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Practical guide Board Meetings & Recruitment How do you ensure a diverse board?

How do you ensure a diverse board?

All board members must be fully committed to the concept of a diverse and representative board. If necessary this may need work on changing the culture of the organisation and its board, in which case a game plan needs to be drawn up and the item kept on board agendas. Consideration should be given to the practices of the board: time and place of meetings, whether younger members require shorter terms of office, guidance on claiming out-of-pocket expenses etc. Retention of new trustees is as important as recruitment: it is essential that any training needs are met and the new experience and knowledge they bring are fully used.
Diversity includes the nine protected characteristics set out in the Equality Act 2010 (age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation) as well as different backgrounds and career paths. Making all wording in documents (including constitutions) gender neutral will help demonstrate sex equality and transgender inclusion too.

Go deeper:

Youth Governance Guide produced by the Roundhouse
Arts Council England papers on developing a diverse talent workforce
A Breath of Fresh Air: Young People as Charity Trustees by the Charities Commission
How to Avoid Tokenism by Tarik Elmoutawakil, Creative Producer of Marlborough Theatre, Brighton, written for the British Council
Achieving Good Governance: a challenge of our time, research by Clore Leadership

Related resources

Guidance | Association of Chairs

Association of Chairs: Equity, diversity and inclusion for chairs and boards

A new guide to equip chairs and boards to focus on equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI)

Website | Women on Boards

Women on Boards

The network of choice for women seeking to build their board career.

Website | Reach Volunteering

Reach Volunteering: Trustee Recruitment Cycle

Trustee Recruitment Cycle: Guidance, tools and tips to help you recruit trustees and diversify your board.

Website

RIAC

The Network for NextGen Arts Trustees

Website | Trustees Unlimited

Trustees Unlimited

A leading resource of trustees and board roles for not-for-profit organisations

Website | Center for Public Appointments

Centre of Public Appointments at the Cabinet Office

Vacancy listings for board members roles.

Website | AIM

Trustee Vacancies: Association of Independent Museums

Trustee vacancies in the independent museum sector.

Study | Sue Hoyle, Kirstie Hewlett, Laura Jones, Alex Talbott, Ruth Hogarth & Benedict Wilkinson

Changing Cultures: Transforming Leadership in the Arts, Museums and Libraries

This report was commissioned by Arts Council England to better understand the current landscape of leadership in the sector and to survey the support available for leaders to address these pressing challenges. Published: September 2018.

Guidance | Cultural Leadership Programme

Governance Now: the hidden challenge of leadership

Cultural Leadership Programme commissioned a series of papers on the theme of governance in the cultural and creative sector.

Study | NPC, Green Park

From ‘In Principle’ to ‘In Practice’: Notes from a roundtable on diversity organised by NPC and Green Park

These slides present the findings of a roundtable on 14th March 2018, organised by NPC and Green Park. Published: June 2018.

Study | Inclusive Boards

Diversity Report at Inclusive Boards

The research highlights that whilst the gender gap at board level is narrow compared to other sectors, there is still an imbalance at the top compared to the overall make-up of the workforce. Published: 2018.

Guidance | Arts Council England

Culture Change Toolkit: How to find and grow diverse talent

Growing the cultural sector is, in part, dependent upon changing the perception of the sector and making entry to it more transparent to individuals while removing practices that are not inclusive. It’s not about doing everything but doing what is achievable for your organisation. Published: 2017.

Prue Skene

Lunching with Governance

Tool | Jerwood Arts

Socio-Economic Diversity and Inclusion in the Arts: a Toolkit for Employers

Jerwood Arts and the Bridge Group have joined forces for this Toolkit with a mission to look to the future: to support long-term change across the arts sector by sharing knowledge, providing expert support, and encouraging take-up of an intersectional approach to equality, diversity and inclusion.

Website | Young Trustees Movement

Young Trustees Movement

Guidance and resources from the Young Trustees Movement on how to recruit young trustees.

Website | Reach Volunteering

Reach Volunteering: Connecting people, skills and good causes

Trustee recruitment guidance website resource.

Website | Sophie Bide, Published 2011

Fresh Perspectives – setting up a youth advisory panel

This is a step by step guide which will help you to set up a youth advisory panel.

Website

From Here to Diversity

A new guide from Action for Racial Trustee Diversity – From Here to Diversity: A practical guide for recruiting Black and Asian Charity Trustees aims to help charities take positive and sustainable steps to increase the racial diversity of their Boards.

Guidance | Charities Aid Foundation and ICAEW

What’s on the horizon for charity trustees?

A report from the Charities Aid Foundation and ICAEW, published in early 2022. This shares the challenges and opportunities facing trustees in the year ahead. The report discusses the six key areas they identify: financial resilience, collaboration, diversity, support and training, digital and climate change.