Charities missing out on working class talent

Working class people are less likely to be hired by charities than by other employers in the public and private sector, a report by EY Foundation has revealed.

The report, Social Mobility in the Charity Sector, accuses charities of hiring staff with "privilege rather than potential". Charity chief executives are twice as likely to have gone to private school, it found, rising to three times as likely for major charities.

The review of existing research into class representation in the sector was written by Duncan Exley, author of The End of Aspiration and former director of the Equality Trust. EY Foundation is an arm of the consulting firm that supports young people from low-income backgrounds into professional roles.

The review found that 'higher' socioeconomic backgrounds appear to be concentrated within particular roles and departments in charities, including campaign teams, communications, fundraising and senior management.

Those from 'lower' socioeconomic groups were often to be found in charities that represented their own interests or experience (such as poverty or cost of living), which led to the risk of these people being pigeonholed in their careers.

Exley said charities were "cutting off an awful lot of talent" by focusing on teams hired within their own socioeconomic circles.

Of the 100 charities studied by one of the research reports covered in the review, only one tracked the socioeconomic background of staff, despite social mobility becoming an increasingly important element of diversity and inclusion for employers.

Some of the issues cited by staff included a lack of progression from volunteering for the charity to a salaried role, having no one to advocate for them professionally, and difficulty accessing or living in London, where many charities are based.

The review found that while many charities offered guidance about D&I in general, this did not include socioeconomic background in its list of characteristics.

A small proportion of charities have programmes in place to actively recruit more working-class people, but many lack the resources or know-how to go about this, the review added.

Nine in 10 recruited most of their trustees through word of mouth, for example, despite two-thirds saying they were actively looking for more diverse boards.

The review highlighted a few pathways into the sector for those from lower socio-economic backgrounds, including CharityWorks, a graduate scheme that aims to ensure charity sector leadership is "representative of a wider diversity of characteristics and backgrounds"; Oxfam's trainee scheme, which makes it clear that applicants do not require a degree or other qualifications; and the London Wildlife Trust, which focuses on young people traditionally under-represented in the environmental sector.