Trustee Recruitment
Thank you so much for your interest in becoming a trustee of the Equality Trust – we are really excited to be growing our team as we continue our work to challenge concentrations of income, wealth and power so that everyone can have a good life.
2024 was a pivotal year for the Equality Trust, as we refreshed our strategic direction, re-branded, and released an update to The Spirit Level – marking 15 years since its publication, and the launch of the Equality Trust.
In order to maximise the potential of our new strategy, and to harness the opportunities that the next 5 years may bring, we are hoping to bring on board a minimum of 5 and a maximum of 12 new trustees to our board – with a wide variety of backgrounds, skills, experience and perspectives – to steward the Equality Trust now and support us to create the conditions for much needed change in the UK. Recruiting up to 12 trustees will enable us to build a governance team where responsibilities and workload are fairly shared across a number of trustees via our subcommittee structure, as well as during full board meetings.
We want to encourage anyone who feels that they have the time, vision, drive and commitment to dismantle inequality in the UK to make an application. We are building a diverse team that is collaborative, bold, and ambitious for both the organisation and what we can achieve as a society. Please contact info@equalitytrust.org.uk if you have any questions.
Welcome from the Co-Chairs
We are on a mission to end excessive and harmful inequality, and we need your help. You might have encountered the impacts of inequality in your life or see them in your community or work. You might read the news and feel dismay at government inaction. You might distrust common arguments about “it costs too much”. You might feel much much more can be done, and know the time is right to lean in.
Whatever your background, whatever your age, whatever your life story – if that is you, read on.
Our work is shining a light on the inequality that disfigures our country. Our salary calculator shows that after only 3 days of work this year, UK CEOs have made a year’s average UK salary. Our wage gaps remain stubbornly among the highest in Europe. Since 1990, billionaires in the UK have increased their wealth by over 1160%. The richest 50 families in the UK hold more wealth than half of the UK population. Our economy is trapped in thrall to vested interests that fail to serve our needs. Privatised utilities like our water companies have extracted £72bn in dividends while dumping record amounts of raw sewage. Banks and oil companies announce record profits while deepening investments that drive climate change.
The UK’s greater inequality cost us £106.2 billion yearly compared to the OECD average, our research found. That means more people in prison, more people struggling with mental health, more people ill and unable to work. Little wonder inequality is lowering everyone’s quality of life. Our founders and patrons Kate Pickett and Richard Wilkinson worked with us to release The Spirit Level at 15, a report reprising their seminal research that led to our charity’s creation. We found the trends continue to show inequality leads to higher crime, worse health and mental health, poorer educational outcomes and less trust in democracy. These poor outcomes make it difficult for our communities to prosper in a health economy.
What if everyone had a good life? Does that sound so ridiculous? Well that’s our vision for the UK. And we know that by challenging power and channelling wealth to communities we create the conditions where people and communities thrive. To make this happen we gather evidence, we build coalitions for change, we campaign, and we support others to join us on this journey. We know this is a radical and ambitious vision of change. The journey is long and hard. But we step into it deeply rooted in values of equity, collaboration and authenticity that give us energy and direction.
So how can we help change perceptions of inequality? How can we give more powers to communities in addressing inequality and advocating for change together? How can we influence to change the policies and practice of the powerful in favour of more equality in the UK? To address these questions, we need your help to build a strong and resilient charity.
Not all trustee work is flashy. You will have lots of gritty work to do. You will be asked to look over the finances, advise on pay reviews, prioritise risks, and offer constructive challenge to our staff leadership on everything from fundraising to strategic direction. This will mean making time, mucking in and learning. I know for me this was all a steep learning curve and I was glad to have a supportive board around me. But one thing I’m more confident of than ever: all the work you will do as a trustee is impactful – making the charity tick every day, safely, securely, confidently in pursuit of our vision to build a good life for everyone in this country.
So what are you waiting for?
George Weyman and Chi Lael
Co-Chairs of Board of Trustees
About the Equality Trust
The Equality Trust is a charity launched in 2009 by Kate Pickett and Richard Wilkinson after the publication of their book The Spirit Level, along with Bill Kerry. The vision now, as it was then, is for everyone to have a good life.
The UK’s political processes, the media landscape and the way that our economy is structured enable concentrations of income, wealth and power to reside in the hands of a few. And it is this that prevents us all from living a good life.
We work to challenge the status quo and create conditions where individuals and communities thrive. To make this happen we gather evidence, build coalitions for change, campaign, and support others to do so.
