{"id":574,"date":"2012-04-10T13:46:34","date_gmt":"2012-04-10T13:46:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kerryhannon.com\/?p=574"},"modified":"2012-04-29T21:18:45","modified_gmt":"2012-04-29T21:18:45","slug":"top-five-reasons-why-women-flock-to-nonprofit-jobs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kerryhannon.com\/?p=574","title":{"rendered":"TOP FIVE REASONS WHY WOMEN FLOCK TO NONPROFIT JOBS"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\"Clara<\/a>Clara Barton, founder of the American Red Cross: Image via Wikipedia<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Women get ready.<\/p>\n

If nonprofit hiring is on the upswing (based on the jump in nonprofit job postings at the\u00a0Chronicle of Philanthropy<\/a>and\u00a0Idealist.org\u00a0<\/a>) as I wrote in\u00a0my post<\/a>\u00a0earlier this week, female job seekers may be in luck.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s because women tend to rule the rosters at nonprofits\u2026at least below the executive level.<\/p>\n

According to the 2010 National Nonprofit Employment Trends Survey<\/a>, a survey of over 500 nonprofits from around the country by Washington, DC-based\u00a0Nonprofit HR Solutions<\/a>\u00a0and the\u00a0Caster Family Center for\u00a0Nonprofit and Philanthropic Research<\/a>, the vast majority of nonprofit positions are dominated by women.<\/p>\n

However, that\u2019s below the senior executive level, they discovered. The 2010\u00a0Nonprofit Times<\/a>\u00a0list of Top 50 leaders reflects this trend where 66% of those named were men like Bill Gates, co-founder of Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and only 34% were women like Wendy Harman, social media manager of American Red Cross and Katrina McGhee, senior vice president, global business development & partnerships at the Susan G. Komen for the Cure.<\/p>\n

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This selection is \u201cnot scientific,\u201d the publication says, but nonetheless, I think it\u2019s telling.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not good.<\/p>\n

For many women, though, \u00a0nonprofits are attractive places to work, glass ceiling be damned.<\/p>\n

Why? It\u2019s one door that is easier to swing through when they return to work after being out for a few years raising children or caring for an aging relative.<\/p>\n

On average, women are out of the workforce for seven years to handle these duties. It may be they step down to part-time during those years, but nonetheless they\u2019ve moved away from the mainstream corporate grind.<\/p>\n

When they do return full-time, the job they did have may no longer exist, or has changed considerably, and they need to rethink how their skills translate.<\/p>\n

I advise back to the workforce moms that they will never have a better chance to make a career change, or reason, to do so\u2014to get excited about work once again, to feel revived and passionate about making a difference in the world.<\/p>\n

For those women who are stepping away from the corporate world, after 20 or 30 years, with severance packages that offer a fresh start, plus savings, there\u2019s a real sense of financial freedom that allows them to make a move. They can pursue other interests and passions, and a nonprofit may be just the ticket.<\/p>\n

Here are the five top reasons nonprofits appeal to women:<\/p>\n

1. Flexible schedules are common.<\/strong>\u00a0They tend to offer more give in terms of scheduling, hours, flex-time, job-sharing, and telecommuting.<\/p>\n

2. There\u2019s opportunity.<\/strong>\u00a0Since the pay is typically lower, men aren\u2019t rushing in for these positions. I admit that I don\u2019t have hard numbers on the notion that men aren\u2019t as eager to snag one of these jobs, but feel comfortable with the anecdotal evidence I have gleaned from my reporting and meeting with career changers to make this claim.<\/p>\n

3. Decision-making is collaborative.\u00a0<\/strong>Women, by nature, tend to be well-suited to work situations where decisions are often made by consensus.<\/p>\n

4. Egos are tamer.\u00a0<\/strong>Women typically are not as put-off by being the greenhorn in a new situation. They ask questions, er\u2026for directions.<\/p>\n

5. Lower pay is not a deal-breaker<\/strong>. Realistically, many back-to-work \u00a0moms have a partner\u2019s income to help cushion a change to the nonprofit field and can more readily cope with the inevitable pay cut that may mean at least initially.<\/p>\n

Follow me on Twitter,\u00a0@KerryHannon<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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