More than one in three chief executives of the most well-known charities in Britain were privately educated, according to new research.
Today, social mobility charity the Sutton Trust published its Elitist Britain 2025 report, which reveals the extent to which leadership in several sectors is dominated by people from elite educational backgrounds.
Its analysis of the charity sector considered the educational backgrounds of CEOs of the 100 most famous UK charities, according to YouGov.
It found that 34% of these well-known charity CEOs attended private schools, almost five times higher than the general population average of 7%, while a further 15% went to selective state schools.
Some 95% of the charity CEOs included in the report attended university, with most going to a Russell Group institutions.
Almost one in five of the charity CEOs studied at Oxbridge, compared to 1% of the general public.
Ban unpaid internships, charities urged
The report notes that often, there is fierce competition for charity job roles, with an expectation for work experience in the sector.
It notes that internship or work experience opportunities that are low paid or not remunerated at all are not openly advertised and out of reach for disadvantaged people.
Carl Cullinane, director of research and policy at the Sutton Trust said: “Charity and think tank leaders have the power to advocate for a broad range of groups.
“However, they’re significantly more likely to have attended a private school or Oxbridge than the general public that they are representing.
“More needs to be done to level the playing field in these organisations.
“Measuring socioeconomic diversity, banning unpaid internships, and widening outreach are all ways through which organisations can work to widen their talent pool.
“Access to post-graduate research also needs to improve.
“Without action, the risk is that the voices of working-class people remain unrepresented in the rooms where their lives and futures are discussed.”
ACEVO: Contrasting picture across charities more broadly
Shareen Patel, policy officer at charity leaders’ umbrella body ACEVO, said her organisation’s annual survey of sector CEOs painted a different picture to Sutton Trust’s findings.
“Three in four charity CEOs who responded to the survey were educated in state-run or state-funded schools, though the proportion declines amongst leaders of larger organisations,” she said in reference to ACEVO’s most recent survey.
“This suggests that whilst the sector overall remains more representative than many others, barriers to leadership clearly remain.
“If we want our sector to reflect the communities it aims to serve, we must continue to tackle the structural inequalities that shape access to opportunity, plus ensure leadership is determined by talent and not by one’s privilege or background.”
Also commenting on Sutton Trust’s research, Social Mobility Foundation CEO Sarah Atkinson, said: “Charity leaders and staff should reflect the rich and diverse communities we serve.
“Yet as a sector we’re clearly shutting talented people out because of the type of school they went to and if they went to university – this data shows the evidence, and reflects what colleagues in the sector from working class backgrounds sometimes experience.”
She advised charities to enter the Social Mobility Employer Index, which offers advice for all organisations to take steps to change their workplaces.
Related articles
