Demographics Archives

Tag: Demographics

Is Volunteering Too White and Wealthy?

On 12th August 2019

Those who stand to benefit the most from volunteering are less likely to be involved.
Sir Stuart Etherington, chief executive of the NCVO

We previously looked into the demographics of volunteers and why women volunteer more than men. However, there are many factors affecting the ratio of volunteers to non-volunteers. This blog will look into the impact of socioeconomic status and ethnicity on an individual’s likelihood to volunteer. Addressing the question: Is Volunteering Too White and Wealthy?

I want to start this blog by saying I am white. Therefore, I can’t speak for the experiences of BAME volunteers but I can help draw attention to them. It has been said that standing by and letting discrimination happen is as bad as actively discriminating against people yourself.

The Facts and Figures

Socio-economic Analysis

People from less deprived areas are more likely to volunteer. Demographic analysis of volunteering, socioeconomic, race, volunteer management, — *How often people volunteer, based on the deprivation level of the area in which they live.*

The graph above shows us that people in deprived areas are volunteering, just not as much as those from the least deprived areas. Interestingly, the level of informal volunteering is much more similar across the levels of deprivation. Perhaps this suggests that those from lower socio-economic backgrounds do volunteer, they just prefer to give help directly, not through mediation by formal organisations. As a result, maybe we need to reach out to these types of people more and show them how useful online volunteer hubs can be to find new and exciting opportunities.

NCVO’s Time Well Spent report highlights that people from higher socio-economic groups were more likely to be recent volunteers than those from lower socio-economic groups (44% vs. 30%). 40% of those from lower socio-economic backgrounds say they have never volunteered in their lives. The instant thought here is that the people from working-class backgrounds must spend their time working to earn money and find they have no time to volunteer. Right?

Well think again; it’s actually people who are unemployed that have the lowest volunteering rates. 42% of people not working note they have never volunteered in their lives. The highest volunteering rates are found in those who have part-time jobs. 53% of those who worked less than 8 hours per week had recently volunteered, and 41% of part-timers who work 8 – 29 hours per week had volunteered recently at the time of the report.

A person’s socio-economic status also appears to affect what type of voluntary work they do. Those who would identify as working-class are less likely to be in leadership/organisational roles than those of higher or middle class. 23% vs. 15% for leadership roles. 42% vs. 33% for organisational roles.

Furthermore, the level of education a person possesses also appears to impact volunteering rates. The higher the education, the more likely a person is to volunteer.

Educated are more likely to volunteer - 48% vs. 20%. Demographic analysis of volunteering, socioeconomic, race, volunteer management,

Not Enough Ethnic Diversity

The proportion of recent, frequent, and non-volunteers by ethnicity, diversity in volunteering, volunteer management, volunteering, — *The proportion of recent, frequent, and non-volunteers by ethnicity.*

NCVO’s report appears to show that participation isn’t too affected by ethnicity. However, looking at the sample size, we can see that only 464 were from BAME backgrounds while 9,606 were white. As a result, it is heavily suggested that the likelihood of volunteering is affected by an individual’s race.

Unfortunately, BAME volunteers were more likely to report negative volunteering experiences, including feeling unappreciated and excluded. For example, they were less likely to feel they belonged in the organisation they volunteered for than white volunteers (77% vs 85%). Shockingly, research by CharityJob showed that 54% of BAME voluntary workers reported discrimination based on their ethnicity.

I’m Asian and Muslim. I have come across people while working who have shown outright dislike of me from the onset and other more subtle forms of discrimination.

Furthermore, people from BAME backgrounds were less likely to say they planned to volunteer in future (73% vs 81%).

How Can Volunteer Managers Fix This?

So is volunteering too white and wealthy? Well, it’s clear that something is creating this lack of diversity in volunteering numbers. But what can volunteer managers do about it? Perhaps the most fundamental thing would be to check that you offer a wide range of opportunities, suitable for a variety of people.

Let’s look at important factors to consider:

Location – maybe there are people out there who would like to volunteer but don’t have any opportunities near enough to them and can’t afford to travel. Some sites even give people the opportunity to volunteer from home.
Skills Needed/Accessibility – making opportunities that are accessible and require no specific skills are likely to attract a wider and more diverse range of volunteers.
Flexibility – many people may not have the time to commit to regular opportunities. If you can communicate with potential volunteers and arrange a time and date that suits them, you may be more likely to increase the diversity of your volunteers.

It has also been suggested that the demographic gaps would close if more employers let staff take time off to do voluntary work, or organised company-wide volunteering schemes.

This Doesn’t Just Affect The Volunteers

It’s important to note that the lack of diversity isn’t just within the actual volunteers themselves, but also with the volunteer managers and organisation higher-ups.

Here are some quotes from BAME candidates going for volunteer management roles:

I have never seen a black female in senior management in a charity and I have been working in the sector for over ten years. As a result I feel unconscious bias which reduces my promotion opportunities.

