Race, Gender, and Leadership in Nonprofit Organizations

Citation

Arar, K. (2013), "Race, Gender, and Leadership in Nonprofit Organizations", Leadership & Organization Development Journal, Vol. 34 No. 2, pp. 196-198. https://doi.org/10.1108/01437731311321940

Although much has been written on leadership in general and in education and non‐formal education in particular, only a few authors have focussed on leadership in nonprofit organizations. Apart from previous scholarly and practitioner‐focussed books, few studies have been investigated the internal structures and staff compositions of charitable foundations and nonprofit organizations (see, e.g. a 2008 survey published jointly by CompassPoint Nonprofit Service, the Anne E. Casey Foundation and titled Ready to Lead?).

This book focusses on the lives and experiences of 25 nonprofit organization leaders. The authors examine issues of race and gender, family backgrounds and childhood experiences, as well as the impact of education on the lives of the leaders. Moreover the authors delve into more personal topics, probing the influence of religion and spirituality on the leaders’ decision making and disposition toward philanthropic work.

Particularly, the book examined potential ways to expand the use of institutional philanthropy in four population groups: African Americans, Asian Americans, Latinos and Native Americans (p. 3). The book aims to expand institutional philanthropy within those communities. It uses interviews of affluent donors, fundraisers, foundation staff and board members, tribal leaders, church leaders and scholars from these racial and ethnic communities, to understand how these communities view philanthropy in their own cultural context. It focusses on the lives and experiences of this group of charitable foundation and nonprofit organization leaders.

The authors examine race and gender as theoretical constructs, explaining their effect on individual psychosociological development; exploring the family background and childhood experiences of the interviewees as well as the impact of education on their lives and future leadership. They illuminate the leaders’ personal perspective on their multifaceted development and experiences; their challenges, their careers and the personal sacrifices they make to dedicate their lives to doing work in the “Third World.”

The book is organized into an introduction and seven chapters. The, introduction, emphasizes the lack of extant research on the experiences of female and African American employees in high‐level positions in charitable foundations and nonprofit organizations – so that there has been little insight into the cultural and life experiences they bring into leadership positions (p. 3). Chapter 1 “provides a short biography of each of the leaders who were interviewed for the book” (p. 4) drawn from the writing and teachings of the interviewed leaders. The second chapter build a lens through which to view “race” and “gender,” explaining the mechanisms through which they work and their influence. “It then uses this lens to examine data in the interviews and gives an overview of identity in this group of leaders” (p. 19), it provides “a basis for understanding how race and gender shaped these leaders’ psychological development, using a combined cultural, historical, and psychological approach to answer the following three questions: First, How did nonprofit leaders develop awareness of their racial and gender identities? Second, what was the historical context that existed during their formative years and shaped how they are today? Last, how does the influence of race and gender shape these nonprofit and foundation leaders’ life's work?” (pp. 19‐20), the remaining pages of this chapter develop a framework for understanding the responses of the interviewed leaders (p. 26).

Chapter 3 examines the leaders’ backgrounds and family influences. It explores the impact of parents, role models and home environments as well as the effect of historical events and movements on the lives of the leaders.

In chapter 4, the authors examine the leaders’ experiences in primary and secondary schools as well as in higher education. They indicate the crucial importance of the interviewees’ schooling background in their leadership development, but point out that, “while the school experiences reveal much about their character development, interests, and later career trajectories. Their co‐curricular activities and relationships with teachers and guidance counselors provide insight into their personal and academic development” (p. 61). Overall, there were many similarities in the educational experiences of the interviewed leaders; they were leaders early on, taking positions in student government and leading co‐curricular activities both in high schools and colleges as well as in higher education experience and subject choice (p. 72). Thus, the educational setting was a place where race and gender consciousness took form and led to a long‐term commitment to social engagement in the nonprofit or philanthropic world (p. 73).

Chapter 5 traces the effect that religion and spirituality had on these leaders’ lives. Belief had a unique and abiding role in the culture of various minority groups and in the movements that brought about emancipation and equality. At the same time a profound tension had existed between traditional religious culture and the push toward gender equality. Chapter 6 draws upon the leaders’ voices to delve into the challenges and difficulties that they have faced in their roles and in their ascension to leadership. And the last chapter provides a conclusion that brings together the main themes and ideas in the book; it offers thought on “how a new generation of women and minority leaders might answer the challenge of staying true to their ideals” (p. 99). The rich respondents’ testimony on this subject makes a strong case for classes, co‐curricular activities and even whole institutions focussed on a particular race, gender or ethnicity. Although debate rages about the value of such an approach it was clear that the leaders interviewed were better able to cope with the majority culture because of their immersion in their own minority (p. 102). The book ends with a supplementary bibliography to aid future scholars in addressing research related to philanthropic and nonprofit organization leaders.

It is a ponderous, and somewhat convoluted, conclusion, but this should not be held to undermine its essential message, nor the very real worth of this excellent book – which should become, in the words of the reviewer Dwight Burlingame “a must read” for women as well as gender and leadership scholars seeking to explore racial and ethnic minorities entering nonprofit leadership through the voices of contemporary female and African American leaders, the reader is treated to engaging and meaningful insights concerning diversity and inclusiveness in the nonprofit sector.