Diversity in any organisation, whether for profit or not, has proven to be good for profits, productivity, and the workplace in general. Including and involving more women in positions of leadership often adds another perspective and way of working. Ultimately, female leaders adds another dimension to the practices of an organisation.

Within the not for profit sector, in the developing stages of charitable organisations, there are considerably more women than men. The ratio sits at around three to one. However, as they grow, the number of women decreases. Along with the gender balance balancing out as the organisation grows, the number of females in the higher management positions are far outnumbered. This occurs despite more than half of all women involved in those early years of an NFP aspiring to be the CEO.

The desire to attain management positions appears not to be coming to fruition for a lot of women, which is potentially at odds for the benefit of both women and NFPs in general.

One of the things to consider is not whether you have enough women in your organisations, but whether you have enough women in leadership or management positions. Not only does this allow for diversity in perspectives and solutions to problems, but it also enables and empowers women to achieve their visions of holding management positions.

Valuable skills and strategies are learnt when leading teams on projects or campaigns, or simply within the day-to-day running of an organisation. Women feel more comfortable providing their opinions when in management roles, and networking and mingling with others in similar positions enables them to further broaden their perspective and skills.

It is evident that women have a strong desire to be involved in charitable organisations. That they hold three-quarters of all positions in the early stages, and that so many have the desire to work their way up to COE further highlights the strength of this desire.

Providing them with the opportunities to be involved, to learn the skills, and continually fuelling the fire to follow their dreams is another thing entirely.

So, how many female leaders do you have in your organisation?