They suffer a lack of diversity and gender parity

Senior leadership teams and the boards of the UK’s top 500 charities are not inclusive, a new report has found.

The Inclusive Governance report commissioned by employment search agency Inclusive Boards revealed that just 13% of charity boards have achieved gender parity, despite the majority of the sector’s workforce being women, and 29% of charities have all white boards.

And senior leadership teams remain behind charity boards in terms of gender, racial and ethnic diversity.

Following the 2018 publication which found a widespread lack of diversity in the 500 largest UK charities by income, four years on, this group of charities has progressed in many areas says the report. More women and people from minority ethnic backgrounds now sit on the UK’s largest charity boards than ever before.

However, the findings show there is still a long way to go for the UK’s largest charities to become more representative.

Samuel Kasumu, co-founder of Inclusive Boards, said: “As a matter of social responsibility and efficacy, there has never been a more important time for the UK charity sector to open its doors to people from all backgrounds."

He added: “This report is vital reading for leaders across the charity sector. It shows progress has been made, but from a low base.

“All charities talk up their commitment to ‘inclusion’, but this data reminds us that we have a long way to travel before that core value is consistently embraced.”