This article originally appeared in the October 2020 issue of Advancing Philanthropy magazine, the Association of Fundraising Professionals’ flagship magazine.

The Great Equalizer. In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo called the coronavirus the “great equalizer” (Washington Post, 2020). This single tweet encapsulated a dangerous misconception about the pandemic—that we would all experience the impacts of COVID-19 equally. Cuomo was wrong. COVID-19 has been one of the greatest amplifiers of inequity in a century.

The impact of COVID-19

For those with privilege and wealth—or those fortunate enough to work in white-collar jobs—COVID-19 presented a complicated but not insurmountable challenge. For those low-income and front-line service workers, COVID-19 is devastating both personally and financially. Historic inequalities have placed a greater proportion of racialized and ethnic minority populations near or below the poverty lines. Many lost their jobs or were forced to work throughout the height of the pandemic despite fears of contracting the virus or bringing it home to their families.

The pandemic has also had a significant impact on women. Women represent the majority of front-line service, hospitality, healthcare and retail workers in North America, and they are disproportionately impacted by layoffs and shutdowns (The New York Times, 2020). Between March and April 2020, twice as many Canadian women lost their jobs than men (Gordon, 2020). In the U.S., more women (11.5 million) than men (9 million) lost their jobs from February to May, with the most significant losses for Hispanic and Asian women. (Kochhar, 2020) 

In addition to this, women still disproportionately handle the majority of all child care responsibilities, even if their partner is also at home. Due to the gender pay gap, women continue to make less than men and are more likely to leave the workforce when child care options are limited. White women make 10% less than their male counterparts, while Black women make between 15-25% less (Race to Lead, 2020).

With day care and schools closed, and elderly parents to care for, many women have been stretched to the limit with homeschooling, working full-time and ensuring their children’s mental health comes first while often sacrificing their own. “I have had various female friends have full-blown break downs during the pandemic,” says Isabel Pérez-Doherty, director of philanthropy and strategic impact, YWCA Canada.

Impact on women in our sector

The impact of COVID-19 on the charitable and nonprofit sectors has been devastating. Demands for support and services skyrocketed, while sources of funding for many organizations disappeared. In-person fundraising events were postponed or canceled, and conferences went virtual. Despite pivoting to online programming, revenue losses were inevitable for many organizations, which led to many staff being furloughed or laid off. “Every week, I felt like I had another colleague or friend in the sector laid off or furloughed,” says Sarah Cortell Vandersypen, a fundraiser based in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. 

For those who were fortunate enough to keep their jobs, the transition to working from home during a pandemic was significant. Jennifer Harris, a holistic fundraising and communications consultant based out of San Diego, shared, “The virus has obliterated any perceived transition we may have once had between work and life; there is no barrier. There isn’t a commute or even an office wall in some cases. We are more vulnerable than ever to flaming out, especially women.”

For working mothers, the phrase “working from home” has an entirely different meaning. This was not a simple transition in physical location for many mothers, but something more disruptive. This was a merger of two worlds, doubling the demands on their time. “Imagine the situation was in reverse,” notes Emma Jenkin, senior communications officer at University of Toronto Schools, “and instead you took your children, your pets or your parents to work with you every day and you still had to fulfill everything your job demands of you.”

Many working mothers report a sense of overwhelming guilt because they can’t do it all. Cyronica Upshaw, a fundraiser in Houston, spoke to this dilemma in her interview: “I think women naturally think they are superwomen, but it gets to you after a while. It’s stressful. Days are longer; they start earlier and end later. I feel like we are working more.”

The other pandemic: Racism

COVID-19 laid bare many of the inequities in society and fostered a climate ripe for social unrest. The world witnessed the disproportionate effect the pandemic had on marginalized communities, with Black people making up more than 70% of coronavirus-related deaths in many major cities (Brookings, 2020). These statistics, coupled with the video of George Floyd’s murder, was the catalyst that sparked the second wave of Black Lives Matter protests.

Across the United States and around the world, people took to the streets to protest police brutality. In the midst of the worst pandemic in a century, the world was confronted with another, more insidious disease—systemic racism. 

Organizations and governments around the world scrambled to provide statements in response to Black Lives Matter. George Floyd became the central figure in this movement, but Breonna Taylor, Rayshard Brooks, Elijah McClain, and so many more Black Americans killed by police were also brought to the forefront. In Canada, protestors took to the streets to protest the deaths of Black, Indigenous, racialized and transgender victims, including Andrew Loku, Sumaya Dalmar, Jermaine Carby, Mark Ekamba and Alex Wettlaufer.

