Fighting inequality, inside and out
We’re here to bring about a world where children are safe, secure and supported. In order to achieve that vision, we must tackle inequality and oppression in all its forms, including in the voluntary sector and in our own organisation.
NCB leads the way in tackling inequality among children and recognise the barriers that Black and Minoritised Ethnic children in particular face. We do this especially through the lenses of income, education and disability. Fighting inequality and injustice on issues like poverty and school exclusions is delivering a better childhood for many children from Black and Minoritised Ethnic backgrounds.
However, the stench of systemic racism we’re witnessing and the strength of the Black Lives Matter protests have made it clear that we must be more direct in our approach to tackling this issue ourselves.
Read our Board statement on diversity, equity and inclusion
Leading from the top
We understand that one of the best ways that we can underline our anti-racism stance is to bring more Black and Minoritised Ethnic people into our leadership.
We’re already doing this well when it comes to engaging directly with young people. We’re laser focused on ensuring our young NCB groups are inclusive and diverse.
We commissioned a specialist agency to help us recruit more Black and Minoritised Ethnic and disabled people to our Board of trustees and now have trustees from diverse backgrounds and experiences which provides us with a rich range of expertise.
We recognise that our strategic leadership team is all white and there are too few Black and Minoritised Ethnic people on our senior management team. We have a People Plan and it includes a strand of work to gather data and set targets so that we can change our culture and practice and make sure Black and Minoritised Ethnic people are employed at every level in the organisation.
Still, it isn’t enough. The conversation about our response to Black Lives Matter and anti-racism, led by the Chief Executive, will help us become a fully inclusive organisation where systemic racism has absolutely nowhere to hide.
A renewed focus
As well as getting our Governance right, we must respond to this challenge by focusing on racial inequality and recognising that as an issue it was missing in its own right. As in all of NCB’s work, this will involve following our process of gathering research evidence and listening carefully to the voices of Black and Minoritised Ethnic children and young people and partner organisations who can share insights to shape our direction.