On the surface, parts of the charity sector appear diverse. Women make up over 70 per cent per cent of the workforce, and many organisations speak confidently about their commitment to inclusion. But dig a little deeper and the picture changes. Just 9 per cent of voluntary sector staff in the UK come from racially minoritised backgrounds, and fewer than 6 per cent hold senior leadership roles. At board level, representation is even narrower, with more than 90 per cent of trustees in England and Wales identifying as white, a figure that has barely shifted in over a decade. In international development organisations in particular, the research reflects long-standing concerns about Global North dominance in leadership and decision-making, even where the majority of work takes place elsewhere. This raises important questions about power, accountability and whose voices shape strategy.
The research also highlights a stark imbalance between where diversity exists and where it matters most. While women are well represented in entry and mid-level roles, progression slows significantly at senior levels. Disability inclusion appears stronger on paper yet drops sharply when it comes to leadership and board positions. LGBTQ+ inclusion, meanwhile, is inconsistently measured, making it difficult to understand lived experience or progression at all.
Beyond the UK, the data thins out further. Across much of Europe, legal and cultural barriers mean demographic data, particularly on race and ethnicity, is rarely collected. The result is not neutrality, but invisibility. Without evidence, inequality can persist unchecked, even in organisations with the strongest values.
What sits behind these outcomes is not a lack of intent, but a lack of structure. Many organisations express a genuine commitment to EDI, yet operate without formal strategies, clear objectives or meaningful accountability. More than a third of European organisations surveyed had no diversity strategy at all. Where EDI activity does exist, it is often under resourced, treated as voluntary, or positioned away from the most senior levels of leadership, limiting its influence and longevity.
This has real consequences for people. Staff from underrepresented backgrounds describe exclusion, everyday bias, and pressure to take on responsibility for inclusion work without recognition or support. Over time, this creates emotional strain and burnout, particularly when EDI activity is deprioritised during periods of financial pressure.
Yet the research also points clearly to what works.
Organisations making progress share a clear pattern. EDI is owned at senior level, shaped with people who bring lived experience, and embedded into core systems including recruitment, performance management, leadership development and governance. Progress is measured, reviewed and acted on. In these organisations, inclusion is not a separate initiative, but part of how the organisation functions.
What this research makes clear is that values alone are not enough. The charity sector’s commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion is real, but commitment needs structure, evidence and accountability to translate into lasting change.
At Oxford HR, we believe the next phase of EDI work must be grounded in data, properly resourced, and owned at the highest levels of leadership and governance. Not to diminish values, but to honour them. Because inclusion that is measured is inclusion that can be sustained. Beyond Representation is one contribution to that shift. The challenge now is how organisations use this insight to ask harder questions, design better systems, and build cultures where diversity is enabled to thrive. Download the report at beyond-representation.com.
Jenna Pilley
Jenna brings expertise in organisational and leadership development, with a career dedicated to supporting leaders and organisations to navigate complexity, drive change, and build more effective, human-centred workplaces. At Oxford HR, she leads our Leadership & Change practice, working with a global team of organisational psychologists, leadership experts, and executive coaches.
Rooted in a whole-systems approach, Jenna designs and delivers integrated solutions that strengthen individual, team, and organisational performance. Her work is informed by a strong grounding in organisational psychology, which she studied at the University of Johannesburg, and a passion for leveraging psychometric insights to unlock potential. Now based in the UK, Jenna works with clients globally to create meaningful impact.
