[Editor's note - this is an excerpt of a larger report]

A prevalent myth in the nonprofit sector is that because it’s women-majority and focuses on public benefit issues, discrimination and specifically sexism doesn't exist. However, participants in both the learning circles and sector survey dispel this myth - women do experience sexism and other forms of discrimination in the sector. 46.4% of survey respondents said they have experienced sexism in the nonprofit workplace while 11.6% were unsure and 48.4% of respondents said they had experienced some form of discrimination other than sexism [emphasis added]. In short, participants are not only facing all the challenges of a feminized sector but also discrimination that occurs in the broader labour market as well.

While gender is the organizing principle of this report and the larger decent work for women movement, gender is not necessarily the main organizing principle of all women’s lives. Identities are intersectional and complex and so the experience of sexism can be compounded by other parts of a woman’s identity or women can primarily experience discrimination from one part of their identity, such as age. For example, some participants experienced racism more than sexism, some only sexism, and some at the intersections of sexism and ability.

...We highlight how discrimination in a feminized sector is manifesting as shared by women in the learning circles and survey. Women were directly asked if they had experienced sexism, noticed gender dynamics in the sector, faced any other form of discrimination as well as if they felt their opportunities for advancement in the sector were hindered based on their gender and any other aspects of their identity. They were also asked questions that didn’t directly ask about discrimination but their answers spoke to it. While most participants shared examples of discrimination, some participants didn’t identify them as such. To a certain extent many of the women perpetuated stereotypical notions of masculinity and femininity.

Women's voices

I think it's impossible to look at women/gender issues without taking a more intersectional analysis. Experiences can shift significantly with other factors such as racialization, poverty, disability, etc. It would be interesting to see where gender fits into these various elements - this survey places it as the prime factor, where for many of us, it is not.

I know ableism, race etc. is in some of these questions, but as a Black woman I feel much more discriminated against for my Blackness than gender (though the two bleed into one another) and I don't know if that will come across to your researchers so I wanted to underscore that here.

It would be VERY good for your next step to be critiquing whiteness in the workplace - many of the things I have not faced in terms inequitable treatment have more to do with me being white, rather than me being a woman.

Recognize that women don't have singular identities; we are also newcomers, may be racialized, may be moms, may have invisible disabilities.

I've been in the nonprofit world for 10 years and have experienced sexism at all levels.[...]9

Leadership positions are saturated by white women

According to both learning circle and survey participants, there exists a gendered racialized hierarchy in the nonprofit sector where white men and women occupy leadership positions and Francophone, immigrant and racialized women are concentrated in non-management positions or specific subsectors. Overall, 44.7% of respondents were non-management, 26.8% senior leaders, and 26.7% middle managers (1.9% preferred not to answer). 64.8% identified with no racial or ethnic background, 17.8% as immigrant, 12.4% as racialized, 5.0% as Francophone, and 2.8 as Indigenous. 3.9% preferred not to answer. Francophone women also identified as immigrant and racialized, and immigrant women also identified as racialized.

In comparison to how many identified with these identities, francophone, immigrant, and racialized women were concentrated in non-management and middle-management positions. Survey respondents that identified as immigrant and racialized were concentrated in the social services subsector.

The survey and learning circles confirm the racialized and gendered division of labour discussed in the literature review. That is that immigrant and racialized women are concentrated in social services and that they are more likely to be in frontline rather than senior leadership positions.

Women's Voices

Leadership positions are saturated by white women.

A lot of women of colour are streamed into non-profit, partly because we see the issues in our lives and communities and want to create change, but its a cycle that continues to oppress us and marginalize us. Within the sector, we need to have support in advocating for ourselves, for negotiating rights and salaries. We need support to stop internalizing racism and sexism and navigating managers and peers that perpetuate this.

There are not enough immigrant women in leadership in Toronto, and in nonprofits, the higher you go the fewer immigrant women you see.

Racialized people are in the newcomer and immigrant subsector because they serve racialized communities. They are saying that you can use you life experience to work here.

I have only had women managers, but rarely women of colour managers.

Make space for younger women and POC [persons of colour] to have a dialogue and be visible at events like conferences and leadership roles. The Canadian nonprofit sector is dominated by mid/late career white women.

More and better representation of Indigenous, Black women and women of colour in leadership and senior positions.

Reduce the racism in the sector that stops racialized women from advancement and fulfillment in charities

More efforts should be made to particularly offer educated women of colour opportunities for career growth.

Offer professional development and mentorship formally to all staff and leaders but especially minorities

These two excerpts are part of a larger report "Women's Voices. Stories about working in Ontario’s nonprofit sector" For a full copy of the report click here.

ONN is the independent nonprofit network for the 58,000 nonprofits in Ontario, focused on policy, advocacy and services to strengthen Ontario's nonprofit sector as a key pillar of our society and economy. ONN works to create a public policy environment that allows nonprofits to thrive. We engage our network of diverse nonprofit organizations across Ontario to work together on issues affecting the sector and channel the voices of our network to governments, funders, and other stakeholders.