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‘Little meaningful change’ made on key issues for sector’s leadership as pay gap rises
Melanie May | 11 November 2024 | News
‘Little meaningful change’ has been made on some of the key issues affecting the sector’s leadership in the last year, according to the ACEVO Pay and Equalities 2024 survey, with the gender pay gap rising, a shortage of investment in learning and development opportunities, and a lack of diversity across leadership and boards.
ACEVO’s survey shows a rise in the gender pay gap from 8.3% last year to 14.4% this year: its highest since the 2014 survey. Women continue to be overrepresented in the leadership of smaller charities, and male CEOs continue to dominate the leadership of larger organisations.
Lack of diversity
Lack of diversity also remains prominent with the number of CEOs from Black, Asian and Minoritised Ethnic backgrounds static at 7%, and only a third of CEOs currently satisfied with the ethnic diversity of their boards.
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Disadvantage at smaller charities
Leaders at smaller charities continue to be disadvantaged in terms of the working benefits available to them, with 18% citing none of the prompted benefits were available. They are also dissatisfied with the time they can commit to strategic planning and professional learning opportunities.
While a significant majority (85%) feel clear about their role and the direction their board wants them to take, job clarity documents are less comprehensive for CEOs at smaller charities. 37% say they feel ‘mostly clear’, 15% feel ‘clear in some areas, unclear in others’, and 2% feel ‘mostly unclear’. ACEVO notes that these gaps continue to raise concern around career support and development at small charities to retain and nurture leadership.
Salaries
In early summer 2024, the median annual basic salary reported by sector leaders who completed the survey was £60,000.The frequency of regular salary reviews remains static with a third of respondents reporting no formal salary review process. This figure is unchanged from last year and, the report says, reflects a persistent gap in salary review practices, particularly in the smaller charities. 46% of the respondents received a pay rise specifically to address the rising cost of living, indicating a growing recognition of economic pressures on leaders.
Collaboration & restructuring
49% of respondents said they had collaborated or partnered with a private sector organisation in the last year, while a third have restructured their operations or services. A fifth of respondents reported plans to restructure over the coming year, while 15% will collaborate with a private sector organisation. ACEVO notes that this could indicate charities being in a period of adjustment and adaptation and reevaluating their operations, perhaps in response to financial challenges, changes in demand for services, or changes in funding sources.
Job satisfaction
Despite the challenges, 79% of CEOs satisfied with their roles and 82% feeling empowered to make key decisions. 82% of leaders of small charity respondents still felt generally empowered on decision-making. Looking ahead, 72% of CEOs feel likely to remain in the charity sector in the next five years, a figure consistent with previous years.
Jane Ide, ACEVO Chief Executive, said:
“For a sector that is driven by purpose and the belief that change can be made real, we seem to be either deeply unwilling or systemically unable to make meaningful change for the people that we task with leading our sector.
“We do ourselves no favours as a sector if we try to duck some of the realities that this survey, year after year, puts under the spotlight.
“ACEVO’s mission is to empower civil society leaders to maximise their impact for the causes and people they serve. The quality of sector leadership and the impact leaders can have are undoubtedly related to the level of their pay, their rewards and benefits, the opportunities for personal development, their relationship with the organisation’s board, and the time they are enabled to spend focusing on the strategic direction and health of their organisation.
“ACEVO is committed to driving change where it is most needed to ensure that our sector is fit for the future with a thriving, supported and enabled leadership. But we need chairs, boards of trustees, funders and others to recognise and acknowledge that the systemic challenges that we have been reporting for well over a decade are putting a brake on that change – and our sector, and the people we are here to serve, are losing out as a result.”
David Saint, Chair of Action Planning, sponsors of the report, said:
“For a sector that places such high value on diversity and inclusion, both in service delivery and in recruiting and retaining staff, it is disappointing that these changes are not reflected at the leadership level in many organisations. We can and must do better. It’s encouraging to see that so many CEOs are satisfied with their roles and likely to remain in the sector, but we must ensure this satisfaction isn’t taken for granted. Their hard work and commitment to delivering the best for service users, stakeholders and staff is truly inspiring. In return, we need to invest in them by fostering an environment where they feel genuinely valued and appreciated. Ignoring this would be a grave mistake. Let us use the next twelve months to take steps to make a real change.”
About Melanie May
Melanie May is a journalist and copywriter specialising in writing both for and about the charity and marketing services sectors since 2001. She can be reached via thepurplepim.com.