Press Release: Statistics Canada Survey Shows Charitable and Nonprofit Boards Need to Improve their Diversity

Ottawa – February 11, 2021 – A Statistics Canada survey, created in collaboration with sector representatives, found that immigrants and racialized people are underrepresented on the governing boards of charities and nonprofits. Among participating board members, 14% identified as being immigrants to Canada; 11% identified as belonging to a visible minority group; and 3% identified as First Nations, Métis or Inuit.

“In the summer, I challenged the charitable sector to increase diversity on their boards. Thankfully, Statistics Canada heard the call and created a survey to map out for the first time how diverse the sectors boards really are,” said Senator Omidvar. “It is important that governance boards reflect the diversity of the communities they serve because the decisions they make affect many Canadians. Board members chart the course of their organizations, work to influence policy and decide how funds are spent.”

A voluntary, crowdsourced survey was launched on December 4, 2020 and was available online until January 18, 2021. A total of 8,835 individuals completed the survey, 6,170 of whom were board members. It was Statistics Canada’s first targeted attempt to measure diversity on governing boards in the charitable and non-profit sector. The survey asked board members about socio-demographic information, including their race, gender, sexual orientation, age, immigration status, and disability. It also asked them to describe the communities they serve and whether their organization has a written policy on the diversity of its board of directors. Forty-seven per cent  of participants said their organization does not have such a policy, while just over 30% of participants said their organization does.

“This survey is only the first step and for now a one-time process. We need annual data on diversity in the sector. It is the government’s role to ensure that this data is collected and tabulated on an ongoing basis,” said Senator Omidvar. “The sector also needs to be determined, intentional and relentless on increasing diversity. I look forward to their plans on how they will respond to this diversity deficit in their governance.”

As outlined in the 2019 Special Senate Committee report, the Canadian Revenue Agency should include questions on both the T1044 and the T3010 forms on diversity representation on boards of directors as per the existing employment equity definitions. In this way, data would be gathered annually, and would be aggregated to present a clear picture of diversity. Based on clear evidence, the country and the sector could see if, how and where progress is being made.

The full results of the survey can be found here.

For more information:

Paul Faucette 
Director of Parliamentary Affairs, The Honourable Ratna Omidvar
paul.faucette (at) sen.parl.gc.ca | 613-762-2887