Nonprofit Entrepreneurship: Gender Differences in Strategy and Practice

Abstract

There is evidence of meaningful gender differences in behaviors, resources, and outcomes for traditional and social entrepreneurs. We examine if these differences exist among nonprofit entrepreneurs—those who found organizations in a sector where women outnumber men and the activities of many nonprofits are perceived as feminine. Using survey data from 667 nonprofit founders, we investigate human, social, and financial capital differences between men and women. We find no gender differences in human capital before starting a nonprofit. We find gendered differences in founding approaches—women are more likely to take on full-time roles during the start-up phase and utilize volunteers, while men take on more financial debt. Although gender differences between nonprofit founders are not as extensive as those found among traditional and social entrepreneurs, our findings indicate more equitable opportunities for female nonprofit entrepreneurs. These findings highlight the opportunities for interrogating the gendering of nonprofit development.

Gender in nonprofit organizations: A critical review and research agenda

“…Most articles in the final sample focus on either U.S. or European contexts and include studies of a variety of organizational types (e.g., associations, cooperatives, foundations, service organizations, or credit unions) and stakeholder groups (e.g., donors, volunteers, employees, managers, and trustees) as they cover a multitude of topics. These topics include, for example, charitable giving (e.g., Carboni & Eikenberry, 2021; Kou et al, 2014; Qu & Steinberg, 2017); advocacy (Mason, 2015); volunteer retention (Walk et al, 2019); volunteer management (Schreiner et al, 2018); inequalities among volunteers (Meyer & Rameder, 2021); salary levels and careers (e.g., Damman et al, 2014; Mesch & Rooney, 2008; Sampson & Moore, 2008); motivation among employees (De Cooman et al, 2011) and trustees (Ward & Miller‐Stevens, 2021); board compositions (e.g., Abzug & Galaskiewicz, 2001; Brown et al, 2012) and governance configurations (e.g., Ibsen et al, 2019; Teixeira et al, 2021); entrepreneurship (e.g., Camarena et al, 2021); organizational performance (e.g., Fulton, 2021); and occupational fraud (Holtfreter, 2008). The articles also include more topical issues in the wake of recent global developments such as the #metoo movement (Beaton et al, 2022; Gillespie et al, 2019) and the COVID‐19 pandemic (Kuenzi et al, 2021).…”

Women’s entrepreneurial subjectivity under scrutiny: Expert knowledge on gender and entrepreneurship

“…An intermediate position states, from a critical perspective (in some cases, inspired by critical feminist economic theory), that the discussion is not so much about whether or not women entrepreneur, but the types of entrepreneurship they can engage in, and how they can reformulate the very concept of "entrepreneur". Projects like cooperatives (Bastida et al, 2020), social entrepreneurships (Clark Muntean & Ozkazanc-Pan, 2016), non-profit entrepreneurship (Camarena et al, 2021) or "mompreneurship" (Korsgaard, 2007) redefine not only the gender of entrepreneurship, but also its meaning and value (Bakas, 2017). From this position, a call is made to revise the values that guide the economy, and support an entrepreneurship that deconstructs the neoliberal model (Calás et al, 2009).…”

The career paths of executive directors: Founders, fillers, planners and risers

“…Most have either a bachelor's or an advanced degree (Camarena et al, 2021). The average income of a founder before starting a nonprofit was in the range of $60,000 to $80,000 (Camarena et al, 2021), and only 36% of founders meant to earn a living from their nonprofit (Lecy et al, 2016).…”

“…Some executive directors take on the job after founding their own non‐profits. Most founders have no paid work experience within the nonprofit sector (Carman & Nesbit, 2012), but a majority do have experience serving on nonprofit boards (Camarena et al, 2021). Most have either a bachelor's or an advanced degree (Camarena et al, 2021).…”

“…Most founders have no paid work experience within the nonprofit sector (Carman & Nesbit, 2012), but a majority do have experience serving on nonprofit boards (Camarena et al, 2021). Most have either a bachelor's or an advanced degree (Camarena et al, 2021). The average income of a founder before starting a nonprofit was in the range of $60,000 to $80,000 (Camarena et al, 2021), and only 36% of founders meant to earn a living from their nonprofit (Lecy et al, 2016).…”