NGA welcomes GovernorHub's new report on governance professionals, which draws heavily on the career pathway for governance professionals NGA published in 2022. The report explores how the salaries for governance professional roles in schools and trusts, largely filled by women, fare against equivalent roles in comparable sectors.
We recognise that issues surrounding governance professionals are more complex because of variations in school structures, roles and responsibilities. However, we support the underlying message that governance professionals working at all levels should be paid a salary that reflects the level of responsibility, the skills and knowledge required, and the hours worked. This is crucial towards attracting new entrants and building a more robust governance professional workforce.
The recommendation that boards should use the annual appraisal meeting with their governance professionals as an opportunity to review pay is particularly important and an issue NGA has reiterated for many years.
In the report, Steve Edmonds, Director of Advice and Guidance, National Governance Association (NGA) said: "NGA has, for many years, been at the forefront of providing expert support to governance professionals working in schools and trusts and championing their role. Therefore, we welcome this report from GovernorHub, published to coincide with International Women’s Day 2023, which brings together two important issues: the work of governance professionals and the gender pay gap that exists in education. The report encourages those working in the profession and employers to collaborate and take a more informed approach towards recruitment, line management, appraisal, pay and ensuring entitlement to professional learning. We are delighted that the report uses the career pathway developed and launched by NGA in 2022 as a central point of reference and a way of explaining that this is now a profession with many roles. We believe the pathway can be a game-changer, both for building a stronger governance professional workforce and for giving the experts who are so vital to governance the credit and support they deserve.”