Senator Omidvar Calls on Charities and Non-Profits to Increase Diversity in the Sector
Ottawa, June 25, 2020, – Today, Senator Ratna Omidvar released an open letter calling on charities and nonprofits to increase diversity in their organizations and on their boards by collecting data on diversity. The charitable sector does not track this data and research on Toronto charities suggests that board diversity has decreased in the last few years.
“The sector needs to collect and track diversity data on its governance and use it for evidence-based action and change, said Senator Omidvar. “This data is crucial to propel the sector towards an intentional approach about increasing diversity on their boards that reflects the diversity of Canada. ”
An e-consultation conducted in connection to the Senate of Canada report on the charitable sector found that more than half of the organizations which responded to the survey did not collect data on diversity of employees or directors.
Studies by academic institutions like the Diversity Institute at Ryerson University show that diversity on charitable boards in Toronto is decreasing. Racialized minority individuals made up 53.7 percent of the Greater Toronto Area’s total population in 2017. However, the Diversity Institute found that representation of racialized minorities in leadership roles in the voluntary sector decreased from 17.6 percent in 2014 to 17.4 percent in 2017. Only 38.1 percent of boards analyzed had at least 20 percent racialized minority leaders, and 19 percent had none. Equally notable, 38.1 percent of senior management teams had at least 20 percent racialized minority representation, while 52.4 percent had none.
With Canadians taking to the streets calling for racial justice and breaking down barriers for racialized Canadians the time for action is now. Charities and non-profits must be leaders in that change.
For more information:
Stephanie Saunders
Executive Assistant, The Honourable Ratna Omidvar
Email