Creating a diverse and inclusive charity sector

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion were key themes of the latest instalment of Bayes Business School’s Perspectives on Leadership series, hosted and organised by the Centre for Charity Effectiveness.

Recent events in the United States and comments from leaders of tech giants have brought the topic of workplace and societal opportunities into sharp focus. Mark Zuckerberg has called for more “masculine energy” in the corporate world, Meta has rolled back its diversity initiatives, and the tragic air collision in Washington DC was apportioned to DEI air traffic controllers by the President.

An expert panel of charity sector leaders talked about what an inclusive and diverse culture means in the context of the third sector workplace, and the challenges many charities face in being exemplars of best practice in this area.

The event was hosted by Paul Streets, Honorary Visiting Professor at Bayes, who was joined by Ruth Ibegbuna, Founder and CEO, Rekindle School, Kamran Mallik, CEO, Disability Rights UK, and Louise Harris, Visiting Lecturer at Bayes and COO, Crisis.

Each panellist shared moving lived experiences to demonstrate both institutional and personal challenges of gender, race and disability inclusion. They attacked the “tokensim” and “marginalisation of talent” perceived to be widespread within the charity sector, pointing out how social justice was all-too-often being used as a buzzword which was damaging its credibility.

A panel discussion then discussed the importance of allyship and what it means to be an ally, best and worst practices for building an environment of equal opportunity, and the need for bold new inclusion strategies to tackle difficult issues that are holding the sector back from being a leading example to others.

Audience members, many of whom were charity sector leaders or employees, then joined the discussion, with questions around the language of inclusion – such as whether terms such as LGBTQ+ and BAME should be used to describe communities – and how the sector could invite people in without being seen to have a “holier than thou” mentality.

Paul Streets said the event provided fruitful and much-needed discussion about how the sector could lead from the front in diversity, equity and inclusion.

“People often refer to a ‘glass ceiling’ when describing career progression opportunities for women. This ceiling is made of bullet proof glass when it comes to race equality, and the disability ceiling is just concrete.

“Covid brought these inequalities even further into light, as have more recent geopolitical events that have heavily influenced corporate motivations.

“Charities have long claimed to lead the way in DEI initiatives, but this evening served as a stark reminder of just how much work still needs to be done – not just in creating equal opportunities in all work environments, but also in fully justifying a self-proclaimed status as exemplars across the sector.

“The Perspectives on Leadership series aims to mobilise leaders and aspiring leaders in the not-for-profit sector, sharing experiences and shedding light on pertinent issues with the aim of bringing together theory and practice.”