Pay Gap Shows No Signs of Closing at Small Foundations, Survey Shows

The pay gap between women and men in philanthropy remains stubbornly entrenched, according to a survey of small grant makers released today.

Women were paid 84 cents for every dollar their male counterparts received, according to 330 family and small foundations that responded to a 2017 survey by Exponent Philanthropy, a membership organization of grant makers with few or no staff members.

“I thought that with everything going on in society in general that philanthropy would be taking note of that and responding in a more positive way,” said Henry Berman, Exponent’s chief executive. “We’re essentially in the business of trying to improve the world. We should be leading.”

The pay disparity has fluctuated over the years, according to past surveys, and shows no clear indication of shrinking. In 2008, women were paid 88 cents for every dollar men were paid. That figure dropped to 74 cents in 2011 and has hovered near its current spot for the past several years.

Diversity Statistics

For the first time, Exponent asked members about the racial make-up of their staffs and boards. Nearly 40 percent said they had nonwhite representation on their boards. One-third said there were nonwhite people on staff.

The figure is “encouraging,” Berman said, considering the historical concentration of wealth among white Americans. He said he’d like future surveys to probe further, to ask more questions about diversity and the roles minorities play at smaller foundations.

“It’s not clear if they are receptionists or program officers,” he said “This was dipping our toe into the water. We need to keep walking into the pool until we’re in the deep end.”

In other findings, the survey found that 32 percent of foundations support advocacy, an increase of 5 percent over the previous year.

Berman suggested that more foundations may be defining their efforts as advocacy because of the educational efforts of his group and other philanthropy organizations. He said many foundations have historically been silent in policy debates for fear of running afoul of federal rules on nonprofit lobbying. But increasingly, grant makers are defining as advocacy traditional foundation efforts to bring like-minded people together to learn about and develop strategies to address policy issues.

Another key factor is the political climate. In the Trump era, more foundations, on both sides of the political divide, are jumping into the policy debate.

“People feel with this administration and this Congress that philanthropy needs to play a greater role in society, and the smart ones understand that there is more to that than just pouring money into the marketplace,” he said.

Among the survey’s other findings:

• The majority (89 percent) of small foundations made grants in their local communities, and 21 percent gave internationally.
• Slightly more gave general operating grants (79 percent) in 2016 than they did in the previous year (77 percent).
• The median annual pay for a chief executive was $130,000, with women earning $120,000, compared with $150,000 for men.
• The median payout rate was 5.4 percent, slightly higher than the federally mandated 5 percent distribution rate.