International Women’s Day: Celebrating Women in Fundraising and the Role of Allyship

International Women’s Day is a moment to recognize the achievements of women around the world. It celebrates progress, leadership, and the contributions women make across every sector. In fundraising and philanthropy, that recognition is especially important because women have helped shape the profession we know today.

Women are not just participants in fundraising. They are its driving force. Across the nonprofit sector, women make up roughly 69 percent of the workforce and hold about 62 percent of nonprofit leadership roles. Development offices, advancement teams, and campaign leadership groups are often staffed primarily by women who build relationships, steward donors, and guide organizations through complex fundraising efforts.

Their work sustains missions that support healthcare, education, social services, and communities around the world. It is work that requires skill, persistence, and emotional intelligence. Women in fundraising cultivate trust with donors, manage long-term partnerships, and help organizations translate vision into impact.

International Women’s Day offers an opportunity to recognize these contributions. But recognition alone is not enough. It should also prompt reflection on where inequities remain and how the profession can move forward together.

Over the past several decades, women have transformed the practice of fundraising. They have strengthened stewardship practices, elevated ethical standards, and expanded conversations about community-centered philanthropy. Many of the relationship-based strategies that define modern fundraising today have been shaped by women leaders who understood that philanthropy is not only about dollars raised but also about trust, transparency, and long-term connection.

Women now lead major campaigns, manage significant donor portfolios, and serve as chief advancement officers at universities, hospitals, and national nonprofits. Their leadership has helped fuel some of the most ambitious philanthropic initiatives of the past generation.

Research also shows that organizations benefit from diverse leadership. Studies from McKinsey and other research groups have found that organizations with greater gender diversity in leadership tend to perform better financially and make smarter business decisions. When leadership reflects a range of experiences and perspectives, organizations are often better positioned to understand the communities they serve.

Women Are Shaping the Future of Philanthropy

Women are not only leaders in fundraising. They are also becoming one of the most influential forces in philanthropy.

Research shows that women are responsible for a growing share of charitable giving decisions. Studies from the Women’s Philanthropy Institute have found that women are often more likely than men to give to charity, to give consistently over time, and to support a wider range of causes.

At the same time, women’s economic influence is expanding rapidly. Global wealth studies estimate that women currently control more than $30 trillion in financial assets worldwide, and that number is expected to grow significantly over the next decade. In the United States alone, women are projected to control $34 trillion in wealth by 2030.

For the fundraising profession, this shift matters.

Women donors often approach philanthropy differently. Research shows they are more likely to focus on long-term impact, community outcomes, and collaborative decision-making. They also tend to engage more deeply with organizations they support.

This progress deserves recognition. It reflects decades of dedication and professional growth within the sector.

Yet progress does not mean equity has been fully achieved.

The Gaps Within Our Own Profession

Even in fundraising, where women represent the majority of professionals, gaps remain. Compensation studies from the Association of Fundraising Professionals show that male fundraisers still earn significantly more on average than their female colleagues. One analysis found that male fundraisers reported average salaries around $110,753 compared with $93,792 for women, a difference of roughly 18 percent.

Other surveys reveal similar patterns. A salary analysis reported in The Chronicle of Philanthropy found that median compensation for male fundraisers was about $99,900 compared with $88,300 for women.

Leadership representation tells a similar story. While development teams may be staffed largely by women, senior executive roles across many sectors are still disproportionately held by men. Globally, women hold about 35 percent of management positions according to data from the International Labour Organization.

Workplace culture remains another concern. Research conducted with the Association of Fundraising Professionals found that a significant percentage of fundraisers have experienced harassment during their careers. These incidents have involved colleagues, supervisors, board members, and donors.

These numbers are not just statistics. They represent the lived experiences of people working in the profession. They shape whether individuals feel confident pursuing leadership opportunities, whether they feel supported in their roles, and whether they see a future in the field.

Culture Shapes the Profession

Recent headlines about the U.S. men’s hockey team locker room incident serve as a reminder that workplace culture does not exist only in formal policies. It exists in everyday behavior. What happens behind closed doors influences what becomes acceptable in public.

Fundraising may look very different from professional sports, but culture operates in similar ways across all workplaces.

In a development office, culture often shows up in small, everyday interactions. It can influence who receives credit for securing a major gift, who is invited into strategy conversations, and who is encouraged to apply for promotions. It can shape how colleagues describe each other, labeling one person assertive and another aggressive for similar behavior. It can also determine who takes on invisible work such as organizing meetings, managing team dynamics, or absorbing emotional labor.

Over time, these small moments accumulate. They shape how people experience their workplace and whether they feel valued within it.

Allyship Is Essential

This is where allyship becomes critical.

Allyship is not symbolic. It is practical and visible in daily actions. In fundraising, allyship can take many forms. It may involve giving public credit to women for their work, recommending colleagues for leadership opportunities, advocating for fair compensation, or addressing inappropriate behavior from donors and volunteers.

Fundraising often involves complex power dynamics. Development professionals work closely with donors who hold financial influence and social status. They navigate relationships with board members who help shape organizational direction. These dynamics can sometimes place additional pressure on women to manage difficult interactions with diplomacy and patience.

Allyship means ensuring that responsibility for maintaining respectful environments does not fall on women alone. It means leaders setting clear expectations for behavior and supporting colleagues when boundaries need to be reinforced.

Equity within the profession is also connected to the sustainability of the sector itself. Fundraising already faces high turnover rates and burnout among professionals. When talented individuals leave because they do not see a path for growth or do not feel supported, organizations lose experience and institutional knowledge that cannot easily be replaced.

Creating equitable workplaces is therefore not only a matter of fairness. It is also essential to the long-term success of nonprofit organizations.

Moving Forward Together

Fundraising is, at its core, relationship work. Development professionals spend their careers building trust with donors and communities. That same commitment to trust should extend to the internal culture of the profession.

Organizations that invest in inclusive workplaces often see stronger staff engagement and retention. When people feel respected and supported, they are more likely to stay, contribute, and lead. Strong teams create stronger relationships with donors, and those relationships form the foundation of successful fundraising programs.

International Women’s Day provides an opportunity for the profession to reflect on these issues.

It is a chance for leaders to ask meaningful questions about the cultures they are shaping within their organizations. Are women paid equitably? Are leadership opportunities transparent? Do staff feel safe raising concerns? Are emerging leaders being mentored and supported?

These questions are not about assigning blame. They are about strengthening the profession and ensuring that fundraising workplaces reflect the values many organizations promote in their missions.

There is much to celebrate within the field. Women have led transformational campaigns, expanded philanthropic impact, and mentored countless professionals entering the sector. Their work has helped shape modern fundraising practices.

But celebration should also create space for continued progress.

International Women’s Day reminds us that change does not happen automatically. It requires leaders who prioritize accountability, colleagues who speak up when something feels wrong, and allies who understand their role in shaping workplace culture.

In philanthropy, we often talk about shared responsibility. Communities come together to support causes larger than themselves.

Equity within the fundraising profession requires that same sense of shared responsibility.

On this International Women’s Day, we can celebrate the achievements of women in fundraising while committing to build workplaces where opportunity, respect, and leadership are accessible to everyone.

Recognition matters.

But action is what changes culture.

And culture is what shapes the future of fundraising.