.png)
Why Your Board Recruitment Isn’t Reaching the Right People
- Natalie Duchesne
- May 12
- 3 min read
The pattern we see too often
Many not-for-profit boards across Ontario and Canada are actively trying to diversify, which is great news.
However, we keep seeing this pattern: the desire is there, but the definition is missing.
What does diversity actually mean for your board?
What does equity look like in your governance context?
Without clear answers to these questions, recruitment becomes a stand-in for strategy. It feels like action, yet it rarely creates the change you want.
The recruitment trap
Here’s how it usually goes:
A call for board members goes out.
It’s posted online, maybe emailed through a few networks.
Some folks share it on LinkedIn.
You wait, hoping for applications from a more diverse range of candidates.
At the same time, you’re asking current board members to tap their networks, which often leads right back to people who look and lead just like them.
The core issue is that recruitment is treated like a one-time event. Just something to check off the list. It’s episodic and reactive, relying heavily on the same networks and processes that created the current board makeup in the first place.
Instead of opening doors, it often just circles back to the familiar.
So, why do we default to recruitment?
It feels tangible
It mirrors familiar HR practices. It’s easier to plan around. There’s a clear beginning and end.
But equity isn’t a hiring cycle.
A post and a form don’t build trust.
They don’t deepen understanding.
They don’t help someone who’s never served on a board see themselves as leadership material.
If you want equity to thrive on your board, recruitment can’t be your only move.
Well, then what does work?
Relationships
Inclusive boards are built through relationships, not just recruitment. That means:
Showing up in community spaces year-round
Building trust before asking for involvement
Following through on commitments
Listening more than directing
This takes more time, it is slower yet more authentic. It lays the groundwork for more meaningful and actual inclusion, not just the appearance of diversity.
What this looks like in practice
We’ve seen some great examples of this relationship-first approach:
Board members attending events hosted by equity-deserving communities
Participating in AGMs of allied or partner organizations
Spending time in the community, not just reading annual reports
Other ways to build this into your board culture:
Host open conversations (e.g., “What is a board?” sessions for community members who might never have seen themselves in this kind of leadership).
Invite observers to board meetings
Hold a debrief afterward to help demystify governance.
Identify and mentor community leaders
Do this long before the nomination process starts.
Partner with equity-focused groups
Co-design leadership development pipelines.
When to Start Building Equity into Board Recruitment
Now
Board succession planning starts the moment someone joins. Waiting until recruitment season begins before engaging with community members is too late.
Equity-focused boards recognize that representation without relationship is fragile. Inclusion isn’t a line item on the agenda, it’s a culture that builds over time.
The Real Cost of Surface-Level Equity
When recruitment is the only strategy:
We don’t diversify
We set people up to fail
We risk blame, burnout, and broken trust
The Long-Term Payoff of Relationship-First Boards
We create deeper accountability to the communities we serve
We shift who sees themselves as leaders
We create the conditions where equity can take root
Real change doesn’t happen in a call for applications. It happens in how we show up—and who we show up for—every day.
