DEI in the charity sector: how far has the reckoning on race and representation actually gone?
The UK charity sector acknowledges a racism and representation problem but progress has stalled. We examine #CharitySoWhite, lived experience on boards, and whether funders should weight grants by leadership diversity.
The debate in brief
The UK charity sector has a racism problem that it has been naming since at least 2019 without meaningfully resolving. The #CharitySoWhite campaign, the ACEVO and Voice4Change England "Home Truths" report, and successive workforce surveys all describe the same picture: a sector overwhelmingly white at leadership level, that struggles to fund organisations led by and for racialised communities, and where people from minoritised ethnic backgrounds report discrimination once inside. The harder questions are now the live ones: whether trustees with lived experience should be valued alongside professional expertise, whether funders should weight applications by the demographic composition of leadership, and whether the US-driven backlash against DEI will reach the sector before it has finished the work it started.
Quick takeaways
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| How diverse is charity sector leadership? | Only 6% of charity CEOs identify as Asian or minoritised ethnic, and no Black CEOs responded to ACEVO's 2025 survey. 92% of trustees are white. |
| Has the sector improved since #CharitySoWhite? | Marginally. Ethnic diversity among CEOs has been static at 6-7% for five years. Trustee demographics have barely shifted since 2017. |
| Should funders weight applications by leadership diversity? | Some already do. Esmee Fairbairn Foundation reported that 25% of funded organisations in 2024 were led by communities experiencing racial inequity. But mandatory weighting is contested. |
| Does lived experience belong on charity boards? | Yes, according to Bayes Business School research, which found the benefits far outweigh the costs. The 2025 Charity Governance Code now treats EDI as a standalone principle. |
| Is there a DEI backlash in the UK charity sector? | The US anti-DEI movement has influenced some corporate employers in the UK, but most charity sector bodies have maintained commitments. The risk is quieter: deprioritisation rather than explicit rollback. |
The arguments
The case that the sector has a structural racism problem
The evidence here is not seriously contested. The ACEVO and Voice4Change England "Home Truths" report (2020), based on experiences of over 500 people from minoritised ethnic backgrounds, found that 50% felt they needed to "tone down" their behaviour to fit in. The report's central finding was stark: civil society did not simply have a diversity problem, it had a racism problem. The #CharitySoWhite campaign, launched in 2019, had already documented this through direct testimony from sector workers describing exclusion, tokenism, and the psychological toll of working in organisations that professed anti-racist values while perpetuating racist structures.
The funding picture reinforces this. The Ubele Initiative, founded in 2014 by Yvonne Field OBE, exists because of the historical lack of funding for Black and racially minoritised communities. The Baobab Foundation, established in 2020, addresses the same gap with unrestricted, long-term grants to organisations led by and for Black and global majority communities. That these specialist infrastructure organisations need to exist at all is itself evidence of mainstream failure.
The strongest objection is that this framing risks treating structural racism as a fixed condition. Some charity leaders argue that post-2020 anti-racism commitments have produced real changes in recruitment, funding, and governance, even if headline statistics have not yet shifted.
The case for valuing lived experience alongside professional expertise
The traditional model of charity governance privileges professional credentials: legal, financial, strategic, and management expertise. Lived experience of a charity's cause has historically been treated as supplementary. Research by Bayes Business School's Centre for Charity Effectiveness (2021) directly challenges this, finding that the benefits of including trustees with lived experience far outweigh the costs. The report describes lived experience as a "knowledge" equivalent to accountancy or law, ensuring beneficiary perspectives are present from the start of strategic conversations rather than consulted after decisions have been made.
The updated Charity Governance Code (2025) reflects this shift, elevating EDI to a standalone principle. Boards are now expected to demonstrate diversity of background and experience. The strongest objection is practical: trustees with lived experience may need mentoring, accessible meeting formats, and reimbursement of costs, and boards must adapt their culture rather than expecting new trustees to assimilate into existing norms.
