CANBERRA — New research by the Humanitarian Advisory Group on diversity of humanitarian leadership has delivered concerning results — despite showing that diverse leadership leads to innovation, better management of risks, and an increased ability to listen and act on views shared within the team or by local communities.
After surveying 1,479 people in 115 countries in five languages, “Data on Diversity: Humanitarian leadership under the spotlight” reports that 69% of the most senior humanitarian positions held in high and extreme security risk countries are held by men.
But diversity is not just about gender — analyzing age, disability, cultural background, sexual orientation, social and economic background, profession, education and work experience all help create an understanding of how the humanitarian sector is performing on diversity. The research finds that humanitarian leadership is failing on many fronts.