Board diversity? BIG Alliance hosts panel talk

In partnership with Islington Council’s Black History Month programme and our continued commitment to BAME Equality, BIG Alliance Programme Manager Tom Browne chaired our first panel discussion on board diversity, and more specifically the barriers and opportunities to increasing BAME (black and minority ethnic) representation. 

The charity commission reports that only 8% of trustees are non-white, and when we look at the UK charities with the highest level of income 68% have all white boards (Inclusive Boards, 2018). The June 2020 'Home Truths' report by ACEVO & Voice4Change suggests this disparity is also seen within the employee body of charities, with only 9% being BAME, and only 5.3% of senior leadership teams having BAME representation.

We were delighted to welcome 45 individuals to the online talk with our three fantastic panelists, who were:

• Colin Adams, Director at Hanley Crouch Community Association and trustee of Voluntary Action Islington, Help on your Doorstep and chair of Octopus Communities Network

• Rola Aina, a management consultant and chartered accountant who through our BoardMatch process now sits as a trustee on the board of the Hackney CVS 

• Halaleh Taheri, Executive Director of Middle Eastern Women & Society Organisation. 

We started the discussion by asking each of the panelists: “What do you see as the biggest challenges or barriers to BAME individuals becoming trustees and how does your personal experience/journey relate to that?". Colin, Rola and Halaleh shared extremely honest and insightful responses, providing additional context and tips on top of their answers, as outlined below.

Colin’s reflections: 

• One of the biggest barriers is the perceptions of the BAME applicant themselves who sometimes lack the belief they can be of “use”

• You have to challenge your preconceived notions of what a board of trustees is like

• Enter the process of becoming  a trustee with open-mindedness and confidence in your ability as a candidate

• Understand how valuable the skills and experience you have could be to the board

• Despite initially feeling out of your depth, by being engaged and inquisitive you can soon feel more confident and comfortable in the board environment

• Eradicate the notion that there is the expectation or pressure for you to be all-knowing because - no one is!

Rola’s reflections: 

• Black candidates may need a greater level of confidence to apply as they are under represented 

• The lack of representation and board diversity limits the networking scope to ask questions and be exposed to opportunities for becoming a trustee 

• A board must reflect its service users, not only due to representation. But with diversity comes perspective, as trustees make decisions that impact their diverse beneficiaries 

Halaleh’s reflections: 

• It is vital to have open discussions like our panel today as it raises awareness for a topic and urges charities to recognise and commit to the diversification of their board

• Historically even though candidates might be well-rounded, well-travelled and well-experienced these things aren't always valued above any reservations the interviewers might have over language barriers etc

• There is a glass ceiling for some candidates, which is even thicker when they face multiple prejudices or unconscious bias, for example due to being BAME and female

• There are many, many candidates with untapped potential who just haven't been accomodated yet due to their stronger accents or lack of fluency in English

The next question posed to the panel was: “Where would you like to see improvements in our efforts to increase board diversity as a sector and what is your own personal ambition/mission linked to that?”

 Colin’s reflections:

• In promoting trustee vacancies, use simple language and write in plain English, it is more inclusive and less intimidating, lessening the barriers for others to apply  

• Share the vacancy with people in the community and ask ‘how does this read?’. It will help you decide what message you are sending and how easily it can be understood

• Encourage your community, and individuals to have confidence within themselves to apply

• Charities should encourage people of all ages, backgrounds and races and explain how they can really contribute to the board

Rola’s reflections:

• There needs to be an intentional commitment to finding diverse trustees

• A strategy should be put into place so that it can be prioritised 

• Hiring black candidates is important, but charities should also consider other types of diversity in trying to reflect their service users e.g. age, gender, socio-economic factors whilst maintaining the integrity of the board

• Charities need to ensure that when their service users or beneficiaries look at the board, they see themselves represented. 2020 has been a watershed year in terms of race matters and going forward, it is unacceptable for boards representing the interests of a racially diverse group of people to not be in themselves, racially diverse.

• Candidates should be able to see the current makeup of the board on the ‘meet the trustees’ page, allowing them to do their research and feel better informed before joining

Halaleh’s reflections: 

• We need to challenge our unconscious bias. We need to be aware of what our biases are to actively challenge them and to create a strategy moving forward 

• If our unconscious bias isn’t tackled, this is how we fail to integrate, there is a backward attitude, conflict and segregation is fostered 

• Charities should think of language barriers as curable challenges, and to hold value in the candidates’ experience, skills and the trust the community has in that person 

• It must be understood that the integrity of the board can be maintained whilst diversifying it too. The purpose and passion for the charity’s objectives should always be at the forefront and this forms the common ground

BIG Alliance is passionate about BAME Equality and intend to hold more discussions like this, not only during Black History Month. Please get in contact with tom.browne@thebigalliance.org.uk to find out more. If you’re a business that is keen to make a difference in this space why not sign up to our SHIFT25 campaign?

This panel talk was also covered by Islington Now. See their short article here.