Research: Scotland’s top charity leaders: how diverse are they?

Scotland needs all its current top leaders to actively champion diversity and provide the opportunities to ensure faster progress. More equal societies have higher productivity, and high productivity allows more investment to create more equal societies.

The David Hume Institute measures the diversity of Scotland’s top leaders. For the first time in our analysis this includes the leaders of the top 300 charities by income. As major influencers and lobbyists who impact on all parts of our society, charity leaders have a key role in making sure that their leadership is representative of the communities they serve.

The top 300 charities by income represent just 1% of the total charities in Scotland and control over £10 billion each year - 73% of the sector's total annual income - but their leaders are not representative of the communities they serve.

66% Male

34% Female

2% Ethnic minorities

The research, which analyses the backgrounds of the chairs and chief executives of the 300 highest income charities in Scotland, finds that:

• Only 1 in 3 leaders (34%) are women and only 1 in 50 (2%) are black or Asian, compared to 10% female and 1% ethnic minorities in business and investment leaders.

• 1 in 25 (4%) hold a top leadership position in another one of the top 300 charities. 

The research showed the picture is not uniform across the top 300 charities which include universities, colleges, housing associations, fee-paying schools, health and social care charities. 

Charitable status comes with high levels of public trust and tax breaks, as well as the legal responsibility to deliver public benefit. But not all organisations are open about who is in control. It is difficult for the public to hold people to account if they don’t know who they are.

The research recommends an extension of the Scottish Charity Regulator’s (OSCR) powers to create a publicly searchable register of charity trustees to bring them in line with company directors. This change will increase transparency and enable monitoring on diversity. 

Increasing diversity of thought is in everyone’s interests as it helps avoid the pitfalls of group think, - where similar people think or make decisions as a group, resulting in unchallenged decision-making, and improves risk management and productivity. More equal societies have higher productivity, and high productivity allows more investment to create more equal societies.