Voluntary organisations and social enterprises

Employers | SSCs | Business case | Main issues

Voluntary organisations and social enterprises, many of which are charities, have a good track record in promoting equality and diversity in the community and in their workplaces.

Voluntary organisations and social enterprises are governed by volunteers and often have volunteers working alongside paid staff – fairness is paramount in that sort of workplace. Such organisations are often providing services in their local communities and they strive to reflect the diversity of those communities amongst their volunteers and paid workers.

Social enterprises’ core functions are about creating benefits for communities or key community groups, e.g. communities suffering economic and social deprivation or young disabled people. They do this by applying good business practices to generate income through providing goods and services to paying customers. Good equality and diversity practices make sense to social enterprises in looking for volunteers, workers and customers.

See our useful links for more information about voluntary organisations and social enterprises.