Race discrimination may be subjective. However, it’s very real. In my personal experience, I believe that on several occasions I have been passed over for promotion to people with less experience, knowledge and competence for white colleagues.

Visible diversity within organisations matters to candidates:

CharityJob's survey found that knowing that diversity is a focus for the organisation is very important. Volunteers, volunteer management, volunteer management software

Overall, we can assume that by listening to your volunteers talk about their volunteering experiences, changes can be made. This could make your volunteering roles more attractive to a wider number of people, and increase diversity.

Britain’s volunteer community is clearly tilted towards people who are white and middle-class, it’s about time that changed to become more inclusive.

How Can TeamKinetic Help?

TeamKinetic’s volunteer management software can help you analyse the demographics of your volunteers, including their ethnicity. This can give you great insight into who your volunteering opportunities are attracting – or not attracting. Our software ensures volunteers and providers both give feedback about every opportunity completed. Therefore, any problems faced (such as discrimination) can be dealt with swiftly.

Want to read more content like this? Check out our blog on understanding volunteer demographics to fill empty roles.

For more information on volunteer management software, contact us.

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Why Do Women Volunteer More Than Men?

By Alex Evans

On 10th July 2019

In News & Views

A group of female volunteers. Women in volunteering. Volunteer management.

Recent data from Time Well Spent shows that there are more women in volunteering than men. Taking a closer look at the data might tell us why.

NCVO’s demographic analysis shows that 40% of women have volunteered in 2017/18 compared to 35% of men. Furthermore, 23% of women had volunteered in the month before data collection, but only 21% of men had.
Similarly, the Office for National Statistics found that although participation rates for men and women were similar (41% and 42% respectively), the time each gender spent volunteering was very different. Women, on average, spent 15.7 minutes per day volunteering while men only spent 11.3 minutes per day in voluntary work.
TeamKinetic’s data supports this analysis with 60% of registered volunteers identifying as female and 40% as male from a total of 100,000 volunteers.

These discrepancies suggest that either something is preventing men from spending more time volunteering, or something is pushing women to volunteer more.

A Way To Make New Friends?

The NCVO report mentioned that women viewed the social aspect of volunteering as a motivation to sign up. 23% of women joined to make new friends/meet new people in comparison to the 18% of men who signed up for the same reason. As a consequence of volunteering, women reported that they felt more confident (76%) than men (71%). Interestingly, female efforts to make new friends appeared to have been more successful than their male counterparts’. Women reported fewer instances of conflict or tension compared to men (25% vs 32%).

Aside from the social side, volunteering can also have a significant positive impact on mental health for both sexes.

Young People Planning For Their Futures

I spoke to some of my peers who have volunteered in the past. The majority of them either did it to gain work experience of some sort, or because their friends were doing it. In today’s job market, experience is vital. At least two-thirds of employers are looking for graduates with relevant work experience.

I volunteered at a local charity shop a few years ago to gain work experience and because my friend worked there. I had a great time and it definitely helped me get a job afterwards.
MMU Student, Lois.

If using volunteer work to gain relevant work experience is a trend amongst young people, perhaps the gender differences in volunteering rates will become level soon. However, we must also acknowledge the various other factors that affect volunteer rates such as age, socio-economic status, and race.

Not All Sunshine and Rainbows

Infographic: Women in volunteering are less likely to represent the organisation they volunteer for than men.

Despite the majority of volunteers being female, there are still some aspects of volunteering that may be letting these hard-working women down. Many women (62%) don’t believe they can have much impact on the organisations they volunteer for. Men are more confident in this area, with 70% of them believing they can make a significant influence on organisations. A reason for this could be the higher ratio of men to women in representative roles. Research suggests that women are more likely to help at an event rather than go to meetings on behalf of the organisation like male volunteers.

This behaviour could be seen as stereotypical and may be due to outdated societal norms. These norms are being broken down. Men and women are becoming more equal. As a result, the expected stereotypes are fading away, but it is happening too slowly.

Flexibility First?

Stereotypes do not appear to affect the number of women in volunteering roles. So why do they volunteer?

Data suggests that flexible roles attract female volunteers. This can refer to the organisation being flexible themselves, or the volunteering opportunities they are offering. For example, perhaps the sessions are one-offs or aren’t set to certain times/days of each week. The want for flexibility may be driven by a range of factors such as family, work, or social commitments. Organisations and volunteer managers should recognise the needs of their volunteers to get the most out of them.

Let’s Flip The Question

We’ve asked why there are more women in volunteering than men, but why are there fewer men in volunteering? What’s stopping them?

Societal norms could be blamed; the conditioning of men to be the main provider may make them think they have no time for volunteering, or even that it’s a waste of time! In the past, a lack of male-focused roles may have been to blame. Nowadays there are a large variety of roles available on a range of websites, such as universities, councils, and sports clubs.

