial advisors and individual investors to institutional investors including pension plans, corporate plans, sovereign wealth funds and endowments and foundations.
For further information, please visit AGF.com.
© 2020 AGF Management Limited. All rights reserved.
Written by
Judy G. Goldring, LL.B., LL.D., ICD.D
President and Head of Global Distribution
AGF Management Limited
