The Charity Commission has acknowledged that boards of trustees do not “as a whole” reflect the diversity of their communities.
Chief executive Helen Stephenson also said that boards lacking the right mix of skills, experience and background were “at risk of ‘groupthink’ and of losing their way”.
Her comments came in a letter responding to an open letter in July from 65 organisations, which urged the regulator to introduce more data-driven analysis of the diversity of charity trustees and senior executives.
Co-ordinated by Money4YOU, which supports black, Asian, multi-ethnic and refugee-led charities and social enterprises, the letter said that about half of trustee recruitment still happened by referral from existing trustees and that publicly-available data on diversity was often incomplete and out of date.
It accused the commission of knowing about the problem but deciding to “do nothing”.
In response, Stephenson said: “As your letter highlights, taken as a whole trustees do not reflect the make-up of the communities that they serve.
“We also know that a lack of diversity can be a risk to good governance. Having a diverse group of people on boards, in terms of background and experience, but also in outlook and personality, helps charities make better decisions.”
She said: “Diverse boards are better able to anticipate and manage risks, seize new opportunities, future-proof their organisations and tackle difficult but necessary decisions.”
Stephenson said the commission recognised the need to “encourage different perspectives” on charity boards, so it co-ordinated Trustees’ Week in November 2021 with a focus on diversity in all its forms and encouraging people from a greater range of backgrounds to consider being a trustee.
She added that the organisation was engaging with the charity sector to “further understand the opportunities to increase the diversity of trustees as well as the barriers that may exist”.
Stephenson said the commission was working with DCMS to expand the range of data available about the voluntary sector, adding: “We will consider your challenge to us on trustee diversity data as part of this work.”
AmickyCarol Akiwumi, founder and chief executive of Money4YOU, said: “This is a promising first step and I’m delighted that the commission acknowledges that trustees on the whole do not reflect the communities they serve.
“However, it’s concerning that these relatively simple proposals for collecting data on diversity in senior charity sector appointments are still under consideration, some five years after the commission originally proposed them.
“The Charity Commission needs to explain why it believes diversity data isn’t necessary. The burden of proof should lie with those defending the status quo.”
Money4YOU said it had come up with events, research and campaigning toolkits to enable people and organisations to engage in “the debate about diversity transparency in the charity sector”.