Our Mission

Improving diversity in the UK Social Investment sector


We’re a collective on a mission to drive inclusive social investment in the UK, through the convening of sector-wide groups, commissioning research, and knowledge sharing. 

Our thinking on diversity is informed by the world of equalities and a fundamental belief that differences – whether it be a protected or unprotected characteristic – makes for richer experiences, workplaces and decisions.

The Diversity Forum emerged out of important discussions held at The Gathering in 2017 about the need to improve diversity among social investors in the UK. After a session co-facilitated by Gemma Rocyn Jones and Bonnie Chiu on diversity, a working group was established by Danyal Sattar, CEO at Big Issue Invest.

Since then the Forum has grown to encompass two sector-wide initiatives to improve diversity among social investors in the UK; The Diversity Steering Group and the Diversity Champions network. The current Chair of the Diversity Forum is Amir Rizwan.

Thanks to the Connect Fund, a £3 million fund managed by the Barrow Cadbury Trust  in partnership with Access – the Foundation for Social Investment, the Diversity Forum has funding to embark on diversity projects with four key strands: 

  • Leadership and governance;

  • Research: commissioning research;

  • Skills development and resources sharing via the Diversity Champions network;

  • Communications.

If you would like to be involved in the Diversity Forum, Contact Us or Sign Up to receive updates on our work.

"Diversity crosses ideological boundaries. From the pure competition of the free market, selecting other than on grounds of the best person to do the job, is not efficient. From an equal rights perspective, how can we deliver social change if we look like part of the problem? "

— Danyal Sattar, CEO Big Issue Invest