How Do We Make Realistic Commitments to Board Diversity and Communicate These Internally and Externally?

What is this advice about?

Our research shows that heritage boards struggle with recruiting diverse trustees.

This advice is designed to give heritage organisations guidance on how to make realistic commitments to board diversity.

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?

What do realistic commitments to board diversity look like?

Getting on Board's practical guide, 'How to Diversify your Charity's Board', says:

Representation on the board is also increasingly on funders' agendas and in their funding agreements. For example, Arts Council England explicitly states that grant holders should work towards the "diversity of audiences, leaders, producers and creators of creativity and culture" to "reflect the diversity of contemporary England".

Limited board diversity can also adversely affect the trust under-represented staff or volunteers have in the organisation's leadership.

In October 2023, 141 UK Heritage Pulse panel members responded to a short survey on organisational governance. While 66% of respondents described their governing bodies as "efficient", only 30% considered them to be "inclusive", 30% "innovative" and 39% "diverse".

The first steps are to understand your sector/sub-sector, the demographics in your local area, and how representative your board is of the communities and people it serves. Local authority websites are a helpful starting point as they break down demographics by ward and even street level.

However, making realistic commitments to board diversity goes well beyond data. Assess internal and external reviews of how the public perceives you regarding IDE (inclusion, diversity and equality). This feedback comes in different forms – from beneficiary reviews and testimonials to formal complaints and social media posts.

Getting on Board's guide goes on to say:

Nobody wants to be a token appointment. To get the best out of your new board appointments, you will need to ensure the cultural and psychological safety of trustees who hold characteristics different from most of your other board members.

This means ensuring trustees can undertake their role without facing behaviours that could cause them harm or upset. There should be rigorous training for current trustees, clear policies in place, and a strong code of conduct.

Performative measures can harm your credibility and reputation. Make realistic commitments to board diversity and invest time and resources into welcoming and supporting new trustees.

As one interviewee in the Historic England 'Barriers and Enablers to Board Diversity in the Heritage Sector' report said:

Other interviewees observed that governance heavily relies on white, middle-class, retired volunteers who are (or have) worked at senior levels, are older (60+) and are wealthier than the average person.

There was also a perception that these individuals were likely to mix in less diverse circles, were part of certain types of networks, were perhaps privately educated, and were people who had been in the sector for many years. Others felt there may be a geographic bias towards the south-east of England.

Based on anecdotal feedback to Getting on Board, here are a few reasons that prevent people from applying to join boards:

• "People like me don't become trustees"
• "I've got nothing to offer"
• "I don't have the time or money"
• "I've looked at who is already a trustee, and I don't think I'd fit in"
• "I don't see myself reflected in what they're asking for in the advert"
• "I don't think they would listen to me anyway"

What interpersonal work could we undertake?

• Firstly, engage all trustees in the conversation about your “why” and your “how” – why is building a more diverse board important to your organisation, and how will you welcome new voices? The whole board needs to be ready to do things differently and to be able to articulate why they are diversifying. The responsibility to drive change should be collective
• Maybe you already have board members who hold different characteristics from the majority? Hidden illness, neurodivergence, class and ethnicity are just a few characteristics that are sometimes not revealed to fellow board members. How can you collectively create a space where voices are heard and views are incorporated in decision-making?
• Create a more level playing field by offering training to all your trustees, not just on good governance, but also on behaviours that contribute to effective decision-making
• Put an end to any cliquey behaviour. Over-familiarity, using jargon, falling back on historical decisions and ways of working, and continuing with business as usual. These behaviours all serve to exclude new board members

Policies won’t solve everything (and they can be tricky to implement retrospectively), but having written guidelines such as a code of conduct and an equality policy can act as a framework to help you navigate conversations about expected behaviour and board culture. Is your chair upholding these expectations? If not, how are other trustees influencing the chair to be a positive example, using their position to promote an inclusive board culture?

Inclusion requires continuous effort from all. You will probably say or do something wrong at some point or be perceived to have done so despite your best efforts. Humans are complex, and we don’t leave our personal lives at the boardroom door. Be comfortable with this. Swift and sincere apologies and efforts to rectify situations can go a long way. The more honest and open you are, the more respect and understanding you will earn from the people and communities you serve.

What kind of training could we offer our board?

You can offer ongoing training for all board members to ensure a more inclusive culture where all board members are equipped to contribute.

There was a sense among interviewees for the 'Barriers and Enablers to Board Diversity in the Heritage Sector' report that training was often bypassed and treated as a “nice to have”. Interviewees felt that all board members should receive more specialist training in IDE (inclusion, diversity and equality).

Suggestions included disability equality training to “understand the barriers that are disabling [people]” and anti-racism training: “getting everyone on the same page is crucial [so] someone coming in is not having to educate the others [about racism]”.

Overall, interviewees felt there should be “training for everybody, understanding that it’s not about there being a deficit amongst minoritised trustees, just that all trustees need to be highly competent.”