We are a research-led, solutions-focused organisation. As well as publishing an update to The Spirit Level, we have also recently authored reports on the Cost of Inequality and billionaire wealth in Britain. As secretariat of the APPG on Poverty and Inequality we have supported inquiries into the effects of the UK migration system on poverty; and the (in)adequacy of social security.
Over the last fifteen years, the Equality Trust has been instrumental in highlighting inequality as the key issue faced by the UK. Discussions about pay ratios, high CEO pay, the cost of inequality and the obscene wealth of billionaires being inextricably linked to the destitution that so many suffer, are becoming more mainstream. But we know we need to do more – and we need your help to do it.
What are we looking for in a trustee?
The qualities we seek in all of our trustees are:
- Passionate commitment to the aims of the Equality Trust
- Good written and verbal communication
- Ability to work with people from different backgrounds and with differing opinions
- Able to manage their time effectively
- Keen to devote time to contribute to the work of the Equality Trust – this is equivalent to one day per month, but can flex depending on the needs of the charity and the responsibilities you take on
- Understanding of, or willingness to learn about, the role of a trustee;
- Desire to lead the organisation, to support and stretch staff, to unite on its strategy, to steward the assets and to look after its future
- Willing and able to take on trustee and charitable company director responsibilities for an initial three year term
To complement the existing range of skills of our trustees, we are particularly interested in receiving applications from people with experience in:
- Safeguarding – to ensure that we are operating safely for our staff and participants we need a trustee who will be our named Safeguarding Lead
- Finance – to Chair our Finance and Risk subcommittee to enable all trustees to understand the financial position of the charity and to support the SMT to develop a finance strategy
- Fundraising – to provide accountability and practical support with the development and implementation of a sustainable fundraising strategy
- HR law, regulations and practice – to bolster our approach to staffing, with a focus on wellbeing, fairness and inclusivity
- Lived and living experience of inequalities
- Evaluation, monitoring and impact measurement – to improve how we evaluate and learn from our work
- Participatory approaches to knowledge generation and democracy – to ensure that our strategic approach is in keeping with best practice
We encourage applications from anyone with lived experience of the issues to which inequality gives rise, even if you do not have the specific technical experience outlined above, to ensure that our board has the empathy and focus which make for effective strategy.
What support will I get as an incoming trustee?
We recognise that the trustee role can seem overwhelming, and we are working to make being a part of the governance and strategic leadership team of the Equality Trust as accessible as we can.
We know that it will take time and that each trustee will have different requirements to enable them to flourish in the role. We can onboard new trustees over an extended period, including mentorship and training for those who are new to being a trustee.
We will provide the following:
- Expenses for travel to meetings for the Equality Trust
- Cover for care expenses to support attendance at Equality Trust meetings
- Reasonable adjustments
- Opportunities to meet other trustees, as well as staff, informally; and to attend external events
- Induction meeting with Co-Executive Directors and trustees before your first board meeting, and meetings with relevant staff before first subcommittee meetings
- Trustee code of conduct
- Governance ‘jargon’ buster
- An Equality Trust email address
- Trustee training – much of it accessible online at your own pace, as well as more tailored training as required
- Responsive support from a named trustee mentor
- Trustee only WhatsApp group chat
How is the Equality Trust governed?
The Equality Trust is a charity and a company limited by guarantee and is run by a Board of Trustees (who are also the company directors and members). The board normally meets four times a year, with additional quarterly meetings for both the Finance and Risk subcommittee and the Fundraising subcommittee.
In addition to the board meetings outlined above, at least one trustee sits on the Joint Negotiation and Consultation Committee with a Co-Executive Director and staff representatives of the Equality Trust’s recognised staff union, the IWGB. Depending on your interest and experience, you may be invited to join that committee.
Board meetings are hybrid with trustees meeting in London with the facilities for others to join remotely; all subcommittee meetings take place online.
Board meetings currently take place during work hours in the afternoon (2-5pm) each quarter; subcommittee meetings are usually held during lunchtimes or early evening. Timings of meetings will be reviewed when our new board members join to help ensure that the needs of the team are met.
Board meeting dates for 2025 are currently:
Tuesday 10th June, Thursday 18th September (tbc) and Thursday 27th November (tbc).
In addition to preparing for and attending regular meetings, being a trustee requires you to, as a long-standing trustee said “devote a small part of your heart and mind to the Equality Trust – bringing it with you as you go about your daily life”.
Trustees are responsible for setting the strategic direction and for the financial oversight of the organisation, ensuring we comply with relevant regulations and supporting the paid staff to deliver on our mission.
