How Can We Embed IDE as a Priority Without Putting Unfair Workload or Emotional Labour on Specific Board Members?
Make inclusivity an organisational priority, not solely the responsibility of individuals with lived experience expertise.
What is this advice about?
Our research shows that heritage boards struggle with recruiting diverse trustees. This advice guides heritage organisations on how to embed IDE (inclusion, diversity and equality) without relying on staff or volunteers with particular lived experience expertise and instead make it part of everyone's remit.
It forms part of a wider strand of work on heritage board diversity. For more advice in this series, see the 'Inclusive governance boards and diverse trustees' section of the Inclusive Heritage Advice Hub.
What are the key points?
- IDE should be embedded across your organisation for it to be effectively taken up and not remain the responsibility of any 1 individual
- Embedding IDE might mean breaking down barriers within an organisation, which may be a challenging process that needs strong board support
- Clear and open communication that builds a culture of trust is the foundation of embedding IDE authentically and effectively
- Collecting data on turnover can highlight where there are representation gaps and where barriers may be present for your organisation
Where should IDE feature in our organisation?
Your organisation's IDE strategy should go beyond legal compliance and take an intersectional approach, acknowledging overlapping characteristics and the additional barriers to participation that some groups face. Your board plays a key role in ensuring that initiatives and policies are given the attention and investment required to be effective.
Interviewees for Historic England's 'Barriers and Enablers to Board Diversity in the Heritage Sector' report underlined this point, stating that they were not IDE professionals, they just happened to have lived experience expertise. The interviewees expressed discomfort that other board members looked to them to lead in how they should approach and work with diversity when this was not their area of expertise. One interviewee noted how the 'emotional labour' of being the only racially diverse person weighed heavily upon them.
Nobody wants to be a token appointment. Some focus group interviewees reflected that they felt they had been brought onto a board to make it look diverse rather than contribute. Making assumptions or basing decisions on 1 individual's views presents risks: to board decision-making, compliance, and reputation.
The Charity Governance Code defines diversity as including "the 9 protected characteristics of the Equality Act 2010 as well as different backgrounds, life experiences, career paths and diversity of thought."
With this in mind:
- Inclusion is about cultural and psychological safety and needs continued attention
- Diversity is about difference, focusing on demographics and characteristics
- Equality is about making adjustments to enable people to accept an opportunity and thrive in a board role
Psychological safety is when an individual feels safe to express their ideas and concerns, speak up, ask questions, and admit mistakes without fear of negative consequences from the rest of the board.
Cultural safety is a way of working with people of different cultural backgrounds that does not diminish, demean or disempower individuals.
While support for IDE has grown within the heritage sector, when asked why it is important, many will answer: "Because it's the right thing to do." However, if that's your sole reason for doing this work, it's the wrong starting point.
Research within the heritage sector and other sectors nationally and internationally has proved that organisations with inclusive, diverse and equitable practices outperform those without. IDE is worth investing in.
How do we start changing the system?
The Historic England 'Barriers and Enablers to Board Diversity in the Heritage Sector' report found that some people working within the heritage sector believe the lack of diversity is systemic and is built into the fabric of how the sector operates. Their view is that it excludes some groups of people and that board-level appointments are frequently based on 'prestige' or status above professional skills and lived experience expertise.
One interviewee said:
Racial injustice, diversity and inclusion is still minoritised. It’s not centred in everything the organisation does. We have an EDI (equality, diversity and inclusion) officer who sits in HR [human resources], 2 rungs below the senior team, rather than sitting at the top table. EDI is perceived as something that will improve your organisation rather than something that transforms your organisation.
Another said:
If what you value is collections and buildings, what you look for in governance is people with expertise in collections and buildings to the expense of expertise in the experience of the people we are seeking to service.
At Historic England, we recognise that most heritage sector organisations are small and do not have anybody within the organisation who specialises in IDE (inclusion, diversity and equality). Limited resources and staffing can mean there is not much capacity to think about board diversity. Even at board level, keeping core functions going can take priority and backing to place IDE higher on the agenda is sometimes in short supply.
Fear of getting it wrong can be a barrier to change. Focusing on what is the “right thing to do” can lead to wanting to be 'right'. This can result in awkwardness, and not wanting to say the 'wrong' thing through fear of not being compliant with equality legislation.
In the focus groups convened for Historic England’s 'Barriers and Enablers to Board Diversity in the Heritage Sector' report, trustees from under-represented groups said they were excited about breaking down barriers in the sector and accessing historic and cultural spaces. They wanted to be part of increasing diversity of thought on boards.
How can we approach learning about the place of IDE in our governance?
Recruit IDE expert trustees with the expertise to lead diversity conversations. However, ensure that fellow trustees recognise that championing IDE is also their personal and collective responsibility.
Work to eliminate bias within your and others’ thinking and actions by building a clear culture of shared responsibility for learning about and sharing diverse perspectives on the board. Providing training for all board members will play a part in the success or failure of embedding IDE into your organisation.
Wider learning opportunities include national gatherings of heritage sector organisations such as the Heritage Alliance’s annual Heritage Debate or the Council for British Archaeology’s ‘This is Archaeology’ lecture series, bringing different voices and perspectives into the conversation.
How do we develop good communication and an open culture?
You can develop an open culture with good communication channels, based on open dialogue and active listening. Ensure timely and appropriate ways for employees, volunteers and beneficiaries to communicate their ideas and feedback.
Use different and accessible ways to communicate such as newsletters, social media content, or letters to keep different groups up to date with your diversity policies and practices.
Within the boardroom, trustees (and particularly the chair) should work to ensure that all voices are heard. One interviewee for Historic England's 'Barriers and Enablers for Board Diversity in the Heritage Sector' report said:
The way they [diverse board members] talk about things is really different. The others have all been to fee-paying schools and work in business. The way they interact wakes everyone up. They listen and respond more thoughtfully.
Wellbeing
Be explicit about the make-up of the board (for instance, the number of people from minority ethnic groups the board includes). Ensure this is balanced so that potential trustees do not feel they will be a lone voice, and offer them emotional care and support.
Data
When it comes to workforce or trustee retention, organisations that historically have high turnover need to understand why people have left. If you struggle to attract and retain young people or disabled people, for example, you will need to identify the reasons why this is happening and take steps to rectify it based on any feedback received and training you’ve undertaken.
By regularly auditing, reviewing and evaluating your organisation’s IDE progress, using quantitative (such as numbers and statistics) and qualitative data (such as service user testimonials), you will be able to discover where barriers exist, measure the impact of initiatives, and make changes where needed.
Also of interest
