The imperative of diversity and inclusion for charity success
There were two events in 2020 that made all of us in leadership roles sit up and take notice. The pandemic and the murder of George Floyd sent the saddest and starkest of reminders that we live in a world where inequality is hardwired into how so many people live and work.
Having worked in and around social justice for almost three decades, I don’t mind admitting that I did not feel prepared for the challenges it would bring and the pace that was needed to find solutions. There were lessons I learnt, and it became a powerful time to reflect on who I am as a leader and who I am responsible for when making decisions. And, perhaps most importantly, who is in the virtual room as part of the decision making.
Covid changed landscape
I went into 2020 as no stranger to the tough challenges faced by charities, in my case a career that spans the legal profession, social justice and now science. The days of those of us working in charities being seen as taking the easier option compared to the private or public sectors are well behind us.
We have a social responsibility and must handle complex strategic, people, financial, governance and system changes for charities, building trust with funders and partners. Like many of us, I have pushed for policy change by navigating the complexities of the political and economic climate both in the UK and internationally. Yet I can’t remember a time when a society shift has had such a wholescale impact on the landscape – and not before time.
According to McKinsey & Company’s 2019 Women in the Workplace report, companies that are gender and ethnically diverse are up to 35% more likely to outperform than the industry median. For many organisations, diversity and inclusion have shifted from a “nice to do” to a “must do” that brings so many rewards. It attracts people to the charity whether as employees, supporters, partners and funders.
But there is also a danger that diversity fatigue sets in and this allows excuses to be made: it’s too difficult; we can’t find the candidates; we have some diversity - what’s the problem?
So, what more can we do to shift diversity and inclusion to the “must do”?
Still a problem
A move like this has to start at the top, and reports show that leadership in the charity sector still has a problem. In 2020 a report commissioned by Third Sector magazine revealed that the proportion of charity chief executives who identify as black, Asian, minority ethnic or "other" (rather than white) had risen only slightly from 12% in 2017 to 16%, while the proportion of other senior leaders from BAME backgrounds remained static at 10%.
For trustees, the numbers rose slightly from 10% to 15%. A report by the National Council for Voluntary Organisations showed that – perhaps unsurprisingly – women make up the majority of the voluntary workforce.
I am not surprised by the statistics, having been through the difficult process to recruit a new CEO for Hibiscus - the charity where I chair the board. By the nature of our work, we have a diverse team and strong leadership, yet we reflected Third Sector report ethnicity demographics at a senior level.
We were mid pandemic, with challenges of switching to virtual services for the vulnerable migrant women we support, and of course keeping our funding. We had to balance the non-negotiable skills we wanted in our new CEO and diversity of background and experiences was an important one.
Fortunately we had a recruiter, Prospectus, who didn’t just talk about diversity but shared our values and commitment. They were willing to go out several times to find candidates with the right mix of skills including diversity.
Honest conversation
The board had an honest conversation about the decisions we had to make as responsible trustees, considering the present needs, but also ensuring we could meet a changing landscape that we would be working in. That led us to take a unanimous decision to appoint a woman who was a first time CEO because she brought fresh thinking, energy and her own life experiences to the role.
Alongside this we looked at the diversity of our board and brought in new trustees from different backgrounds and experiences. It has taken a couple of years to get to where we are today but already we have a higher profile with funders and partners which is further improving the support we provide for our clients.
In a very different charity context to my board role at Hibiscus, I am deputy chief executive of the Institute of Physics (IOP) which is the professional body for physicists in the UK and Ireland. Although most people would not think that a 100 year old science organisation has a long history of working on diversity and inclusion, it has been a key strand of work well before the topic became fashionable.
At the end of 2019 we had applied for the gender equality award established by the physics community and not been successful. But it was the events of 2020 that brought our work into the spotlight and caused us to step back and reflect on our focus and pace.
Our staff team and physicists were calling for greater and faster change and looked to the leadership to it right. The organisation’s reputation started to suffer with some public criticism on social media that we were falling short of expectation. As a leader it was important to listen to the diversity of voices and remember who we make decisions for.
Inclusivity builds trust
Roll forward by 12 months and we were running a programme called “Giving Voice to Inclusion”, which allowed people to have a voice in our organisation’s future. By the end of 2021, we received the gender equality award. But the biggest change has been created by the action plan which has been designed with input from the whole organisation.
Data collection has improved because teams now understand its value and purpose, colleagues have formed new networks and we are getting ready to report on ethnicity pay. As we emerge from the pandemic, our team has developed a new and inclusive way of working that is built on trust and choice.
On everyone’s minds
We are not yet where we want to be, but we are focused and there is a palatable sense that diversity and inclusion are now on everyone’s minds. Now we have more ease in conversations about our work on sustainability as we work towards net zero and how important it is to include diversity and ethics in decision making so we do not widen the inequality in finding solutions.
So what have we learnt from those early months of 2020? I think it would be easy to say we have a lot of answers, but more honest to say that time will tell. But there are three areas where some green shoots have taken root:
- We don’t shy away from talking about diversity and inclusion in a way we didn’t before, and we are better informed about how they impact our clients, employees, members and other stakeholders.
- There is a clear business case that sets out the reasons why it is important - the moral, legal and economic arguments.
- Perhaps most importantly, there are honest conversations even when they are difficult and perhaps less fear of saying the wrong thing. It is absolutely not easy and probably never will be given the complexities of discussions and the impact of social media. But if we can be more informed, a little less afraid and a bit bolder. That must be a positive.
