Section 5: Conclusion
No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created it.
The quote above is attributed to Albert Einstein. Whether Einstein did or did not say it, the point holds that we must shift mindsets if we are to escape the DEI deficits so evident in the charity sector.
A charity sector that is truly committed to DEI must engage with and seek to overturn racism. It must insist that BAME people within and yet to come into the sector are in the right place (not ‘out of place’). It must work with intention to support racialised and marginalised populations within its own walls and in the outside world – through practical action and by challenging pervasive logics of racism and recognising and resisting the privileges associated with whiteness.
The analysis and direction for action in this report marks out a pathway to transformation for the charity sector. The change for which we are advocating is aimed to transform the DEI agenda from the periphery of charity life to the centre, and to create an environment where to act on DEI is expected and normal.
This agenda is broader than a call to the sector to recruit more BAME staff and trustees. This is because, as we have shown in our data, the DEI deficit is a symptom of a deeper malaise. If it were just an intake issue our survey would have painted a more positive picture of BAME people’s experience in the charity sector. A new more central rationale for race equity in the charity sector provides greater ballast for DEI within organisations as well as requiring charities to focus purposefully on DEI in society. In practical terms the shift can encourage BAME people to come into charities and encourage charities to value and make room/way for the knowledge, perspectives and interests that BAME people have.
To date, DEI talk is ahead of action to such an extent that it can lead to frustration and perhaps despair. At the same time there appears an appetite, among BAME charity people, and a growing, possibly critical mass, of influential white charity people and institutions such that now is the time to get things done; for the charity sector to centre BAME people and for DEI to be reflected in who is in the sector and what the sector does.
ACEVO and Voice4Change are committed to doing more to deliver DEI in our work as individual organisations and together in partnership. We will also work in a spirit of genuine collaboration and constructive challenge with others – particularly infrastructure bodies – who have entered this space. And ACEVO and Voice4Change also recognise that we do not (by any means) have all the answers or even all the right questions. We too understand that we must be held accountable and open to challenge on our DEI interventions.
We welcome the work ahead.