The case for and against funder weighting by leadership diversity
A growing number of UK funders are tracking the demographic composition of the organisations they fund. The Esmee Fairbairn Foundation reported that in 2024, 25% of funded organisations that submitted DEI data were led by communities experiencing racial inequity, up from 19% in 2023. The Baobab Foundation's entire model is built on directing resources to organisations led by Black and global majority communities. This approach argues that if the funding system has historically disadvantaged certain types of leadership, active correction is necessary.
Critics raise legitimate concerns. Weighting by leadership demographics could incentivise performative representation, where organisations appoint diverse figureheads without ceding real power. It could disadvantage effective organisations that serve racialised communities but happen to be led by white people. The Foundation Practice Rating (2025) found that diversity was the weakest category among 100 UK foundations assessed, with no foundation achieving an A rating, suggesting funders have not yet resolved these tensions in their own governance.
The evidence
NCVO's UK Civil Society Almanac (2024) provides the broadest workforce data: 87% of the voluntary sector workforce identifies as white, compared to 82% of the UK population. Just 13% are from global majority backgrounds, with the proportion falling at senior levels. ACEVO's Pay and Equalities Surveys tell the leadership story: the proportion of CEOs from Black, Asian, and minoritised ethnic backgrounds was 7% in 2024, falling to 6% in 2025, with no Black CEOs responding to the 2025 survey at all. Among trustees, the Charity Commission and Pro Bono Economics survey (2025) found 92% are white, barely changed from the 2017 Taken on Trust baseline.
The funding gap is harder to quantify precisely, but the pattern is consistent. The Baobab Foundation's research found that organisations led by Black and minoritised ethnic communities still do not receive sufficient long-term, flexible funding. The Ubele Initiative's Phoenix Way programme, developed during the pandemic, was a direct response to structural inequalities in how grant funding reaches racially minoritised community organisations.
A counterintuitive finding: the YouGov survey of 2,945 adults (April 2025) found that British public opinion on DEI is more nuanced than the polarised debate suggests. Only 25% said efforts to create fair access to work for ethnic minorities had gone too far, while 26% said they had not gone far enough. The largest group said the current level was about right. The charity sector's internal anxiety about a DEI backlash may be running ahead of where the public actually stands.
Current context
The global anti-DEI movement, driven primarily by the reversal of diversity programmes in the US, has reached the UK corporate sector but has not yet significantly affected charity sector policy. UK Employment Rights Minister Justin Madders stated that British firms operate under their own equality framework and should not be influenced by US pressures. Within the sector, ACEVO, NCVO, and the Charity Governance Code Steering Group have maintained their commitments to equity, diversity, and inclusion.
The more immediate risk is quieter deprioritisation. The employer NIC increase, estimated at an additional cost of around 1.4 billion pounds across the sector, is forcing charities into survival mode. DEI work, which requires sustained investment in recruitment, training, culture change, and data collection, is vulnerable when budgets tighten. NCVO and ACEVO have begun developing a joint sector workforce strategy with diversity as a key pillar, but it remains early-stage.
The Charity Governance Code's 2025 update, elevating EDI to a standalone principle, represents the strongest governance signal yet. But the Code operates on an "apply or explain" basis with no enforcement mechanism, meaning boards can acknowledge the principle without acting on it.
Last updated: April 2026
What this means for charities
The data is clear enough that inaction is no longer a credible position. Charity leaders should start with what they can measure: publish board and senior leadership demographic data, track recruitment pipelines, and monitor whether applicants from underrepresented backgrounds are progressing or dropping out. You cannot manage what you do not measure, and most charities still do not measure this.
On lived experience, the Bayes Business School checklist offers practical guidance for boards ready to move beyond tokenism. This means adapting meeting culture, providing genuine support for trustees from non-traditional backgrounds, and treating lived experience as a governance skill rather than a diversity tick-box.
For organisations seeking funding, the direction of travel among progressive funders is toward greater interest in who leads the work, not just what the work is. Charities should be prepared to discuss their leadership diversity honestly, including where they are falling short, rather than presenting a polished narrative that funders will increasingly see through.
Common questions
What is #CharitySoWhite?
