2024 Winners | Disability Rights UK
Disability Rights UK
Winner – Board Equity, Diversity and Inclusion
About the Charity
Disability Rights UK is the country’s leading organisation led by, run by, and working for Disabled people.
Vision: To create a society where Disabled people have equal power, rights and equality of opportunity.
Mission: The organisation campaigns for the rights of all Disabled people to be included in every aspect of life. The charity brings the lived experiences of Disabled people to everything it does. It challenges policy makers, institutions, and individuals to remove the barriers that exist for Disabled people.
The charity works with Disabled people’s organisations and local governments across the UK to influence regional and national change. The social model of disability underpins all its work, and the organisation recognises that Disabled people experience vast and varied barriers. Disability Rights UK is inclusive to and works for the equality of all Disabled people – regardless of their gender identity, race, sexuality, or religion.
Charity number: 1138585 | www.DisabilityRightsUK.org
Disability | England – London | 26-100 paid staff
What the Board Achieved
Disability Rights UK boasts a board that mirrors the very communities it serves. Committed to an intersectional approach, more than 90% of its board members identify as Disabled individuals, representing a spectrum of experiences and perspectives. Moreover, gender diversity is emphasized, with more than 50% of the board comprising women. Ethnic minority representation exceeds 25%, and the average age of board members is well below the national average for trustees, demonstrating the board’s commitment to embracing diversity in a variety of ways.
This diversity isn’t merely symbolic; it’s integral to the charity’s mission and strategy. Recognising that barriers and experiences may differ, the board ensures that all voices are heard and valued. By considering various dimensions of diversity, and recruiting trustees with the lived experiences reflecting the population the charity aims to support, the board enriches its decision-making processes and better serves its communities.
The organisation’s commitment to diversity begins with its Articles of Association, mandating that at least 75% of the board comprises Disabled people. This policy ensures that decision-making reflects the perspectives of those directly impacted by disability. To achieve this, the board employs a targeted recruitment process, actively engaging with Disabled People’s Organisations nationwide through a network it manages itself called ‘Our Voices’. Applications are made accessible through alternative formats (written, video, audio, etc), and reasonable adjustments are provided to remove barriers to participation.
The board monitors and benchmarks its progress, and promotes diverse leadership opportunities within its board.
Beyond defined policies for recruitment, the board also has policies and practices in place to promote inclusivity during board meetings, accommodating diverse needs. Ahead of meetings, board packs are shared in accessible formats, allowing trustees ample time to prepare. Every agenda and board pack re-articulates the organisation’s mission and vision, and clearly identifies areas for noting, discussion, or decision making. Meetings are held in accessible locations or online, with accommodations made based on individual requirements. The governance budget covers related costs (including travel reimbursement), ensuring that accessibility remains a priority.
The Chair plays a pivotal role in fostering inclusivity, drawing on extensive experience to facilitate discussions that amplify all voices. Annual appraisals of each trustee provide an opportunity to address any issues regarding representation, diversity, inclusivity and accessibility.
Equity, diversity, and inclusion are not just buzzwords at Disability Rights UK; they are fundamental principles woven into the fabric of the organisation. The development of a new strategy and theory of change in 2022 underscores this commitment, emphasizing the value of human difference in driving societal change.
By centreing its values around sharing power, connecting communities, innovating solutions, and celebrating strength in difference, the charity’s trustees lead by example. The diversity of the board and staff team brings a richness of experience and perspectives, enabling the organisation to achieve tangible differences in advancing disability rights and fostering a more inclusive society.
Disability Rights UK stands as a shining example of how diversity, inclusion, and equity can drive meaningful change within the charitable sector. Through its diverse board, inclusive practices, and unwavering commitment to equity, DR UK continues to break barriers, empower communities, and champion the rights of disabled individuals across the UK.
What Inspired Our Judges
Disability Rights UK (DR UK) stands as a beacon of equity, diversity, and inclusion in the charitable sector. Its commitment to breaking barriers and championing the rights of disabled individuals is not just a mission, but a lived reality embedded within the organisation’s ethos. The Judges were particularly struck by Disability Rights UK’s clarity on and commitment to inclusion from the outset, and the ongoing development of strategies that enabled trustees to become the change they wanted to see.
It was felt that the charity has achieved excellence in diversity, going the extra mile in actively seeking out and recruiting intersectional expertise and shaping both its board and its services to meet the diverse needs of the beneficiaries it serves. Judges consider the recruitment process to be exemplary, with processes embedded to review and monitor progress towards goals, targeted efforts to encourage applications from within the charity’s network and from among the charity’s beneficiaries, and the excellent provision of accommodations to remove barriers to access from the application process and from the trustee experience. Evidence provided in the entry also showed that diversity was not just a goal, but was backed by strategies and practical processes to achieve it, exhibiting best practice both within the disability sector and more widely within the charity sector itself.
The judging panel was particularly impressed by how Disability Rights UK developed its well-thought out and practical strategy for creating meaningful, long-term change. The entry showcased a refreshing ‘no holds barred’ inclusion strategy that recognises the intersectional disparities that exist for the charity’s target group and how the board acted on not just redressing the imbalance, but advancing equity.
