YMCA WorkWell, in partnership with the Women’s Nonprofit Network, published The State of Women’s Wellbeing in Nonprofits Report. Over a 12-month period, employee experience and demographic data were collected from nearly 14,000 nonprofit employees working across more than 60 nonprofit organizations across every province in Canada.

According to the research, 80% of the sample identified as women; despite women making up the majority of the workforce, they were less represented at senior leadership tables – 74% of director and manager roles and 70% in senior leadership roles (VP and C-suite). The report notes that this representation outpaces broader national averages, as there are more than twice as many women in nonprofit senior leader roles (Statistics Canada). Yet the trend remains clear: male representation grows progressively higher as decision-making power, and crucially, compensation increase in nonprofit roles.

YMCA WorkWell stresses that the disparity extends beyond representation. When the focus is shifted to employee experience metrics, nonprofit women trailed behind nonprofit men on many of the key well-being metrics measured on the YMCA WorkWell Insights Survey. Women scored significantly lower than men in critical areas like Trust (with 64% of women reporting healthy scores compared to 74% of men), Well-Being (54% vs. 63%), and Appreciation (63% vs. 72%). Women also reported more frequent burnout – with 24% of women reporting burnout “often” or “extremely often”, compared to 15% of men.

For further information or to download the report, click here.