Gender Pay Gap Narrowed at Nation's Largest Charities

GuideStar Nonprofit Compensation Report shows pay for female CEOs increased 42%

Release Date: 09/15/2005

Williamsburg, Va., and Washington, D.C.—Women who head the nation's largest charities showed significant gains in earnings compared to their male counterparts in fiscal year 2003, the latest edition of the GuideStar Nonprofit Compensation Report reveals.

Released today, the report shows that in FY 2003, the median compensation for female CEOs of charities with budgets of $50 million or more increased 42 percent over FY 2002, compared to a 17 percent increase for male leaders of organizations at that budget level. Compensation for women heading nonprofits with annual expenses of $25 million to $50 million grew 35 percent, compared to 11 percent for men, and compensation for women leading charities with budgets of $10 million to $25 million increased 26 percent, compared to 12 percent for men.

Male charity heads, however, earned more than their female peers in every budget category. Men also were nearly five times more likely than women to hold the top position at charities with annual expenses of $50 million or more.

% Change in Compensation, FY 2002-2003, by Gender
 

Female

Male

Total Annual Expenditures

FY 2002

FY 2003

%
Change

FY 2002

FY 2003

%
Change
$250 thousand or less $30,239 $32,448 7% $35,573 $37,272 5%
$250 thousand-$500 thousand $43,600 $45,930 5% $50,140 $52,915 6%
$500 thousand-$1 million $55,287 $57,100 3% $61,890 $65,170 5%
$1 million-$2.5 million $67,468 $71,801 6% $75,000 $80,240 8%
$2.5 million-$5 million $79,339 $87,740 11% $90,389 $99,348 10%
$5 million-$10 million $90,786 $103,000 13% $105,379 $119,947 14%
$10 million-$25 million $104,779 $131,858 26% $138,038 $155,219 12%
$25 million-$50 million $128,209 $173,300 35% $185,513 $206,002 11%
$50 million or more $184,212 $262,275 42% $283,392 $332,985 17%

 

FY 2003—Charity CEOs/Executive Directors by Gender
Total Annual Expenditures Female Male % Difference
$250 thousand or less 7,123 5,794 23%
$250 thousand-$500 thousand 5,081 3,898 30%
$500 thousand-$1 million 4,735 4,397 8%
$1 million-$2.5 million 4,740 5,740 21%
$2.5 million-$5 million 2,355 3,582 52%
$5 million-$10 million 1,389 3,011 117%
$10 million-$25 million 911 2,571 182%
$25 million-$50 million 258 1,011 292%
$50 million or more 240 1,424 493%

 

About the 2005 GuideStar Nonprofit Compensation Report

GuideStar's fifth annual analysis of nonprofit compensation draws exclusively on fiscal year 2003 Form 990 data from more than 83,000 public charities. It examines compensation by gender, 14 job categories, 9 budget categories, 453 program categories, state, and 264 geographical areas.

About GuideStar

GuideStar, www.guidestar.org, offers information about the programs and finances of more than 1.5 million IRS-recognized nonprofits. GuideStar promotes public disclosure for and about tax-exempt organizations in order to help people connect with information about America's nonprofit community. With this information, donors of all kinds can make more informed giving decisions. To find out more about GuideStar, go to www.guidestar.org.