Concluding comments: BAME experiences and insights
Much of the testimony and evidence from BAME people in this section makes for grim reading. But while the overall patterns are bleak, it is worth noting a few shards of light. For example, what is happening in the case of the 51 BAME online survey respondents who said that their ‘race’ and ethnicity had counted in their favour in the charity sector? Are these people simply optimists, or is something more promising and replicable happening?
Although there may be pockets of good practice in the charity sector, the evidence from BAME participants in the project is alarming. Even though 60 per cent of respondents (298 out of 493 people) in our online survey said that overall, their experiences of working in the charity sector were positive or very positive, this may be despite rather than because of how charities engage with diversity and racism.
Combined with what data we have on racial and ethnic homogeneity in the charity sector, our new research with BAME respondents suggests not only that there are too few BAME people in the charity sector, but that for those who do make it through there are too many harmful experiences.
This means that while talk about diversity is all very well, it appears that there is much more to be done for the charity sector to value and make room for BAME people to be just as they are and to contribute to the sector. But the scale and scope of change is fundamental rather than peripheral. For this reason, in the next section we ponder, more fully, what diversity really means, how it is intertwined with racism and what it means to change the culture of the charity sector into one that addresses the issues raised above, in order to deliver meaningful diversity and to undo racism.
