Exposing the NGO glass ceiling

Kavita Charanji, New Delhi

How are women treated in non-profits and foundations? What are their opportunities for personal growth and leadership roles? The hope is that these are better places to work for women, but a recent study suggests otherwise.

Women in the organizations surveyed didn't reach top-rung positions, affirmative action policies were lacking and even something as basic as maternity leave was seen as a negative.

The study was conducted  by EquiLead,  an initiative supported by Climate Asia Inc and the Arthan Foundation to boost women’s leadership in the social sector.

The report, ‘Unpacking Gender-Equitable Leadership in Organizations: Insights and Strategies’, studied 128 organizations in the social sector including  non-governmental organizations (NGOs), corporate social responsibility (CSR) foundations, research institutes, intermediaries, funding  organizations, and social enterprises.

The objective of the study was to find out, first, to what extent strategies to involve women and give them an important role were being integrated into organizational culture and processes; second, to understand the challenges and opportunities for women’s growth and leadership in the social impact sector, and identify best practices; and, last, to pinpoint the challenges social sector organizations faced in promoting women’s leadership and fostering Diversity, Equity and  Inclusion (DEI).

The launch of the report was attended by senior leaders from the Rockefeller Foundation, PATH, Co-Impact, SAP and Empower. The EquiLead team presented the findings, followed by a roundtable dialogue focused on strategies for gender-equitable leadership.

The report’s key findings were eye-openers. While 91 percent of organizations claim to specifically hire women for leadership positions, in reality only 31 percent actually have women in top-rung positions. Ironically, the focus of many such organizations is on gender, women’s health and women’s education.

Forty-three percent of organizations lack affirmative action policies for women or gender minorities. Fifty percent do not conduct DEI-focused capacity-building or training sessions. As many as 38 percent of organizations do not consider it necessary to provide travel assistance to women after working hours. This is a major lapse. Most cities and towns lack safe public transport for women.

It is in smaller organizations that more women occupy leadership roles. In larger organizations the number of women at the top shrinks in comparison.

“This trend can be attributed to several factors, including corporate hierarchies, gender biases in promotions, lack of mentorship for women at higher levels, and systemic challenges in work-life balance that disproportionately affect women,” says the report.

Women are traditionally seen as caregivers of their children, elders, family and friends. Flexible working hours are not a reality in the sector. Maternity leave is viewed as such a great liability that many social impact organizations think twice before they hire or promote women.

Women contend with gender biases and face barriers in getting leadership positions — the reason being they lack mentorship, networking opportunities, and representation in decision-making roles.

However, there has been some progress. The PoSH (Prevention of Sexual Harassment) and Maternity Care Policies are being implemented by most organizations, except for a small number.

A few organizations are now veering towards flexible work hours, gender-neutral hiring, pay parity and equal opportunity.

Anchal Kakkar, co-founder of EquiLead, explained, “There are systemic barriers that will take a long time to negotiate. While there are policies and intent to promote women’s leadership in the social impact sector, there is much work to be done because a lot of cultural and behavioural changes are still required. Unless that happens, we will not see more women in leadership positions.”

The new report has an action plan for inclusivity in the social sector. Their   recommendations, named Participatory Approach to Well-being (PAW), prescribe offering employees autonomy to define and utilize existing provisions for self-care, child care and mental health.

Other strategies are expanding diversity hiring, creating community spaces for women, formal mentorship and sponsorship programmes, gender-appropriate language in job descriptions, an encouragement of cross-functional teams and role rotation.

India’s development hinges on the increased participation of women in the workforce. Gender diversity is a driver of productivity, innovation and employee retention. However, what drags economic progress down are deeply ingrained patriarchal and structural barriers.