Gender Equity In Nonprofits Has A Way To Go

Here are five statements about the state of nonprofit gender equity. Women encompass 73 percent of all nonprofit employees. In the CEO job, 45 percent are female. Of organizations with a budget of at least $25 million, the CEO is female 21 percent of the time. Female CEOs make 66 percent of male counterparts. Women of color account for 14 percent of board members.

Those statistics are from the White House Project Report Benchmarking Women’s Leadership. The data is part of the report The Nonprofit Leadership Workbook for Women and published by donorperfect. Contributors to the report include Marcia Cone, founding CEO of the Women’s Fund of Rhode Island; Heba Mahmoud of the Association of Fundraising Professionals and lead of the Women’s Impact Initiative in Arlington, Va., Julia Murphy, chief development officer of Compass Community Center in West Palm Beach, Fla.; Cheryl Ann Wadlington, a consultant and founder of Evoluer House in Philadelphia, Pa.; and Tycely Williams, vice president of development for YWCA USA in Washington, D.C.

Three goals for aspiring leaders include:

  • Grow as a leader, both personally and professionally: That requires excellent communication skills; transparency and openness to feedback; willingness to work on both strategy and execution; strong business acumen; great flexibility; and, unwavering commitment.
  • Develop your skill set. Leaders need a toolbox, so it’s important to evaluate what you have to offer now and what you’ll need to offer in a leadership role.
  • Innovate and improve work, process or collaboration at your organization.

The report contains workbook-style exercises for working toward those goals. It also includes ideas for building a personal brand, mentorship and networking.

It turns out, career development, according to the report, is much like fundraising. You have to make the ask — ask for the opportunity, ask for the promotion, ask for a hand at home and stop half-asking by muddling the message.

You can get the full download at www.donorperfect.com/nonprofitleadership