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Supporting Scotland's vibrant voluntary sector

Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations

The Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations is the membership organisation for Scotland's charities, voluntary organisations and social enterprises. Charity registered in Scotland SC003558. Registered office Mansfield Traquair Centre, 15 Mansfield Place, Edinburgh EH3 6BB.

Evidence library

Pay and Equalities Survey 2022

FULL PUBLICATION COST: £50 - £70

The 2022 Pay and Equalities Survey gathered 897 responses between 4 April and 5 May 2022 and comes as the sector emerges from two years of rapidly adapting services in response to the Covid-19 pandemic with more challenges to overcome. The results overall demonstrate that civil society is beginning to look ahead though there is yet some way to go to achieve ambitions for sector leadership to be truly reflective of the communities it represents.

Related press release: https://www.acevo.org.uk/2022/10/this-years-pay-and-equalities-survey-report-finds-that-some-stability-is-returning/

Salaries & working practices The median annual basic salary reported by sector leaders in 2022 was £56,000, and while during Covid-19 one in 10 leaders took a pay cut, salary reviews are now gradually becoming more common with 58% of leaders reporting a pay rise in 2022, a significant increase from 37% last year. It’s encouraging to see that greater flexibility in working practices is becoming more common with 71% of CEOs benefitting from flexible working policies.

Personal development Access to personal development has been steadily decreasing since 2018, from 60% to 50% this year; 37% of respondents reported having no regular appraisal of their performance, the highest percentage yet. It’s positive to note that 83% of respondents were satisfied with their job security, a slight increase from 2021, but satisfaction in the board’s support for investing in CEO development continues to decline, with only 48% reporting satisfaction in 2022 from a high of 60% in 2017. This is a trend that ACEVO wants to see reversed as investing in ongoing professional development is essential to maintaining strong and effective leadership that keeps pace with change.

Diversity Progress to accelerate the diversity of leadership must be a priority for the sector, with responses to the 2022 survey indicating that just 7% were from Black, Asian and Minoritised Ethnic backgrounds, in line with previous years. Disappointingly, the gender pay gap rose to 10.8% from 7.6% in 2021, reversing the downward trend that had been achieved over the past few years, with male respondents reporting a median salary of £60K compared with £53,500 for female respondents.

Socio economic diversity The 2022 survey included questions on socio economic diversity for the first time and responses indicate that 74% of CEOs attended state funded schools with 66% of respondents reporting that neither parent had attended university. The proportion of leaders who are comfortable to report that they consider themselves to have an impairment, learning condition or learning difference increased to 20%, close to the 21% of working age adults nationally who declare an impairment.

ACEVO summary: It remains the case the sector is not making progress at the pace necessary for civil society to be diverse, inclusive and equitable, and that investment in leadership development must not become a forgotten necessity.

Last modified on 10 October 2022