In support of these principles, the Board and the NGC Committee, when identifying candidates to nominate for election to our Board or appoint as senior management or in its review of senior management succession planning and talent management:
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considers individuals who are highly qualified, based on their talents, experience, functional expertise and personal skills, character and qualities having regard to our current and future plans and objectives, as well as anticipated regulatory and market developments;
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considers criteria that promote diversity, including with regard to gender, age, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, disability and other characteristics;
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considers the level of representation of women on our Board and in senior management positions, along with other markers of diversity, when making recommendations for nominees to our Board or for appointment as senior management and in general with regard to succession planning for our Board and senior management; and
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as required, engages qualified independent external advisors to assist our Board in conducting its search for candidates that meet the Board’s criteria regarding skills, experience and diversity.
As of the date of this Circular, women represent 30% of our Board, 33% of the independent directors and 40% of our named executive officers. In addition, two members of our Board identify as members of visible minorities and one individual identifies as LGBTQIA+.
We are invested in building and maintaining a diverse workforce including a diverse leadership team. We are implementing programs, through our Women in Waste initiative that we launched in 2019, to encourage greater participation of women in both our hourly and salaried ranks and to support their training and development within GFL. We continue to prioritize investing in the diversity of our workforce, including through formal mentorship programs. Additional information about our employees, as well as our Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging initiatives, can be found in our 2021 Sustainability Report on the “ESG – Sustainability” section of our website at http://investors.gflenv.com.
The NGC Committee will continue to monitor the level of diversity on our Board and in senior management positions, including gender diversity, with a view to continuing to broaden recruiting efforts consistent with our commitment to diversity described above. The NGC Committee will generally identify, evaluate and recommend candidates that possess various and relevant career experience, industry knowledge and experience, financial expertise and other specialized experience, while also taking diversity, including gender diversity, into consideration.
OTHER IMPORTANT INFORMATION
Voting Securities
The voting securities of the Company include subordinate voting shares, multiple voting shares and Convertible Preferred Shares. As of April 1, 2024, there are 364,658,285 subordinate voting shares issued and outstanding, 11,812,964 multiple voting shares issued and outstanding, 24,967,414 Series A Convertible Preferred Shares and 8,196,721 Series B Convertible Preferred Shares issued and outstanding.
Holders of subordinate voting shares are entitled to one vote per subordinate voting share on all matters upon which shareholders are entitled to vote. As of April 1, 2024, the subordinate voting shares represented approximately 89.0% of our total issued and outstanding shares and approximately 70.5% of the voting power attached to all of our