Scarce as hen's teeth: Women CEOs in large nonprofit organizations

• Date: 01 June 2019
• Author: Young‐Joo Lee
• Published date: 01 June 2019
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1002/nml.21354

RESEARCH NOTE

Scarce as hen's teeth: Women CEOs in large

nonprofit organizations

Young-Joo Lee

School of Economic, Political and Policy Sciences,

University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, Texas

Correspondence

Young-Joo Lee, School of Economic, Political and

Policy Sciences, University of Texas at Dallas,

800 West Campbell GR 31, Richardson, TX

75080.

Email: ylee@utdallas.edu

This study examines an underlying mechanism behind the

gender gap in nonprofit executive leadership, focusing on

the link between the representation of women on govern-

ing boards and the hiring of female CEOs. The analysis of

340 human services organizations with gross receipts

greater than $10 million in GuideStar's database reveals

that organizations where women make up between one

third and half of the board are more likely to have a

female CEO compared to organizations where women

account for less than one third or a majority of the board.

The findings suggest that nonprofit organizations are more

likely to hire a female CEO when women constitute a

“substantial minority”of the governing board.

KEYWORDS

CEO, governance, leadership, nonprofit, women

1|INTRODUCTION

Despite the perception that women face better prospects for advancement in the nonprofit sector than in

the for-profit and public sectors, studies report that men hold a disproportionate share of top management

positions in nonprofit organizations (Damman, Heyse, & Mil ls, 2014; Sampson & Moore, 2008). More-

over, research finds that the proportion of women leaders declines substanti ally in larger nonprofits

(GuideStar, 2016). According to a 2010 survey by University of Denver, women made up 45% of non-

profit CEO positions overall, but their share dropped to 21% among organizations with budgets of $25

million or more (Lennon, 2013). The 2015 GuideStar Nonprofit Compensation Report (2015) also

reveals that, among nonprofits with annual budgets above $50 million in 2013, a mere 18% had a female

CEO. These findings show that there has been littl e progress in gender diversity in nonprofit leadership,

and women CEOs continue to be the exceptions rather than the rule (Hurley & Choudhary, 2016).

Research provides ample evidence that improved gender diversity brings more skills and experi-

ences to an organization, and the lack of female leadership in top management is a concern for every

Correction added on March 4, 2019, after first online publication: Young-Joo Lee's affiliation was not updated, and it was

changed to School of Economic, Political and Policy Sciences, University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, Texas.

Received: 5 February 2018 Revised: 22 January 2019 Accepted: 23 January 2019

DOI: 10.1002/nml.21354

Nonprofit Management and Leadership. 2019;29:601–610. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/nml © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. 601