CharityJob is the UK’s largest charity jobs board. Equality, diversity and inclusion are at our core, and we’re always working towards them. We believe it’s essential to ensure fair representation and to help recruiters access high-quality candidates. This year we’ve carried out a candidate demographics survey, looking at the diversity of the people who use our site to look for jobs. This explored gender, ethnicity, age and more. We’ve done this research so that we know, and can let you know, who our candidates are.

Candidates were invited to complete a survey which asked about various demographic indicators. In total we had 3,337 responses, 90% of which were from candidates who told us they live in the UK. The figures discussed here are only from those UK-based candidates.

What we found

• 29% of our candidates are from ethnically diverse backgrounds.
• 91% of our candidates are aged 25–64.
• One in five candidates identify with having a disability under the Equality Act 2010.
• Half of our candidates are currently working full time.

Ethnicity

29% of our candidates are from an ethnic minority, compared to 18% within the general population.

Below is a chart showing the ethnicity breakdown of CharityJob candidates compared to the England and Wales population and the wider charity sector:

Age

91% of our candidates are aged between 25 and 64, the largest group (37%) being those aged 35 to 49.

Gender

More than two thirds of our candidates identify as female (72%), 24% as male and 2% as non-binary.

Disability

One in five of our candidates identify as having a disability. This is a 7% increase on the findings of our 2021 demographics survey.

Candidates who answered ‘yes’ were asked what type of disability they had.

Mental health conditions were the most common response (43%). Other impairments (including epilepsy, cardiovascular conditions, asthma, cancer, facial disfigurement, sickle cell anaemia and progressive conditions such as motor neurone disease) made up the second largest group (27%). These were followed by mobility issues (26%).

Location

More than half of our candidates are based in the South of England. 30% are based in London and 17% are based in the South East.

Sector of work

Nearly half of our candidates work in the charity sector (48%).

Education

Nearly half of our candidates (47%) have an undergraduate degree or equivalent, and over a third have a master’s degree or equivalent.

Ethnicity and education

We also looked at candidates’ ethnicity alongside education to see if there were any correlations. We found that White not British and other ethnic group candidates had higher levels of education qualifications compared to White British candidates.

Work status

Half of our candidates are currently working full time and 18% are currently unemployed.

Seniority

Candidates were also asked how senior their current role is. 35% of candidates are in an experienced non-manager role, followed by 31% who are in management roles.

Socio-economic status

This year we asked candidates a new question to explore socio-economic status. They were asked whether they’d been eligible for free school meals. More than half of candidates hadn’t (52%).

Conclusion

CharityJob’s research into candidate demographics means you know who you’ll be reaching when you post a role with us. We know there’s always more to do, but we’re proud to be able to say that CharityJob candidates are more ethnically diverse than the sector as a whole. We’ve introduced measures such as anonymous recruitment within CharityJob Recruiter to improve the fairness of the process itself once candidates apply. These are small steps in the right direction to a charity sector that’s fairer and more diverse in the way it hires.

Want to find out more? Get in touch with your account manager to see the full candidate demographics report.