The Nonprofit Sector Rests on Women’s Shoulders
News 12 in Westchester County, NY, had a terrific story on important nonprofit organizations in the county that are led by women. The story featured one of my local heroes, Carola Bracco, the leader of Neighbors Link, based in Mount Kisco. The story commemorated Women’s History Month in March, but in truth, we should be celebrating the women of nonprofit organizations throughout the year. They are the ones who make the sector work.
The fact is, the nonprofit and voluntary sector as we know it today is overwhelmingly the product of women’s ingenuity and labor. According to Take the Lead, an advocacy organization co-founded by my friend, Gloria Feldt, women make up more than 75% of nonprofit staff in some sectors, yet comprise just 18% of CEOs in large, nonprofit organizations. And while I’m dropping names, I’ll quote another friend, Kathy Cloninger, CEO Emeritus of Girl Scouts of the USA, who wrote this in her book, Tough Cookies: What 100 Years of the Girl Scouts Can Teach You:
“I simply am going to look you in the eye and say that if the United States hopes to remain a major player among nations, facing challenges such as poverty, inadequate education, and global market competition, we’re going to need to draw deeply from our entire talent pool, not just half of it.”
