The high cost of doing good: female nonprofit employees and the risk of burnout

Looks like the nonprofit industry has a bit of a problem on its hands - and no, it's not just the chronic underfunding.

According to a study by Zippia, a career resource website, the nonprofit industry has a higher percentage of female employees compared to males.

In fact, 67.3% of nonprofit managers are women while only 32.7% are men. And it's not just the top dogs who are ladies - the study found that females make up 64.3% of all nonprofit professionals while men only make up 35.7%. But all these boss ladies in the nonprofit sector might want to watch out for burnout.

A recent article by Philanthropy News Digest found that today's nonprofit employees are approximately 70% female, and that number is only expected to increase, with women making up 50% of the nonprofit workforce by 2042. And with the nonprofit sector known for its high levels of stress and long hours, it's no surprise that burnout is a common problem.

So what can be done about it?

It's time for the nonprofit industry to take a good hard look at itself and address the issues that are causing all this burnout. Maybe it's time to start paying employees a living wage and offering better benefits. Or perhaps it's time to start valuing work-life balance and stop expecting employees to work 24/7.

Whatever the solution, it's clear that something needs to change.

So here's to all the boss ladies in the nonprofit sector - let's make sure we're taking care of ourselves and each other. Because if we don't, who will?