The gender pay gap in nonprofit executive compensation in South Florida

Abstract

AbstractIn general, systemic imbalance in pay between men and women is well established, but the literature on pay imbalance is mixed for nonprofit executives. Difference in organizational size could be a relevant factor in explaining pay imbalance, as previous research suggests average female nonprofit executives lead smaller organizations. The present study examines the role of governance accreditation on the gender gap in chief executive pay, using a 2 × 2 analysis of covariance to control for organizational size (as measured by annual revenue) when comparing samples of accredited and nonaccredited organizations in South Florida. We found a wage gap for gender, with female executives averaging 12% less compensation than male executives, after controlling for organizational size. No significant effect was found for accreditation; although the only significant difference between genders was in the nonaccredited sample, the findings hint that any trend towards pay equity would be due to a pattern of the male executives in the accredited sample being paid less than their counterparts in nonaccredited organizations.