Research for Action
Closing the Gaps: Gender and Race in Nonprofit Boardrooms
The Women’s Nonprofit Leadership Initiative and The Nonprofit Center at La Salle University have released their second triennial report on board diversity in the largest medical and educational institutions in Greater Philadelphia. This is the first report on area board diversity based primarily on information from the institutions themselves.
Increasing Gender Diversity on the Boards of Nonprofit Eds and Meds
The Women’s Nonprofit Leadership Initiative and Nonprofit Issues® have jointly published a national study of gender diversity on the boards of major nonprofit educational and healthcare institutions. The report is based on in-depth confidential interviews with 59 ed and med board members and institutional leaders (chairs and chief executives) in 14 states and the District of Columbia, representing every region of the United States. This qualitative study explores the reasons behind the numbers reported in WNLI’s earlier report (with La Salle University and its Nonprofit Center) and recommends strategies for changing the numbers.
The Gender Gap in Nonprofit Boardrooms
The Women’s Nonprofit Leadership Initiative and The Nonprofit Center at La Salle University’s School of Business released the first census of women board members of the 50 largest medical and educational institutions in Greater Philadelphia. The report is the first in-depth analysis of gender diversity on the boards of these major regional nonprofit institutions.
This research launches the first of what we hope will be a triennial look at the gender and racial composition of the boards of the largest 25 healthcare and 25 largest higher education nonprofits in the Philadelphia region.
Related Resources
- Silbert, Andrea. January 2022. The Women’s Power Gap at Elite Universities: Scaling the Ivory Tower. Eos Foundation.
- Silbert, Andrea, and Christy Mach Dubé. February 2021. The Power Gap Among TopEarners at America’s Elite Universities. Eos Foundation.
- The Forum of Executive Women. Women in Leadership 2021: A Status Report on Women Leaders in Corporate Boardrooms and Executive Offices.
- The Boston Club Nonprofit Board Census (2013, 2015, 2017, 2019).
- Castillo, Elizabeth. 2018. Why are we still struggling with diversity, equity, and inclusion in nonprofit governance? Nonprofit Quarterly.
- Hunt, Vivian, Lareina Yee, Sara Prince, and Sundiatu Dixon- Fyle. 2018. Delivering through diversity. McKinsey & Company.
- National Council of Nonprofits. Diversity on Nonprofit Boards.
- Scaccetti, Jane and William Marrazzo. April 24, 2015. Local Boards Must Push for Gender Diversity. Philadelphia Inquirer.
- Shankie, Erin. 21 January 2015. Women in Power–Or, Not So Much: Gender in the Nonprofit Sector. Nonprofit Quarterly.