Female charity chief executives have joined a campaign to hand over their social media accounts to Black colleagues to mark Black History Month.

Charities taking part in the #ShareTheMic campaign include Shelter, Macmillan Cancer Support, CLIC Sargent and Teenage Cancer Trust.

The move is part of a campaign launched earlier this month that involved black women taking over the accounts of white business leaders and influencers on Twitter. This included Bernardine Evaristo taking over CNN’s chief anchor Christiane Amanpour’s social media account.

In the charity takeover Shelter chief executive Polly Neate has handed over her Twitter feed to Roli Barker, a project manager at the homelessness charity.

Hi! My name is Roli. I am a Project Manager @Shelter and I will be taking over Polly’s twitter account for the day. A little about me...I'm half Bajan and half Trini, an arts & culture enthusiast and Chair of the Housing North Board @JigsawHG #ShareTheMic pic.twitter.com/MvSm8k3pQA

— Polly Neate (@pollyn1) October 20, 2020

And Shellbie, a cancer patient supported by CLIC Sargent, has taken over the running of the Twitter account of the charity’s chief executive Rachel Kirby Rider.

Shellbie said: “The #ShareTheMic campaign is giving Black women a chance to vocalise our own experience of trying to create change around us. Whether the impact is small or large, it is important for us to try and come together to uplift, support and listen to Black women.”

Hello, my name is Shellbie. I’m 24 and live in the West Midlands. I am half Jamaican and half English and have lived in the UK since birth. I currently work in Digital Data and Technology and today I will be taking over Rachel’s account for the #ShareTheMic campaign. pic.twitter.com/oPJSIba3p4

— rachel kirby-rider (@RachelKirbyR) October 20, 2020

Meanwhile, Macmillan Cancer Support’s CEO Lynda Thomas has handed over her Twitter account to communications professional and breast cancer survivor Sophia Jones.

Jones’ Tweets included a message of thanks to the support she has received from Macmillan.

and radiotherapy. I am thankful that I am all clear, well and healthy. Throughout my journey, Macmillan helped me in many ways: I had wonderful Macmillan nurses like Kelsie in the picture who looked after me and counselled me. I used the helpline a lot and got tonnes of 2/3 pic.twitter.com/k2f5qBESE9

— Sophia Jones - #ShareTheMic - (lynda thomas) (@lynda_thomas) October 20, 2020

Acevo’s Pay and Equalities 2020 Report found that the vast majority (94%) of charity CEOs are white.

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