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missing experts
Our latest report shows that working-class people are hidden or missing in some of the most influential think tanks and anti-poverty charities in the UK.
In response to these findings eight think tanks and charities have committed to a pledge to monitor and improve class diversity in their organisations.
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The irony is that in charity and think tank world, we're supposed to be helping people like me but we never talk to them - just about them and often with, at best, a limited understanding.
Survey respondent
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Join these Committed organisations
A growing number of organisations have committed to taking concrete actions on tackling class diversity. Here are the steps they are taking:
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By the end of 2022, set out your ambitions and initial priorities for class diversity in your organisation, and make this publicly available.
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Collect data on your organisation’s class diversity by June 2023. There's a helpful toolkit setting out how to do this from the Social Mobility Commission.
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Collaborating with each other organisations to share knowledge and best practice at least once a year
Our research, part-funded by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, interviewed 30 people from working class backgrounds in think tanks and anti-poverty charities, and surveyed 277 people with working-class backgrounds who’ve worked in the sector.
Though there are some people from working class backgrounds in these organisations, they report having difficult experiences at work, struggling to fit into a ‘middle-class’ environment, or feel they need to hide their background.
277
people with working-class backgrounds who’ve worked in the sector were surveyed in the writing of this report.
94%
of respondents said that class diversity was a problem in think tanks and anti-poverty charities.
59%
of working-class people either do not openly talk about their background at work or only do so partially.
70%
of respondents agreed that different language would be used about working class people if more worked in their organisation.
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Every charity I worked for had outdated views that seeped its way into the projects they did. We spoke a lot about improving the lives of people living in poverty, without ever speaking about improving financial capabilities.
Survey respondent
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