Despite comprising the majority of the nonprofit workforce, women in the sector still face gender disparities and challenges, including unequal pay, lack of access to funding sources, and expectations to “do more with less.” For Women’s History Month, we’ve curated a list of articles highlighting the progress women in the nonprofit sector have made, the gaps they still face, and how they’re working to dismantle barriers.
Persistent gender gaps in leadership and compensation
Nearly seven in 10 nonprofit workers identify as women, yet they’re underrepresented among leaders and receive unequal pay, especially at large organizations. Here’s the data behind these stark realities.
What to know about U.S. nonprofit sector demographics. According to demographic data shared on Candid profiles, 69% of all nonprofit staff and 62% of nonprofit leaders identify as women. Candid’s The state of diversity in the U.S. nonprofit sector report found that women leaders are underrepresented compared with their share of all staff at larger organizations:
Candid’s 2024 Nonprofit Compensation Report: Executive compensation is on the rise, but not for everyone. Among the findings Candid senior communications specialist Parshya Kavoosi highlights from the annual study is that the gender pay gap has been narrowing—except at the largest organizations. In fiscal year 2022, women represented less than one-third of CEOs of organizations with budgets over $50 million, and they earned just 77 cents for every dollar male CEOs earned, down from 82 cents in 2012.
Today is U.S. Equal Pay Day—but not for CEOs in the social sector. Equal Pay Day marks how far into the next year a woman had to work to earn what a man made the previous year. For 2021, it was March 15 for women in the U.S workforce; for women in the nonprofit sector, it was May 24, writes Cathleen Clerkin, Ph.D., Candid’s assistant vice president of research. Why? Men are more likely to lead larger nonprofits, which tend to have higher compensation, and the gender gap is wider at larger organizations.
The unique challenges women of color face
At the intersection of race and gender, many women of color in the nonprofit sector experience additional barriers in their day-to-day work, including chronic underfunding. These resources offer data on disparities and tips on how to counter them—as fundraisers and as grantmakers.
The more you know: Key facts about Black nonprofit leadership. Lauren Brathwaite, Candid insights’ senior content editor, highlights findings from two fact sheets from Candid and ABFE. For example, 64% of Black nonprofit CEOs are women, but among the nonprofits they lead, the largest share have budgets of under $50,000.
Surviving and thriving as fundraisers of color. Ivonne Simms, an educational programming manager at Candid, shares excerpts from Candid’s virtual workshop “Fundraisers of Color: From Surviving to Thriving.” Four women fundraisers of color discuss the challenges they have faced, or “surviving,” and “thriving,” the things that give them hope as they continue in the fundraising field.
Investing in capacity building: The vital role of general operating support for BIPOC-led nonprofits. How can grantmakers reduce the funding barriers women of color leaders face due to their organizations’ small size, lack of traditional structure, or access only to project-based funding. General operating support is essential in enabling these nonprofits to build capacity to address long-term unmet needs and deliver authentic solutions.
The power of small grants and deep listening to fund the ‘unfundable’. One funder that recognized early on the need to support small nonprofits serving women, girls, and gender-expansive people who identify as Black, brown, low-income, etc. was Boston Women’s Fund. Awarding initial funding to small but innovative organizations, listening to and trusting grantees, and being flexible in their application requirements can achieve what traditional large-scale philanthropy cannot.
The growing role of women in the nonprofit sector
The great restructure: Gender inequity culture in the nonprofit sector. Even nonprofits working for women’s rights should ask themselves: Does gender inequity persist in our organizational culture? This article lists questions to consider in areas such as hiring and recruitment processes, leadership equity, benefits, and transparency in promotions and pay scales.
Empowering young women in philanthropy to create lasting change. According to a 2020 McKinsey report, “[b]y 2030, American women are expected to control much of the $30 trillion in financial assets that baby boomers will possess.” Women, who tend to give collectively and collaboratively, are poised to advance human and planetary health through philanthropy—if they’re educated and empowered as philanthropists from a young age, the article suggests.
This Women’s History Month, explore more articles about women in the nonprofit sector, efforts to address gaps and challenges, funding by and for women, nonprofit work to advance gender equity more broadly, and more.
Photo credit: Christina Morillo via Pexels
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