They have to be people who meet the job requirements. I am not talking about circumventing merit-based selection to favour certain individuals.
Over 50% of people in administrative positions who have an MBA or administration degree in Canada are women. This has been the case for over 30 years. So there is a critical mass to meet this need.
We recommend following England's example. The British government met with the heads of recruitment firms to ask them to make a commitment to submit the name of at least one woman for all senior positions. If memory serves me, up to 50% of candidates on the short list are women, and their skills meet organizational requirements.