Research from 2016 suggested that male volunteers needed something specific to ‘hook’ them into volunteer work. They’d be likely to work with an organisation they already had a connection to. On the other hand, women appear to volunteer for social reasons and to help the community.

Curious About Your Own Volunteers?

TeamKinetic’s volunteer management software can help you analyse the demographics of your volunteers, e.g. the ratio of male to female volunteers. This can give you great insight into who your volunteering opportunities are attracting.

Find out how TeamKinetic can work with you to recruit, manage, and retain your student volunteers by visiting our website or calling us on 0161 914 5757.

You can also find us on social media: Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and YouTube. We share and create content suitable for anyone interested in volunteering!

Check out our blogs on Women in Sport and Creating a Legacy Post-Women’s World Cup for more content like this.

Understanding volunteer demographics to fill empty roles!

By Alex Evans

On 12th February 2019

In News & Views, TeamKinetic Features, Volunteer Management

Many roles go unfilled… why is that? Do volunteer managers need to have a deeper understanding of volunteer demographics? Can we continue to assume that empty roles will fill up because they’re helping a good cause?

Unfilled volunteering roles

Having a good understanding of your volunteers and the roles you offer is key. Unfilled roles can have a negative impact on your volunteer management and make it difficult for tasks to be carried out.

Volunteers want to volunteer! Don’t make it difficult for them.

In many cases, unfilled roles occur when the role is just not appealing to the volunteer. This issue usually begins with how you describe the role and the commitment levels that come with it.

Roles need to be attractive to the volunteer; with a detailed description of what is required of them and positive outcomes of the role. Many organisations we work with do this well and provide quality volunteer experiences that lead to higher retention levels!

*Example of an opportunity within TeamKinetic*

All volunteer managers need to prioritise roles that are crucial to the organisation because they involve tasks that drive long-term goals to be met. By prioritizing the most important roles it allows you to focus the energy and time on the areas that are most likely to have a greater impact on the organisation and its development.

Knowing your volunteer capacity and demographic

The one-size-fits-all is approach has long past its expiration date. Knowing who volunteers for you is crucial for developing relationships, providing opportunities and understanding who to target when recruiting volunteers. Volunteer trends are always changing and adapting, with volunteers being much more diverse. Here are some demographics to consider :

Age

The idea that only older people volunteer is diminishing. Today students in higher education regularly volunteer and are part of the most likely groups to volunteer. Different age groups will have a variety of skills they can utilise in their volunteer work.

Gender

The gender gap has become almost even with more men getting involved in volunteering than ever before. Women consistently volunteer in all areas, whereas men are typically more likely to volunteer in sport. It’s important to consider how your operations could be improved to create a more gender-inclusive environment for your volunteers.

Location

There are countless organisations offering ways to volunteer. This has created a great spread of opportunities contributing to better communities across the country. Within your organisation, you might consider mapping your volunteers to understand your key areas. Then you can ensure your opportunities are easily accessed by these areas.

Socio-Economic Background

However, those from lower socio-economic groups are more likely to say they have never been involved in volunteering. And those who have volunteered in the past are less likely to be in leadership or representative roles.

Studies show higher levels of austerity among communities in the north of England and the local authority spending has fallen nationally by half since 2010. The lack of resources and inequalities mean many people are excluded from taking part in certain opportunities

Research conducted by our good friends at Jump highlight that a lower proportion of volunteers come from lower SEG (42%) compared to the representation of that group in the national population (50%).

Some of the barriers faced by lower SEG to volunteer include health barriers (illness or disability), caring responsibilities, and age constraints.

More information on Jump’s work and their report on “Why is volunteering biased towards higher socio-economic groups?” can be downloaded on their website.

So how can we help you fix these problems?

TeamKinetic is centralised around providing volunteer managers with resources to create accessible, easy-to-find opportunities for their volunteers.

Our volunteer management software works to eliminate issues such as filling roles and allows for a greater understanding of your volunteer base.

Advanced Search Functionality

Volunteers can search for opportunities with our search functionality which includes searching by location, opportunity name, and categories. This allows volunteers to find the nearest opportunities available to them without searching the whole internet.

Map Volunteers & Opportunities

Volunteer managers can view the number of opportunities and volunteers through a map format. This is useful in decision-making and creating opportunities according to your volunteer demographics.

Reports and Analysis

You can gain insight into the success of your volunteer programme by evaluating your volunteer sign-ups (including those who are active and repeating), the number of opportunities you have created and other demographic information.

These functions can help with providing suitable roles and ensure opportunities are filled.

Data is only recorded if your volunteers agree to provide you with the information. GDPR frequently asked questions for TeamKinetic’s volunteer management system can also be found here.

For more information on the Volunteer Management Software visit our website or contact one of our team members on 0161 914 5747

You could also start a free 30-day trial of our system to take a look around. If it’s not for you, no problem.