Charities’ boardrooms short on diversity
StatsCan survey finds under-representation in organizations’ governance
There’s a “diversity deficit” in the boardrooms of Canada’s charitable and not-for-profit sector, even though government funding and public donations are their main source of revenue.
A Statistics Canada survey has found 59 per cent of responding board members in the sector were women, but designated groups appeared to be underrepresented in the governance of these organizations.
Of the 6,182 people who sat on these boards and responded to the survey, only 14 per cent identified themselves as immigrants; 12 per cent as belonging to a visible minority group; nine per cent as LGBTQ2+; six per cent as persons with a disability; and three per cent as First Nations, Métis or Inuit.
Only 42 per cent of the respondents reported that their organization has a written pol- icy on board diversity, said the report released Thursday.
According to the federal agency, 22 per cent of the Canadian population are immigrants; 19 per cent belong to a visible minority group; 22 per cent of those aged 15 and above have one or more disabilities; and five per cent are First Nations, Métis or Inuit.
A 2015 Canadian health report found three per cent of Canadians aged between 18 and 59 selfidentified as gay or bisexual, and other estimates have been significantly higher.
Although this survey data was collected through crowdsourcing from professional networks within the sector — and not through probability based sampling — it provides a glimpse into how well the leadership reflects and includes the voices of diverse communities.
“The numbers tell us that there is a diversity deficit in the governance of the sector.
“Many charities have chalenges
“We all think of them (charitable and non-profit organizations) as angels and they are, but even angels need evidence to take further actions.” RATNA OMIDVAR
SENATOR
in this context,” says Sen. Ratna Omidvar of Ontario, who challenged the sector last summer to start collecting demographic data in the wake of the racial reckoning spearheaded by the Black Lives Matter Movement.
“It’s important for all of the society, particularly for charities and not-for-profit organizations because governors set their missions. They decide how dollars are spent.
“They make decisions on how an organization will respond to this or that. They are in control of the resources that come both from the government and donors.”
Researchers surveyed almost 9,000 people in total and 6,182 of them reported sitting on a board in the non-profit sector.
Three quarters of these board members belonged to an organization that operates locally; 13 per cent at a provincial level; eight per cent nationally; and three per cent internationally.
Their organizations engaged in a range of activities: social services (23 per cent); arts and culture (16 per cent); education and research (13 per cent); sports and recreation (12 per cent); and health (10 per cent).
More than half of the respondents said their organizations served at least one of the designated minority groups.
While the local organizations were more likely to be involved in social services, their provincial and national counterparts tended to engage in education and research or in grants and fundraising, or were business or professional associations or unions. The international organizations reported global activities or arts and culture as their main focus.
Organizations engaged in sports and recreation or in religious non-profits and charities were least likely to have a written policy on board diversity. Respondents belonging to the designated groups were often involved in organizations with an official diversity mandate.
Omidvar said it’s important for the sector to look at governance through a diversity lens and follow a federal reporting system that’s already required of corporations to disclose demographic diversity in their governance.
“We ask nothing of the charitable and non-profit sector. We all think of them as angels and they are, but even angels need evidence to take further actions,” she said.
One suggestion, she said, is for the Canada Revenue Agency to require every charitable and not-for-profit organization to submit information pertaining to their governance diversity in order to renew their registration status annually.
“Adding that one question is not going to cost anyone any money, but it will get us the evidence that we need and then we will be able to take it further,” Omidvar said.
“It requires political will. There are candidates who are qualified, willing, ready and able to sit on boards. They did not get that opportunity. It’s time that Canadians woke up to that diversity deficit in our charities and non-profit sector.”