The ACEVO Pay and Equalities Survey 2023 has once again highlighted a lack of progress on key issues affecting the sector’s leadership, including the failure of boards to invest in their CEOs’ professional development and supervision, a stubbornly substantial gender pay gap and a frustrating and worrying lack of progress on race equity at the most senior levels.
Attracting 826 responses, this year’s survey provides a comprehensive snapshot of CEO pay and processes at a time when charities and the communities they serve have been affected by soaring inflation and economic instability. Whilst there are some welcome trends to note, the results unfortunately highlight persistent lack of progress on important measures and critical areas for improvement.
In Spring 2023, the median annual basic salary reported by sector leaders was £58,863, reflecting a modest increase from £56,000 in the previous year. Encouragingly, nearly 75% of CEO respondents reported receiving a salary increase within the past year, demonstrating positive trends in compensation. However, considering the pace of inflation over the same period, median CEO salaries still fall behind market standards and fall short of equitable compensation with peers in other industries.
A significant proportion (one-third of respondents) reported a lack of regular formal salary reviews, with smaller charities being less likely to provide this benefit and the availability of professional development opportunities for CEOs remains stagnant at around 50%, similar to the previous year’s findings and defying the clear expectations set forth in the Charity Governance Code.
Barely half the sample (49%) were satisfied with the chair and board’s support for investing time and resources in CEO development compared with pre-pandemic levels which saw 60% satisfaction in 2017 and 53% in 2020, though the majority (59%) of CEO respondents in 2023 feel that their wellbeing is prioritised by their board.
Encouragingly, there have been year-on-year improvements in the proportion of leaders who report themselves to be disabled, have a learning difference, or health condition, constituting 25% of this year’s sample, up from 20% in 2022 and 17% in 2021. However, there has been no discernible progress in the proportion of CEOs from Black, Asian, and Minoritised Ethnic backgrounds, which remained static at 7%, and the gender pay gap remains substantial at 8.3%, with women predominantly occupying leadership roles in smaller charities, perpetuating disparities in pay, pensions, and professional development opportunities.
Despite this, in an encouraging testament to the resilience and dedication of civil society leaders, 83% of survey respondents express a willingness to recommend the sector as a desirable place to work, with over 70% envisioning themselves remaining in the sector over the next five years.
