Published : 3 years ago, on 22/07/2021

OTTAWA (Reuters) – The Bank of Canada, which has acknowledged the need for its leadership to be more diverse, on Wednesday announced the appointment of Sharon Kozicki as a deputy governor, temporarily raising the number of members on the governing council.

Kozicki, whose appointment becomes effective on August 2, will for a few months be the only woman on the six-person policy-making council.

In December new senior deputy governor Carolyn Rogers will become the second woman on the council, pushing the membership up to seven for a limited time.

“This will allow for a broader diversity of views and analysis and will allow for smooth succession in the event of future retirements,” the central bank said in a statement.

Kozicki has been an adviser to governors of the bank since August 2013. She helped guide the outlook for the Canadian economy and oversaw production of the quarterly Monetary Policy Report, it added.

She will initially share responsibility for overseeing the central bank‘s financial system activities with Deputy Governor Toni Gravelle.

In February, the bank launched its first-ever formal diversity and inclusion strategy, setting out to reverse a decline in women staff over the last six years while also boosting the number of people from visible minorities.

Former Senior Deputy Governor Carolyn Wilkins, who had been the bank‘s only female senior policymaker, left last December after losing out to Tiff Macklem to be governor.

(Reporting by David Ljunggren in Ottawa and Fergal Smith in Toronto; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama, William Maclean)