What is the gender pay gap in not-for-profit organisations?

This article was sponsored by Google Trends.

Google Trends data shows that Australian searches for “gender pay gap” increased by 40 per cent over the past five years, with interest peaking sharply in early 2024 when the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) published employer-level gender pay gap data for the first time

What does the gender pay gap look like in the not-for-profit sector?

The 2026 Pro Bono Australia Salary Survey provides some useful context. Women accounted for just over three quarters of the respondents, reflecting the strong representation of women in the sector.

Pro Bono Australia’s analysis of WGEA employer-level data, matched with data from the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission, initially suggests that charities have a substantially smaller gender pay gap than other employers.

The average total remuneration gap for charities is less than 5 per cent, compared with just over 10 per cent for non-charities.

But the median tells a different story. For base salary, the median gap for charities is close to zero, while it is around 10 per cent for non-charities. The difference between the average and median is important because it suggests that some much larger pay gaps, particularly towards the top of the pay scale, are pulling up the charity average.

Does this mean charities are better at closing the gender pay gap?

Not necessarily.

Size matters

Once employers are compared by size, much of the apparent difference between charities and other employers disappears. Within the same size categories, the gender pay gaps are broadly similar.

This suggests the smaller gender pay gap we find in charity organisations is not necessarily because they are charities. Our analysis found that larger organisations tended to have bigger gender pay gaps regardless of their charity status. We also noted that charities are disproportionately represented among smaller and medium sized employers.  

This is one of the most important findings from the analysis: the size of an organisation appears to have a bigger impact on its gender pay gap than its charity status. 

Size isn't the whole story

The analysis also shows a larger gender pay gap in total remuneration than just base salary alone. This was consistent across charities and non-charities. 

That means looking only at the salary attached to a job can miss part of the picture. 

Looking at the gender pay gap of base salary alone can miss one of the contributors to an organisation’s gender pay gap. Bonuses, overtime, allowances and other components of remuneration can widen the difference between what men and women receive.

The Pro Bono Australia Salary Survey itself distinguishes between base salary and total remuneration, including incentives, highlighting the importance of looking at the whole remuneration package when comparing pay.

A female-dominated workforce doesn't guarantee equality

Another interesting finding is that the overall gender composition of an organisation has limited predictive power.

Organisations with relatively few women tended to have larger pay gaps. But among organisations where women are the majority of employees, gender pay gaps can still be significant.

In other words, simply having more women in an organisation does not eliminate the gender pay gap. Where men and women are positioned within the organisation appears to matter more - particularly who occupies senior roles and how their remuneration is allocated.

What does this mean for salary negotiations?

For women negotiating for senior roles, the lesson is not to assume that a female-dominated organisation will automatically have a gender-neutral pay structure.

It is also important to look beyond base salary. The total remuneration package – including bonuses, allowances, superannuation and other benefits – can make a significant difference to the actual value of a role.

And information remains one of the strongest tools in a salary negotiation. Having accurate, reliable, up-to-date salary data makes it easier to understand where an offer sits in the market and negotiate from an informed position.

The gender pay gap may look smaller in the not-for-profit sector at first glance. But the analysis suggests the more useful question is not simply whether there is a gap, but what factors are behind the gap and how this applies to each specific role.