Diversity, equity and inclusion
Centring diversity, equity and inclusion in our work
Our vision is of a just society in which everyone can realise their potential and enjoy a fulfilling and creative life. This is at the heart of our purpose as a foundation.
To achieve this, we need to tackle inequalities head-on and use all of our resources to drive positive change. There is a power imbalance inherent in our work, and so we commit to using our power well.
Our commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) sits at the centre of our strategy. It drives how we work, who we work with and how we make decisions.
This commitment is as relevant and important for us as an employer as it is for us as a grant maker.
Our action plan
In 2020, we developed a three year action plan to monitor and evaluate our progress against different goals related to diversity, equity and inclusion. We used the Association of Charitable Foundation’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion: The Pillars of Stronger Foundation Practice to structure our plan.
At the conclusion of the three year plan, we reported on our progress and how we wanted to carry this work forward.
As a result of this process, we now integrate considerations around diversity, equity and inclusion into our wider strategy, as opposed to having a distinct action plan. We believe this gives weight to the importance of diversity, equity and inclusion as fundamental to our mission and intrinsic to all of our work.
Commitment to be an anti-racist funder
In 2020, we made a commitment to be an anti-racist funder.
This commitment does not have an end date. Rather, we hope to always strive to better our practices, both as a grant maker and an employer, and to recognise the need to always centre anti-racism in our work.
A crucial driving force for us is the need to end racism, which we know is deep seated and systemic. We will use our position and our funding to fight racism in all its forms as well as tackle bias and homogeneity in our own organisation and governance.
We need to become much more explicit and thoughtful in our communications and use of language as part of this commitment, to reflect the views of people with lived experience of racism and find ways to talk about people’s individual identities and diverse groups’ needs as opposed to using acronyms.
As a Foundation which works UK-wide and in India, the way in which racism is manifest in different places (for example, as sectarianism or within the caste system) is also very relevant.
Interrogating our grant making practice
We seek regular and varied assessment of our grant making practice. We invite external views to make sure our perspectives get challenged, and to help us be held accountable by others to do what we say we’ll do.
While there are more ad hoc and informal ways we receive this challenge, we also make sure to have regular and thorough reviews of our grant making. You can find some of the ways we do this below.
Analysing our grants through the lens of racial justice
We published our first Racial Justice Audit Analysis in November 2021. This analysis applied the Funders for Race Equality Alliance (FREA) racial justice audit tool to our UK grant-making, analysing our portfolios in terms of the proportion of grants and funds awarded in support of Black or minoritised-led organisations and projects.
You can find the results of our audits for the last three years and the actions we have taken as a result in our publications.
Acting on grant holder and applicant feedback
For more than 15 years, we have worked with the Center for Effective Philanthropy to understand how people who apply for funding from us experience the application process and our work as a whole.
In recent years, we’ve asked specific question around diversity, equity and inclusion to understand what organisations we work with think we can and should do better.
In the last survey, applicants gave feedback on areas where they thought we could improve our practice and commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion.
We use all of the feedback we receive to reconsider how we work and more importantly, make changes to our practice to reflect what we hear.
This work is continuous and so we commit to maintaining our practice of regularly surveying applicants and grant holders to make sure our work remains fit for purpose.
Foundation Practice Rating
We are a founding member of the Foundation Practice Rating, a project designed to look at the practice of funders in the UK across transparency, accountability and diversity.
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In the last Foundation Practice Rating, Paul Hamlyn Foundation scored an ‘A’ overall – with ‘A’ in accountability, ‘A’ in transparency and ‘B’ in diversity.
We have made three commitments in response to our result this year. We will report on our progress on these commitments in early 2025.
- Better understand the diversity of our staff, trustees and advisors and broaden the range of data we collect
- Improve the transparency and accessibility of applying for funding, enabled by a new website
- Give more information on how we are listening and responding to the people and organisations we fund
Advancing social justice
Across our work, we want to put social justice at the fore and give resources to those with the vision and determination to bring us closer to an equitable future. Find out more about how we’re working with others to advance social justice.