How equal is the INGO C-suite?

Despite the significant strides women have achieved in the workplace, gender inequality persists in many industries. According to the Corporate Gender Gap Report published by the World Economic Forum in 2010, many leading companies across the globe still lack gender equality policies that advocates say would facilitate a better gender balance, particularly across executive and senior management positions. The nonprofit sector has established a reputation for equitable hiring, promotion and treatment of employees. Academics and professionals have cited charitable, humanitarian and development organizations for being less discriminatory, prioritizing gender equity and empowering women. International nongovernmental organizations are commonly recognized for both grooming and attracting female leaders. To find out if these perceptions and assessments are valid, Devex decided to dig into some numbers. Based on staff size and annual revenue in 2013, we established a list of 50 leading INGOs working in global development and analyzed the gender breakdown within their C-suite. We focused particularly on the CEO, chief finance officer, chief operations officer, chief human resources officer and chief communications officer positions at the global headquarters of these organizations as well as on various senior management positions at regional field offices. After examining more than 300 INGO executives and senior leaders, here are a few important gender parity findings. 1. Women lag behind men in INGO leadership roles Devex analysis shows that at the top levels of management, INGOs are no exception to gender imbalances, but beat averages from the corporate world where the number of female executive officers rarely exceeds 15 percent. According to our data, INGO global headquarters achieve better gender balance than regional offices. At global headquarters, women make up 44 percent of senior-level executives, while the percentage of female leaders drops to 27 percent in regional field offices. 2. But not all executive positions are unequal When comparing gender equality within C-suite positions located at INGO global headquarters, Devex data shows that the post of chief finance officer is the most gender-balanced, which contrasts international trends in the banking and finance world. Across the globe, the upper ranks of the financial services sector remain dominated by men — with women accounting for only 2 percent of chief executives and 14 percent of board members. In human resources and communications — two fields that are commonly perceived as being feminized — women represent 73 percent and 62.5 percent of executive positions, respectively. A Forbes analysis of the top 20 best-paying jobs for women in 2014 confirms the feminization of the HR profession, claiming that 70 percent of HR managers in the United States are women. The prevalence of female communications executives working at INGOs is a significant and unlikely pattern. In a 2009 survey of fortune 200 companies, Korn Ferry — one of the world’s leading executive recruitment firms — found that only a third of top jobs in communications were occupied by women. Devex analysis of the two most influential management roles — CEOs and COOs — reveals that men represent more than twice the number of their female counterparts. Filling approximately 30 percent of these positions, however, the share of female CEOs and COOs at INGOs outpaces averages from most other business sectors. Less than 5 percent of CEO-level positions in the world’s largest companies are held by women. Among all the males currently in executive or senior management positions, 43 percent are CEOs. Among all the females, this number stands at 23 percent. 3. Leadership of INGOs active in health and human rights is the most gender-balanced We found that there is an even breakdown between men and women in executive-level positions in health-focused organizations. INGOs with a primary focus on human rights are also largely gender equal with 44 percent of senior-level positions held by women and 56 percent by men. INGOs active in the fields of animal and wildlife preservation, conflict resolution and peacebuilding, poverty alleviation, and child welfare are predominantly run by men. None of the sectors analyzed employ more women than men at the highest levels of management. Glo Anne Guevarra contributed to this article. Interested in women’s empowerment and gender equality? Learn about U.N. Women’s Empowering Women — Empowering Humanity: Picture It! campaign in the lead-up to Beijing+20. Devex is a proud media partner. Check out more insights and analysis provided to hundreds of Executive Members worldwide, and subscribe to the Development Insider to receive the latest news, trends and policies that influence your organization.