Values vs. Reality: ACEVO Survey Reveals Decade-High Pay Gap and Diversity Failure in Charity Leadership

The Sector’s Uncomfortable Truth

For a sector defined by its mission to create a fairer world, the UK charity sector is proving stubbornly resistant to putting its own house in order. The latest Pay and Equalities Survey from the charity leaders’ network, ACEVO, exposes a fundamental disconnect between the sector’s proclaimed values and the reality of its own leadership. The comprehensive data delivers a damning indictment: progress on gender pay equity has not only stalled but sharply reversed, while racial diversity at the top has regressed. These findings paint a grim picture of a sector paralysed by institutional inertia, raising urgent questions about its credibility and its ability to represent the very communities it exists to serve.

The Core Findings: A Story of Volatility and Stagnation

A deep dive into ACEVO’s data from the past few years reveals not a steady march of progress, but a worrying pattern of fluctuation and inertia on key equality metrics. The path to pay equity has proven volatile, narrowing from 10.8% in 2022 to an encouraging 8.3% in 2023, only to spike to a decade-high of 14.4% in 2024 before settling at 10.6% this year—still worse than two years prior. This volatility suggests any gains are fragile and easily reversed.

The picture for racial diversity is one of profound stagnation. After remaining static for years at just 7%, the proportion of leaders from Black, Asian and Minoritised Ethnic backgrounds has now declined to 6%. The most damning statistic, however, came in a single, stark finding: of the 703 CEOs who responded in 2025, none were Black. This stands in stark contrast to the 18% of people in England and Wales who identify as being from Black, Asian, mixed or other ethnic groups, according to the 2021 census, signalling that significant structural barriers remain firmly in place.

Unpacking the Disparity: The Influence of Size and Structure

To understand why these gaps persist, it is crucial to examine the systemic factors at play. The ACEVO data consistently points towards deep-rooted structural issues, rather than simple market forces, that perpetuate inequality at the highest levels of the sector.

A clear and direct link exists between a charity’s size and its leader’s gender, a primary driver of the overall pay gap. The 2025 figures are particularly telling: 63% of female CEOs in the sample led small organisations with an income below £1m, compared to just 51% of their male counterparts. Conversely, 19% of male CEOs led large charities with incomes over £5m, where remuneration is highest, compared to only 11% of women. Beyond this structural imbalance, female leaders also report facing more direct obstacles. The surveys consistently find that a third of female CEOs have experienced discrimination or barriers in the sector, a figure that drops to just a fifth for their male colleagues, revealing a system where leadership pathways are shaped as much by gender as by talent.

Voices of Frustration: A Crisis of Confidence and Credibility

The lack of meaningful change has not gone unnoticed, prompting strong reactions from key sector figures who warn that this failure poses a long-term threat to the sector’s health, talent pipeline, and moral authority.

Jane Ide’s commentary across recent reports paints a portrait of escalating alarm. Her “deep disappointment and frustration” in 2023 hardened by 2024 into a stark diagnosis of a sector that seems “either deeply unwilling or systemically unable to make meaningful change”, trapped by “systemic challenges” that are actively “putting the brake on that change”. This sentiment is echoed by report sponsor David Saint, chair of Action Planning, who finds it “disappointing that these changes are not reflected at the leadership level” in a sector that values diversity so highly, issuing a simple warning: “We can and must do better.” This stagnation is not just a moral failing; it is a strategic risk. Ide has cautioned that the charity sector faces increased competition for talent from BCorps and private businesses, threatening its future sustainability.

A Paradox of Purpose: High Satisfaction Amidst Systemic Flaws

At the heart of the ACEVO findings lies a compelling paradox: despite persistent inequalities, inadequate support, and widespread frustration with the pace of change, overall job satisfaction among charity CEOs remains remarkably high. In both 2024 and 2025, 79% of CEOs reported being satisfied with their roles, while 82% felt empowered to make key decisions. This commitment is long-term, with around 70% expecting to remain in the sector in five years.

This high satisfaction exists despite significant structural failings, from a third of respondents having no formal salary review process to less than half being satisfied with board-level support for their wellbeing. While modest, cost-of-living linked pay rises have been common, the bigger picture is one of under-investment in leadership. As the think tank NPC has argued, delivering social impact requires skilled leadership, and this in turn requires competitive remuneration—a principle the sector appears to be ignoring at its peril. This personal commitment from leaders cannot be taken for granted, placing the onus for driving systemic change squarely on the sector’s governance structures.

A Call to Action for a Sector at a Crossroads

The annual ACEVO surveys consistently reveal a sector that is falling short of its own ideals. The data is clear: progress on gender pay equity is fragile and reversible, while racial diversity at the top has stagnated. This is not a failure of individual commitment, but rather a failure rooted in systemic barriers that demand a comprehensive, sector-wide response.

The time for merely observing these trends is over. As ACEVO’s Jane Ide powerfully states, the sector must act on these insights and work with boards, policymakers, and funders to close the gaps in pay, equity, diversity, development, and wellbeing. This is a call to action for every trustee, funder, and sector body. In failing to act, the sector’s leadership doesn’t just risk its talent pipeline; it risks rendering its values meaningless and corroding the very civil society it exists to champion.