Charities must avoid instrumentalisation and tokenism in order to be truly anti-racist in their communications, a new report from the anti-racist brand strategy agency Brand By Me has urged.
The summary of the report, which does not name any of the charities analysed, says the instrumentalisation of the global majority is a “widespread issue” in UK charity communications, adding that diversity in imagery has become a “crutch” that can prevent more meaningful anti-racist storytelling.
The full report is based on analysis, carried out by Brand By Me and Luminance Insight between November 2023 and February this year, of the top 30 UK charities listed in Third Sector’s 2023 Charity Brand Index.
The report aims to “overturn” the challenges of sustaining momentum around anti-racism work in the voluntary sector and equip organisations with tools to drive “impactful change”, Brand By Me said.
The report says: “Featuring images of global majority communities does not in itself equal anti-racism. Diversity in imagery seems to be a starting point for many organisations, but it has also become a crutch and sole focus of activity which sometimes prevents progression into more meaningful anti-racist storytelling.”
The report adds that, while culturally significant celebrations and times of year are often used as an opportunity to centre global majority communities and issues within charity communications, this can also be a form of instrumentalisation and tokenism if charities only talk about these communities during these specific times.
The research also found there was inconsistent global majority representation across all communities within charity communications, specifically pointing to a lack of East Asian representation as a “consistent example”.
The report urges charities to adopt clear anti-racist strategies and address racism directly, saying that without this, organisations “often find themselves reverting back to white-centred or racially binary narratives”.
It says: “They slip from being anti-racist into ‘not racist’, which becomes racist by default. The impact of a charity not discussing how racism affects their audiences leads to explaining away bias and making way for racist assumptions.”
The report says charities must “go beyond diversity and representation”, starting with “consistently centring global majority stories and perspectives” as a first step to becoming an anti-racist organisation.
It says that a strong starting point is partnering with global majority-led organisations which are tackling similar issues and centring their voices.
Organisations that are actively anti-racist have made a strong and public anti-racism commitment which is consistently communicated through a breadth of channels and range of formats, the research found.
The report says: “Their brand activity demonstrates clearly that these organisations seek to understand nuances within and across global majority communities, actively seek feedback and input without being extractive and have a consistent focus on global majority partnerships and storytelling throughout the year.”
The report adds that charities that were found to be anti-racist were also proactive in understanding how racism blocks their ability to deliver their mission and purpose, and demonstrate that they are “consistently listening and learning”.
Colette Philip, founder of Brand By Me, said: “Our Dismantle report offers real-world insights combined with a robust and simple framework that will equip brands to dismantle racist practices and embed equity within their approaches.
“This report is for the brands that are ready to do the work. By listening, learning and unlearning together, brands can and should contribute to a more just and equitable society.”
A further report detailing the findings for each of the 30 charities examined is available for purchase from Brand By Me.