Charity communications and digital roles blighted by racial inequality and harassment, says survey

Talent exodus

Digital consultant Zoe Amar said: “Not only is it harder for charities to attract people of colour, but they are more likely to be unhappy in their roles, and to look outside of the sector for their next job. We cannot afford to lose talent like this.” The survey is part of CharityComms Salary and Organisational Culture report. This also found that half (51%) of those surveyed believe communications is more valued in recent years in their organisations. The survey results are mirrored by anecdotal evidence we heard from former CharityComms editor Susheila Juggapah, who reported an unfortunate trend of people of colour ‘dropping like flies’ from charity roles in general due to an invisible glass ceiling: “While it’s impossible to know if this lack of promotion is due to being a BAME person, there is a definite common thread there around promotion. It’s frustrating because it’s hard to know if you haven’t got the skills or if its because how people perceive you. So there is a feeling of being gaslit, especially when you’re few and far between and there’s nobody to talk to about it.” Adeela Warley, Chief Executive Officer of CharityComms added: “We hope this report empowers comms teams to make the case for investment but also empowers trustees, leadership teams, HR leads and everyone who helps shape your company culture to make it a place where everyone thrives.” The survey findings come a month after the #CharitySoWhite Twitter campaign was launched by charity workers about racism and lack of diversity in the sector.