MacKenzie Scott has become one of the most famous philanthropists in recent years (Photo by Evan ... [+]
Millions of people donate to charities on Giving Tuesday, and a study has shown that more women than men participate in the online campaign–65% of donors are women. Does this outsized generosity among women on Giving Tuesday hold true for giving more generally?
Looking at the reasons why women give more on Giving Tuesday, the research discusses three reasons: women were asked more often for donations than men, women are more likely to use social media, and women participate in collaborative giving. Essentially, the ‘social’ nature of Giving Tuesday therefore appeals more to women.
“I donate time and money throughout the year, and occasionally ask people to join me in my giving. I see Giving Tuesday as an opportunity to not only just raise attention to where we give, but for us to reflect on how and why we give. For me, that might mean looking at smaller, locally led organizations,” says Natasha Freidus, a celebrated female entrepreneur who is calling for support to join her giving campaign, to an enterprise that is 100% women-led and 92% refugee-led.
Beyond Giving Tuesday, the research on gender and giving is more mixed. In recent years, we have seen former and current female partners of billionaires, such as MacKenzie Scott and Melinda French Gates, making big bets in philanthropy. MacKenzie Scott alone donated $12.8 billion in the short span of two years—five times more than her former husband, Jeff Bezos.
Looking at workplace giving, contrary to the above, a study has found that men actually donated more frequently and gave more than women (52% of men donate weekly or monthly versus 42% of women, and 62% of men donated more than $500 a year versus 46% of women). However, this study is from more than 10 years ago, and this gender giving gap also needs to be understood in the context of gender pay gap – that on average, women earn less than men.
European Commissioner for Equality Helena Dalli speaks during a media conference on Pay Transparency ... [+]
A more recent study on workplace giving, by Deloitte, did not provide a gender analysis, but it did find that 58% of young professionals aged 18-34 gave through a workplace program in 2020, compared to 37% of professionals overall. Among philanthropy advisors, Millennials and women are often grouped together, given their similar wishes to integrate causes they believe in into their businesses and daily lives. So, the insight on Millennials’ workplace giving patterns may also hold true for women.
Beyond workplace giving, research from the Women’s Philanthropy Institute has established that “as women’s incomes rise, they become more likely to give to charity than their male counterparts.” Moreover, when controlling for demographic and income differences, women are more likely to engage in philanthropy.
And giving is not just money – it is also time. Part of the reason for the gender pay gap is that women are more likely to work part-time, which may enable them more time to volunteer. About 57% of volunteer work globally is done by women. In the U.S., 34% of women volunteer, compared to 26.5% of men, and while that gender volunteering gap is smaller in the U.K. with a 5% difference (40% of women volunteer compared to 35% of men). Giving Tuesday is a reminder of how giving differs by gender, and is an opportunity reflect on the different ways individuals contribute to causes dear to them.
