There has been “no discernible progress” in the proportion of chief executives from the global majority and the gender pay gap in senior roles “remains substantial”, according to latest research from ACEVO.

The charity leadership body’s 2023 pay and equalities survey has found that just 7% of charity CEOs are people from the global majority, the same proportion as last year. This proportion is also in line with previous years.

Furthermore, the gender pay gap between male and female charity leaders stands at 8.3%, with women mainly occupying leadership roles in smaller charities. The gender pay gap has come down since last year’s figure of 10.8%, but is still higher than 2021 when the gap in pay was 7.6%.

“To be frank, I am deeply disappointed and frustrated by much of what I read in this year’s report,” said ACEVO chief executive Jane Ide.

“We are seeing no progress on the representation of Black, Asian or minoritised ethnic leaders in our sector. The gender pay gap remains significant.”

Last week NCVO revealed that the charity sector continues to be “less ethnically diverse than the private and public sectors”. It found that the low proportion of global majority charity workers has not changed in eight years.

Among the more than 800 charity leaders surveyed for ACEVO’s survey, a third reported a lack of a regular formal salary review and only around a half have access to training.

Just under a half are satisfied with their board’s support for investing in CEO development compared with pre-pandemic levels, when three in five were happy with their trustees’ commitment to leadership training.

Three in five charity leaders believe their wellbeing is being prioritised by trustees.

Another improvement has been a year-on-year increase in the proportion of leaders who report themselves as disabled, a learning difference or with a health condition. This proportion has increased from a fifth last year to a quarter this year.

“Our sector has a problem: over the next decade and beyond we are likely to see increased competition for talent from other sectors as BCorps and mainstream businesses position themselves as great places to work for those who want to make a difference in the world – but with all the pay and benefits that come from working in the private sector,” added Ide.

“If our sector is going to be sustainable in the future we have to think hard about how we create pipelines of talent and skills, and then retain and develop those pipelines into a leadership that can navigate the challenges of the future with agility and intelligence.”

‘Modest’ pay rises for CEOs

ACEVO’s survey also revealed that the median annual basic salary for charity leaders is £58,863 a “modest increase” on the £56,000 they received last year.

Three quarters of CEOs surveyed said they had seen their salary increase in the last year.

“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,” said ACEVO.

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