#CharitySoWhite is a POC-led campaign group launched in 2019 to tackle institutional racism in the UK charity sector. It grew from social media testimony by charity workers sharing experiences of racism, tokenism, and exclusion. The campaign argues that the sector's diversity problem is fundamentally a racism problem, requiring structural change rather than diversity training or representation targets alone.
How diverse is the charity sector workforce?
According to NCVO's UK Civil Society Almanac (2024), 87% of the voluntary sector workforce is white, compared to 82% of the general population. Representation falls further at senior levels: ACEVO's 2025 survey found only 6% of charity CEOs identify as Asian or minoritised ethnic, with no Black CEO respondents. Among trustees, 92% are white (Charity Commission, 2025).
Should charity boards include people with lived experience?
Research by Bayes Business School's Centre for Charity Effectiveness (2021) found that the benefits of including trustees with lived experience far outweigh the costs. Lived experience is described as a form of knowledge equivalent to professional expertise. The updated Charity Governance Code (2025) supports this position, making EDI a standalone governance principle and expecting boards to demonstrate diversity of background and experience.
Are funders starting to require diversity in grant applications?
Some are moving in that direction, though outright requirements remain rare. The Esmee Fairbairn Foundation tracks and reports the proportion of funded organisations led by communities experiencing racial inequity. The Baobab Foundation funds exclusively organisations led by and for Black and global majority communities. Most mainstream funders have not yet introduced formal weighting by leadership demographics, though the direction of travel points toward greater scrutiny.
Is there a backlash against DEI in the UK charity sector?
The US-driven anti-DEI movement has influenced some UK corporate employers, but the charity sector has largely maintained its commitments. ACEVO, NCVO, and the Charity Governance Code Steering Group continue to advocate for equity, diversity, and inclusion. The greater risk within the sector is deprioritisation driven by financial pressure rather than ideological opposition.
What did the Home Truths report find?
The "Home Truths" report, published in June 2020 by ACEVO and Voice4Change England, drew on the experiences of over 500 people from Black, Asian, and minoritised ethnic backgrounds working in the charity sector. Its central finding was that civil society had a racism problem, not merely a diversity problem. Half of respondents said they needed to "tone down" their behaviour to fit in. The report led to the Home Truths 2 programme on anti-racism in civil society, launched in 2023.
Key sources and further reading
"Home Truths: Undoing racism and delivering real diversity in the charity sector" -- ACEVO and Voice4Change England, June 2020. The landmark report based on 500+ responses documenting racism and discrimination experienced by Black, Asian, and minoritised ethnic people in the charity sector.
ACEVO Pay and Equalities Survey 2025 -- ACEVO, November 2025. The latest annual survey of charity CEO demographics, finding only 6% of CEOs from Asian or minoritised ethnic backgrounds and no Black CEO respondents.
UK Civil Society Almanac 2024: Workforce Characteristics -- NCVO, 2024. The most comprehensive dataset on the voluntary sector workforce, showing 87% white and 13% from global majority backgrounds, with representation declining at senior levels.
"Trusteeship: a positive opportunity" -- Charity Commission and Pro Bono Economics, April 2025. Survey of 2,432 trustees confirming 92% are white, with minimal change from the 2017 Taken on Trust baseline.
"Lived Experience on Nonprofit Boards" -- Bayes Business School Centre for Charity Effectiveness, April 2021. Research and practical resources on including trustees with lived experience, finding the benefits far outweigh the costs.
Charity Governance Code 2025 -- Charity Governance Code Steering Group, November 2025. Updated code elevating equity, diversity, and inclusion to a standalone governance principle for the first time.
Baobab Foundation -- Founded 2020. A member-led foundation providing unrestricted, long-term grants to organisations led by and for Black and global majority communities, addressing the structural funding gap.
The Ubele Initiative: The Phoenix Way -- The Ubele Initiative, ongoing. A national collaborative partnership addressing structural inequalities in how grant funding reaches Black and racially minoritised community organisations.
"Do Britons think DEI initiatives have gone too far in the UK?" -- YouGov, April 2025. Survey of 2,945 adults finding that public opinion on DEI is more nuanced than polarised debate suggests, with only 25% saying efforts for ethnic minorities have gone too far.