How to increase diversity among trustees

Introduction

Achieving diversity is a perpetual challenge for charities, and in theory every organisation needs to seek to increase or at least maintain the diversity of its board when recruiting Trustees.  Parts of the population not traditionally represented on charity boards include young people, people with disabilities and members of minority or ethnic communities.

According to ACEVO, 97% of Trustee Chairs are white and seven out of ten are men (ref1).  The Charity Commission estimates that only 0.5% of the trustee population is made up of 18-24 year olds (ref2).  Over a quarter of charities feel that their leadership team lacks sufficient diversity (ref3).

The problem is exacerbated by the fact that 81% of charities practise recruiting of trustees by word of mouth or personal recommendation, according to The Charity Commission (ref4).

Why increase diversity?

• Many charities risk a disconnect between board members and beneficiaries of their services.  A more diverse range of trustees helps to ensure a charity is fair and open in all its dealings, for example in giving grants or delivering services.

• A diverse board can increase public confidence and accountability.

• Different types of trustees and a healthy changeover help to keep the board fresh and new ideas coming in, and prevent leadership becoming stale

• A diverse board contains a broader mix of skills, knowledge and experience which should give it greater flexibility to overcome challenges

• Many charities have a public duty to promote equality, as per the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000 Disability Discrimination Act 1995 and the Employment Equality (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2003.

How can you increase diversity?

Set limits for Trustee terms. This is essential to ensure length of service is straightforward and that trustees don’t become entrenched or burnt out.  In addition, setting in place standard procedures for Trustee recruitment and induction can ensure that your organisation is consistently striving to increase diversity.

Here are some practical ideas to help get a more diverse mix of Trustees:

1. Use alternative methods of recruitment to word of mouth wherever possible, to try and reach into communities not currently represented on the board.  Investigate using Trustee brokerage services or specialist recruitment consultancies such as TPP Not for Profit.
2. When advertising Trustee vacancies, you can make use of specialist job boards targeted at local communities or minority populations.  Explore advertising on LinkedIn groups focussed on the type of person you’d like to attract.
3. Organise board meetings at times that are convenient to all, such as evenings, or hold them at different times so that Trustees who cannot attend one particular meeting are not excluded.
4. You should have a set policy in place for expenses such as travel and childcare.  It may even be possible to provide childcare services for Trustees.
5. Make sure the venue in which you hold your board meetings is in a location which can be easily reached by all and is accessible for people with disabilities.  TPP’s boardroom is available free of charge to charities for meetings.
6. It is a good idea to have arrangements in place, should you need to provide translators or sign language interpreters, or provide audio, Braille or large print versions of documents.
7. Many potential Trustees, particularly those in younger age groups, feel they are excluded from joining a board as they would be missing out on paid employment.  Choosing to pay these Trustees could help overcome this, and 18% of charities feel that paying Trustees would help them (ref3).  7% of Trustees and Chairs are paid (ref5).

Finally...

But remember, first and foremost a Trustee must have the skills, knowledge and experience required to fulfil their role. 

Trustees are there to provide governance and guidance to a charity on the behalf of its beneficiaries.  They need to be motivated by the charity’s ultimate aims and it is of no benefit to either party to appoint someone purely to make up a diversity ‘quota’.