The updated Charity Governance Code features a greater focus on ensuring charity boards are promoting inclusivity.

This is the first revision of the code since 2020 and has been overseen by a steering group including ACEVO, the Association of Chairs, NCVO, Welsh charity body WCVA and the Chartered Governance Institute.

Included in the new code is a section on equality, diversity and inclusion to ensure boards have “a clear, agreed and effective approach to supporting equality, diversity and inclusion throughout the organisation and in its own practice”.

Boards are urged to assess their "own understanding of equality, diversity and inclusion” and to identify “any gaps in understanding which could be filled by discussion, learning, research or information”.

This includes looking at the diversity of trustees’ backgrounds, “any bias in trustee recruitment and selection” and to demonstrate “inclusive behaviours in its decision making and how it engages with staff, volunteers, members, service users and beneficiaries”.

The update follows a consultation that ran between May and August last year to “take a wider look at the Code, exploring its content, structure, applicability to different sizes of charity, the use of language and user friendliness of the framework”, said the steering group.

It added: “We were also interested in exploring the barriers or obstacles to using the Code. As such we invited responses to the consultation from both users and non-users.”

Lack of board level diversity

The update to the code comes amid a raft of recent evidence to show a lack of diversity in charity boards.

Last week figures from the Association of Charitable Foundations found that just 6% if trustees at foundations are from communities experiencing racial inequality.

A report released in April by the Charity Commission and think tank PBE found that diversity of charity boards is failing to represent the general population.

Meanwhile, a 2025 report by charity membership body ACEVO and consultancy Eastside People found that one in four charities do not have any Black, Asian or other global majority communities represented across their senior leadership team or board.

More information

The updated code as been published to coincide with Trustees Week (3-7 November).

The NCVO is running an online workshop on 5 November to look at the refreshed Code and “how trustee behaviours influence board culture, decision-making and effectiveness”.

Next year ACEVO is also staging an online workshop around how trustees can use the code “to lead well and govern better. This takes place on 3 February.

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