Working in the Nonprofit World

Women comprise a majority of the workers in nonprofits, and that is the subject of this article from Blue Avocado.

An excerpt.

“The facts are that women comprise 70-75% of nonprofit employees (Nonprofit Almanac 2007). The experience of Ed Seay of Help Network in Russellville, Arkansas, reflects this exactly: "You go to a United Way quarterly meeting," he remarked, "and there might be one other man in a room of 35 people." But this, as they say, is just the tip of the iceberg of what it's like for men who work in the female-majority nonprofit sector.

“Male and female stereotypes

“Readers' experiences show that gender stereotypes -- both pernicious and benign -- haven't gone away. There are stereotypes about men ("men who work in nonprofits are those who couldn't make it in the for-profit sector") and about women (women are good managers because they're nurturing rather than because they're strategic or rainmakers).

“Several men spoke about being looked down upon for their nonprofit jobs by men in the for-profit sector. "I often get 'The Look' from men I know," commented one man. "My male friends work in the for-profit sector, they don't understand the nonprofit sector. The Look is the facial expression of 'Oh, how good of you to work in a nonprofit.'"

“Another man said something similar: "In the for-profit sector I'm seen as a man who couldn't make it in the real world." Still another laughed: "The Look! At first it actually bothered me, my whole masculine identity being challenged." Then the nice guy in him couldn't help but add, "Then I saw it as an opportunity for education."