The Equality Trust’s board is currently led by two co-chairs. The board delegates the day-to-day running of the charity to its Co-Executive Directors who lead the operational team of 9 staff (7.2 full time equivalent).
What should I do if I’m interested?
We are looking for a balanced board with a spread of different types of experience, knowledge, personal qualities and skills. If you are motivated and have a passion for tackling inequality, please do apply! If you would like to learn more about our work, our income or our impact, you will find more information, including our latest annual report you can find our annual report here, or check our ongoing projects and focus areas.
If you have any specific questions, please email info@equalitytrust.org.uk
Being a trustee is a commitment, and we are keen to hear from you even if your current capacity means that you would not be able to join us as a trustee this year. We may be able to defer an appointment until a point in the future if this were of mutual benefit.
How do I apply?
This application process is made up of three elements:
- Your CV (2 sides of A4, 12 point font),
- A completed personal qualities questionnaire.
- The answers to the following questions in the format you choose (see below):
- What does inequality mean to you?
- Why do you want to be a trustee of the Equality Trust?
- Please reflect on a situation where you have committed time to others – including the impact that it had on you, the beneficiary or beneficiaries, your family/work/any other impacts
- Please tell us about a challenging experience or crisis situation that you faced. How did this impact you and others involved? How did you use your skills to navigate this? What was the outcome?
- If you have any of the specific skills/knowledge or experience that we have outlined, please tell us about these – using examples of how you have applied these in practice
We want to hear from you in the format that you find it easiest to communicate in. You can answer the above questions in ONE of the following ways :
- Written A4 (No more than 2 sides, 11 point font)
- PowerPoint (No more than 5 slides)
- Audio recording (No more than 5 mins)
- Video recording (No more than 5 mins)
- Via this Google form
If these options aren’t appropriate for you for whatever reason please do get in touch with info@equalitytrust.org.uk
What happens then?
If you are successful you will be invited to become a trustee by the end of April 2025 and to attend a role play board meeting in May 2025. This will support you to understand how the board works, and what your role will be.
What is the recruitment timetable?
| Tuesday 22 April 2025, 9am | Deadline for submitting applications |
| Tuesday 29 April | Invitations to mock board meetings sent |
| Tuesday 6 – Wednesday 14 May 2025 | Mock board meetings take place online via Zoom |
| Tuesday 20 – Friday 23 May 2025 | Individual reflection and onboarding meetings with Co-Executive Directors (Co-EDs) |
| Tuesday 10 June, 2-5pm | Equality Trust Q2 board meeting, hybrid via Zoom and in person in London, zone 1-2 |
| Thursday 18th September | Equality Trust Q3 board meeting, hybrid via Zoom and in person in London, zone 1-2 |
| Thursday 27th November | Equality Trust Q4 board meeting, hybrid via Zoom and in person in London, zone 1-2 |
What are the main recruitment stages?
Please send your answers to the questions above and your CV (maximum 2 sides of A4, 11 point font) in your chosen format to recruitment@equalitytrust.org.uk or via this form by 9am 22nd April 2025.
Please also fill in this form about your personal qualities, so that we can ensure that we have a balanced board of trustees.
We will not be able to assess applications without your CV, your answers to all the questions and your responses to the personal qualities questionnaire. We may not have capacity to follow up incomplete applications so please check that you have included all the information requested.
In order to support us to improve our recruitment processes, we have an optional demographic questionnaire. This data is anonymous and does not form part of the application process – we use this data purely for internal purposes to assess our processes and practice.
We will acknowledge receipt of your application – if you do not receive an automatic response, please email info@equalitytrust.org.uk as your application may have been filtered into the spam folder.
We will invite a maximum of 12 applicants to be trustees, and these successful candidates will be invited to role play board meetings between 6th – 14th May 2025.
These will be for a maximum of 90 minutes, and we will hold up to 3 of these sessions – these will be during work hours. You will meet up to three other new trustees, our Co-Executive Directors and some of our current trustees. Before the mock board meeting you will be sent a board paper outlining a fictional issue, alongside supporting documents. This will give all new board members a taster of what being a trustee is like.
Between the 20th – 23rd May you will have a chance to reflect on your experience with our Co-Executive Directors – this will give everyone the opportunity to provide feedback and take action to address barriers or challenges.
We will send the invites to mock board meetings by the 29th April 2025.
The first board meeting that new trustees will attend is on the 10th June 2025, 2-5pm.