Study reveals gender pay differences at nonprofits

Incumbent CEO compensation increases in 2016 approached pre-Great Recession levels. Fiscal year (FY) 2016 was only the second year since 2008 that saw increases of 4% or more (the first was 2015). And, there remains a difference in male versus female compensation.

Those are two of the items found in the new compensation study from GuideStar. The 2018 GuideStar Nonprofit Compensation Report is the 18th edition of the annual series. The information is culled from IRS data.

Median compensation of female nonprofit CEOs lagged that of their male peers. The gap occurred at organizations of all sizes, ranging from 4% at the smallest to 20% at the largest. The 2016 figures, however, represent greater parity for women compared to earlier years; in 2005, the gap spanned 17% to 25%.

The percentage of nonprofits headed by women during 2016 increased compared to 2005. Women, however, were still more likely to lead smaller organizations than larger ones.

Science and health organizations had the highest overall median salaries. Religion and animal-related organizations brought up the rear.

Dedicated HR and IT positions were more likely to appear as organization size grew.