Every year ACEVO’s Pay and Equalities survey gives us one of the clearest pictures of the realities of charity leadership in the UK.
It shows not only what chief executives are paid, but how supported they feel, whether they have access to development, how inclusive our leadership pipeline is, and whether the sector is creating the conditions for leaders to thrive.
Every year I find myself encouraged by leaders’ honesty, resilience and commitment — and frustrated by how little some of the underlying issues change.
For the past three years I’ve said openly that the day we publish the report is the one day of the year I get really cross, because things are not shifting: not in leadership diversity, nor in the (often very basic and easily provided) support leaders receive from their boards.
Lack of systems change
When it comes to diversity, the uncomfortable truth is that the sector has become very good at describing the problem while leaving the underlying system largely untouched.
We have normalised a cycle of commitment without consequence. We publish strategies, convene panels, invest in programmes — and yet the leadership profile barely shifts. Not because people do not care, but because the system reproduces familiarity, rewards proximity to power, and filters out those who do not already fit.
That is why the data feels so stubborn. It is not just slow progress; it is structural inertia. For a sector grounded in fairness and social change, this should do more than give us pause — it should make us uncomfortable.
If diverse leadership still cannot thrive despite years of intent, the issue is not awareness or goodwill. It is decisions: who we back, who we trust, who we appoint, what we are prepared to change — and what we will give up — to make things different.
We continue to design pathways that look open but feel conditional — navigable if you understand the unwritten rules, have access to networks, and already feel you belong. Much harder to access if you do not.
Progress has been slow not because we do not know what to do, but because we have yet to decide to do what it takes.
Healthy culture
The same applies to governance culture. ACEVO’s Board Behaviours research reinforces what every leader already knows: the relationship between a CEO and their board matters enormously. Governance is not just about structures or compliance, it is about behaviours: how boards listen, challenge, support and build trust.
Healthy governance depends on openness, clarity and honest conversations, especially during difficult periods. Where CEO–trustee relationships are strong, organisations are more resilient and leaders can navigate uncertainty and lead sustainably. Where trust breaks down, the impact is profound on individuals, culture and effectiveness.
And yet our survey shows that some of the simplest tools for creating trust are still missing for too many leaders: regular check-ins with the chair, an annual appraisal, a formalised salary review that does not rely on the CEO having to raise the matter of their own pay.
Leadership should not come at the cost of wellbeing, nor feel inaccessible to talented people who cannot afford years without fair progression or development because they feel unable to start those conversations.
Hope for progress
That is why evidence matters. The survey gives us a rare longitudinal view of the lived experience of charity leadership, helping us move beyond anecdote and assess where progress is — and is not — being made. It also gives us accountability: a way for boards, funders and leaders to benchmark honestly and ground conversations in evidence rather than aspiration.
My hope is that we begin to see meaningful change: stronger, more diverse representation at CEO and board level, greater investment in leadership development and wellbeing, and genuine progress towards inclusive cultures.
But if that is not the case that the evidence presents, then we need more confidence in having open conversations about leadership itself — what good looks like, how we support it, and how we create environments where diverse leaders can thrive. ACEVO will continue to lead that debate, it is part of the reason we exist. But real change depends on leaders’ voices and lived experience shaping it.
So I would encourage every charity chief executive to complete this year’s survey. The more voices we hear, the clearer the picture — and if we are serious about building a thriving, representative sector, we must know, and be willing to face, its realities.
