Exploring women’s leadership in 5 INGOs

So few women in the INGO sector are in key leadership roles: in 2019, 70% of staff were women, but only 30-35% were CEOs and there were very few female chairs.

We wanted to identify and build on the things that encourage women to become INGO chief executives, while identifying and unblocking barriers.

Following the Bond Conference in 2019, the Women INGO Leaders in Development (WILD) Action Research network and Bond began delving into these challenges with women directors from Restless Development, Plan UK, HelpAge International, BRAC International and ActionAid UK. Over the last 18 months, we have gathered data, tried out solutions, shared ideas and issues of concern. We have also focused on how women were weathering the challenges at home, within our organisations, and with our global partners.

This report shares our key learning and insights, including case studies of five NGOs that have taken steps to change.