ACEVO’s Pay and Equalities Survey 2022 - What did this snapshot of Scotland-based CEOs tell us?

At a time in which the sector grapples with the rising cost-of-living and the unreliable funding landscape – ACEVO’s Pay and Equalities Survey 2022 reveals some signs of stability for the sector. But also sheds light on how the sector is not making big enough strides towards strengthening equality, diversity, and inclusion within the sector’s leadership.

Based on those surveyed, the median CEO salary in Scotland remains lower than the UK average, but the gap has narrowed since 2021. Although, when you look closer, this seems to reflect the significant drop in England-based median salaries (reflecting the increase in smaller organisations taking part), rather than a noteworthy rise in the Scotland median.

On a more positive note, ACEVOs survey highlights a marked rise in the number of CEOs in Scotland receiving a pay rise this year. This is promising, but with higher levels of inflation the value of the salary risks being eroded. A strong majority of Scotland-based CEOs shared feeling satisfied with their job security, and this was a noticeable improvement on last year, which suggests the working environment is becoming more stable.

Furthermore, the way of working post-covid continues to reflect the sector’s adaptability to change. ACEVOs survey shows a large majority of CEOs in Scotland being offered flexible working opportunities, with a substantial rise on the previous year. This is an integral part of building an inclusive working environment, as it reduces the barriers for people with caring responsibilities and people with a disability, health condition or impairment progressing into leadership roles. The prevalence of flexible working opportunities must keep expanding across all levels in the sector to enable possibilities for everyone to thrive.

ACEVO’s survey highlights 3/5ths of CEOs felt their wellbeing is prioritised by their board. On the face of it, this might sound good enough. However, given that our wellbeing report last year revealed many leaders were experiencing low workplace wellbeing and felt the need to take time off due to work-related stress but didn’t, this figure needs greater attention. What culture changes are needed in the sector for more CEOs to feel their wellbeing is prioritised by their board? Is it up to the CEOs to ask for this? or is it that boards need to be given more training on supporting wellbeing?

ACEVO’s survey once again highlights a distinct lack of diversity at the leadership level of the Scottish voluntary sector, with the vast majority of leaders coming from a white ethnic background. But if we look at the communities and beneficiaries the sector works with there is wide range of diverse backgrounds, so why does this not extend to our organisations and more specifically, our leaders? Something that raises further concern is that this is not a new issue, numerous surveys conducted by ACEVO, ACOSVO and others highlights the same lack of racial diversity year on year.

On the contrary, there was better representation for socio-economic background, as most CEOs in Scotland attended a state school, and the majority of CEO’s parents did not attend University. Furthermore, almost a fifth of respondents shared they had a disability, health condition or impairment, which is close to reflecting the responses for the Scottish 2011 census, where 20% of people identified having a long-term health condition or disability that impacted day to day activities. This suggests that although we are not representative in some major ways, that lots of leaders may have lived experiences which helps them support their communities better.

The majority of those surveyed were female, reflecting the gender split of our membership. Although, the survey also revealed that the gender pay gap had rose since the previous year, which is disappointing given the perceived progress on gender equality in the sector. This increase is possibly linked to the fact female CEOs are more likely to lead smaller organisations. But does this reflect the ‘glass ceiling’ which exists as an invisible barrier for women and other groups facing marginalised issues?

The lack of diversity extends to many organisations’ boards, with the majority of CEO’s recognising that ethnicity and socio-economic board diversity is an issue, again what steps are being taken to rectify this? How do we open up more opportunities to ensure we are not only representative of the communities we serve but gaining the valuable insights and knowledge that comes from working with a range of experiences and backgrounds?

At ACOSVO, we recognise that the sector’s leadership is not as diverse as it could be. We believe in driving towards a more diverse, inclusive, and representative leadership of our sector in Scotland.

Building on ACEVO’s work, we are conducting an Equality and Diversity Survey to develop our understanding of the profile of Scottish Voluntary Sector leadership and to learn about what life experiences people bring to their leadership roles. We are expanding the demographic by asking Chief Executive Officers, Senior Leaders, and Chairs of voluntary sector organisations across Scotland to participate in our survey. The survey is open until 5pm, Friday 2nd December 2022.

We know we need to take more action to strengthen equality, diversity, and inclusion within the sector's leadership and we hope this survey will provide important insights to enable us to make meaningful progress here in Scotland.