US philanthropy shifts its gender pay gap, new report finds

The philanthropy workforce in the United States continues to become more diverse and exhibits less gender inequality despite “economic and societal pressures,” according to new research by the Council on Foundations. “It’s heartening that despite everything, the sector appears to remain committed to diversity,” said Jason Ludwig, director of content at the Council on Foundations, which produced the 2025 Grantmaker Salary and Benefits Report. Collating information from 985 grantmakers and 11,366 full-time staff members, the report found that the number of people of color in full-time grantmaking roles has grown by 4% since 2022, and the number of foundation female CEOs is slowly growing by a percentage point or more each year to 64% today. The CEO gender pay gap is also closing, with women now earning 88% of the median salary that their male counterparts earn, rather than 84% as reported in 2024. “That was the largest jump we’ve seen in a decade,” said Ludwig, adding that changes in the sector tend to be slower. “As a sector, we don’t typically undergo too many radical shifts in any of the practices that affect us so whenever there are large spikes like say in the pay gap narrowing, it’s surprising.” He puts it down to efforts in the philanthropy sector to ensure it is well-equipped to deal with the future. “Nobody in this sector or anywhere else knows how a lot of things are going to play out, but that’s been true for philanthropy for a long time. … It has to make sure that it’s prepared to deal with things that are happening now, but also things that might happen three years from now.” With previously prominent donor countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom reducing their foreign aid budgets, development advocates are increasingly looking to philanthropy to fill the funding gaps in aid. Yet inflation is putting a strain on foundations’ operational costs, charitable donations are declining as economies struggle, and larger donors are shifting their priorities amid evolving geopolitics. While the report signifies a lot of progress in the philanthropic workforce, there is still work to be done. The data revealed that staff turnover rates are on the rise and that salaries aren’t in line with inflation rates, especially for community foundation staff who are often being paid less than the median pay in 2021 once inflation is accounted for. This differs from those working for private foundations, where median salaries are higher than they were in 2021 for all roles except CEOs and program officers. “Inflation has spiked so fast and so much that essentially it’s difficult for even modest [salary] increases to keep up with inflation without the actual real dollar buying power of those increases going down,” Ludwig explained. “It’s to the sector’s credit that we’re trying to overcome that, but there’s only so much anybody can do when it rises so fast and for so long.” Ludwig hopes that foundations use the data to inform their policies around salary increases, retention efforts, and equity goals in order to continue advancing the sector as a whole.