Duncan Exley
Not-for-profits struggle to recruit & get the most out of people from non-middle class backgrounds. I can help: Analysis-&-recommendation &/or training.
- Civil service: jobs to be moved beyond London to "better reflects the country it serves... support economic growth throughout the country.... [&] make it much easier for talented people everywhere to join the civil service” [Pat McFadden] www.civilserviceworld.com/professions/... #SocialMobility
- “practical steps #charities can take to connect with a broader range of [trustee] candidates, & to identify & remove barriers that may put people off applying" in updated Charity Commission guidance: www.gov.uk/government/n... 1/2
- Occupations in "most critical demand...require workers with below-degree level qualifications" "significant share of graduates working in non-graduate jobs" & "huge variation between subjects and people from different backgrounds" #WideningParticipation #SocialMobility #HigherEd
- "charity governance was originally *designed*... to ensure that people who aren’t ’like us’ don’t get inside the tent... Trustees still disproportionately come from professional socioeconomic backgrounds" (@barelycivilsociety.bsky.social) dralexevans.substack.com/p/is-it-time... #Charities
- Leytonstone High Road station 21.21, 09 May 25
- Leading #charities pledge to "include salary information in all of their job adverts, to create...fairer, more inclusive & accessible recruitment" “for 92% of people, having a salary listed as ‘competitive’ or not listed at all... would discourage them from applying" (@charitycomms.bsky.social)
- "Views that are deemed acceptable in many 'progressive' not-for-profit organisations are developed by being exposed to media, social circles & (academic) discourses to which few have access". www.linkedin.com/posts/duncan...
- Psychological safety is a great tool for unleashing the added value that people from underrepresented backgrounds bring (e.g. making it more likely they'll volunteer insights that challenge assumptions) but misunderstandings of psychological safety can do the opposite hbr.org/2025/05/what... #HR
- “a barrier to entry that makes it harder for people from all backgrounds to build a career in #charities, which can limit diversity and talent across the sector”. (Katherine Chapman, @livingwageuk.bsky.social)
- Listen to this great case study of effective grassroots social justice campaigning (It’s also a great briefing on how privileged folk make sure their kids get opportunities the rest of us don’t) #SocialJustice #Campaigning #Inequality #Brighton
- "Small #charities feel excluded from decision-making" But as @acevo.bsky.social data shows, large charities are untypical (e.g. most run by men, vs most charities led by women, & disproportionately by privately educated www.acevo.org.uk/publications...) www.thirdsector.co.uk/small-charit...
- "To define yourself as radical is to define what you are asking for as radical" Campaigners are often complicit in giving the impression that wanting to avert climate catastrophe, or allow families to afford the basics, is something other than common sense & decency www.linkedin.com/posts/duncan...
- Will this tend to focus #charities’ efforts more towards issues that wealthy people think important (which aren’t the same as those where there is most need / potential public benefit)?
- Perceiving that #SocialMobility is constrained “can increase students’ procrastination” “Why invest in a future that feels predetermined?” www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/shat...
- “Anyone attempting to upstage the performer by wearing a more showbiz jacket will be removed by security”
- Happy half-price chocolate day.
- ‘It takes considerable resources to develop the sorts of political views that put you “in the gang” at organisations like this’ (an issue identified at a policy-influencing organisation I spoke to recently)
- Adolescence's message is clear: we ignore class at our own peril. (Sophie Pender, @the93percentclub.bsky.social) www.linkedin.com/pulse/adoles... #Adolescence #DEI
- "the new government’s mission to ‘break down the barriers to opportunity...lack[s] a golden thread, a pragmatic vision to describe what success would look like in this parliament...which reduces inequality for young people can help create a positive and aspirational vision"
- ⏰ | NEW BLOG: Social mobility shouldn’t just be about a lucky few beating the odds. In our new blog, we set out a progressive vision for opportunity—one that tackles structural inequality and delivers for all young people. Read here: www.ippr.org/articles/rec...
- "The NCVO warns that formal volunteering is in decline & recruitment of skilled trustees presents a particular recruitment challenge for #charities ...“Organisations need to create inclusive opportunities that attract a diverse range of volunteers & trustees" www.thirdsector.co.uk/charities-re...
- "Disabled jobhunters face more challenges than their non-disabled peers and, on average, have to submit 60% more applications... more than 1/2 employers say they are concerned about a disabled employee’s ability to do the job, @scopepolicy.bsky.social has found" 1/2 www.ft.com/content/b929...
- Vargas-Llosa, like Barbara Kingsolver, had an ability to make real historical events feel immediate & compulsively engaging. I first picked up The War of the End of the World on a whim & was v glad I did! #MarioVargasLlosa
- Reasons my partner is fab #3204: Responding to my sending them a link to the film below with “I can't think of anyone who would like this film. Certainly not us. When are we going to see it?” www.timeout.com/movies/siste...
- “solicitor apprenticeships make the legal profession more representative", but providers still don't know if funding for them will be affected by apprenticeship cuts announced 7 months ago. #SocialMobility #Apprenticeships #Solicitors
- "an entrenched culture where students, particularly from Scottish & working class backgrounds, are mocked & mimicked - making them reluctant to speak out & participate in tutorials". #SocialMobility #WideningParticiption #DEI #Edinburgh #HigherEd
- "Provide more support to other charities, large organisations urged" 💯 Good to see discussion on how #charities can escape from a focus on what the organisation can do in the short term (vs what movements can achieve longer-term). 1/2 www.thirdsector.co.uk/provide-supp...
- "pushy messaging not only fails but actively backfires, triggering anger & resistance that can undermine the campaign’s goals… judgemental messaging has been shown to fail…across a range of public health & environmental initiatives (@drjasminemo.bsky.social) theconversation.com/shop-smarter...
- "Structural reform can’t be achieved through consumption choices – unfortunately, we’re all going to have to get dirt under our fingernails... meaningful progress really comes from: grassroots movements, political organising, policy reform". #Campaigning
- Great to see @friends-earth.bsky.social highlighting "bringing new communities into the environmental movement" as a key strength of their new chief exec. www.thirdsector.co.uk/friends-eart...