For Black individuals in the fundraising sector, systemic racism and white complacency are not new. According to the 2018 AFP Demographic Report, only 10% of the 28,000 AFP membership identifies as a person of color. When we break that down by gender, the statistics are even worse. In Canada, the total number of Black women or women of color leading a major charitable organization is less than 1%. Julie Wright, a young Black woman and fundraiser with the San Diego Zoo Global, knows this all too well. “In my entire career, I have never had a Black woman as my boss. It’s harder to advance when representation is lacking in leadership positions.”

This is a sentiment echoed in surveys of Black men and women in the sector who have now been placed in another exhausting position as they are often expected to counsel their white colleagues through Black Lives Matter.

“To be honest,” said Wright, “it became tiring having people ask if I was OK. At one point, I had to start saying I didn’t want to talk about it anymore.”

Wright’s colleague, and fellow member of AFP’s San Diego chapter, Brooke Truesdale, noted that her biggest concern during the pandemic was not the virus—but the social and political unrest in the U.S. “This moment of reckoning has forced us to have much-needed conversations in our personal lives and within our organizations,” says Truesdale. “In order to give these conversations the justice they deserve, I’ve been doing a lot of reading on the topic of racial justice and writing on my own to process the emotions.”

As our sector continues to navigate the impacts of COVID-19, many Black women and women of color are speaking out about a need to build a strong industry. Pérez-Doherty said, “If we do not talk about intersectionality now, when will we? If we are not ready to embrace differences to better society, when will we be?”

Could the pandemic and the second wave of Black Lives Matter protests be a catalyst for change in the charitable and nonprofit sector? Is our sector taking a hard look at itself and its role in perpetuating white supremacy, and is it ready to have the hard conversations? Will this dialogue force organizations to finally admit that they are not nearly as diverse or as “woke” as they think they are?

Re-Imagining the future

Governments in the U.S. and Canada have been slow to respond to the devastating impacts COVID-19 has had on the charitable and nonprofit sectors. A recent Canadian survey notes that 30% of nonprofits indicate that they had to access their reserves during this time. (Ontario Nonprofit Network, 2020). In the U.S., reports show the sector saw 1.6 million in job losses between March and May 2020 due to the pandemic. (Johns Hopkins, 2020)

In a sector dominated by women, we are heading toward a devastating result. We will see a mass exodus of talented, educated and highly-trained women leaving our industry with little chance of return. 

These statistics are stark, yet our sector remains relatively silent about this issue. Perhaps there has been no uproar because of the 70% of women in our sector, less than 30% hold leadership positions. Executives and boards are still primarily composed of older white men who are not impacted and cannot empathize based on lived experiences (Race to Lead, 2020).

“How can we fight a battle when we are so utterly exhausted?” says Cortell Vandersypen. “It’s been an uphill battle from the beginning of this pandemic. Trying to explain child care issues, discussing the burden of emotional labor, and the fear of layoffs has many women in our sector at their breaking point.”

What can we do as a sector to not just recover from COVID-19, but build a more equitable future?

A strong, equitable sector

The charitable and nonprofit sectors have a significant role to play in economic recovery around the world. Social purpose organizations provide support and services to the most vulnerable members of society. During COVID-19, our work has never been more important. The organizations that survive will need to focus on reimagining their future. Our sector cannot return to “normal” because normal was never good enough—it was not equitable, fair or inclusive enough. We need an intersectional feminist lens on our recovery. This cannot be a white woman’s recovery—that is not better. This needs to be a recovery that recognizes our industry lacks the insights and expertise of Black women and women of color at every level.

As an industry, we must recognize that we continue to play a role in the gender and racial pay gap. We are not fairly compensating women for their work; it is unacceptable and a constant reminder that we have a lot of work to do as a sector to abolish sexist and racist hiring, promotion and salary policies.

We need to have bold conversations with donors and funders about supporting programs and services for marginalized communities. We need to keep the message of Black Lives Matter at the forefront of all we do.

We can and we must do better. What will you do today to make a difference?

An intersectional feminist lens on our sector’s recovery

• Safeguard the sector. Women make up more than 70% of the charitable and nonprofit sectors. By safeguarding the sector, we will also protect women and gender equity (YWCA Canada, 2020). What role is your organization playing in lobbying the government on these issues?
• Consider social infrastructure. Childcare and eldercare are as significant social underpinnings of economic recovery as roads and bridges, and they must be part of our plans for economic recovery (Armine Yalnizyan, 2020). How is your organization making work easier for your employees?
• Leverage the power of philanthropy. Funders should increase their investment in organizations led by and focused on the issues impacting women of color, which will help elevate the leadership, perspective, and influence of women of color across the nonprofit sector at large (Race to Lead, 2018).
• Focus on output, not hours worked. Surveys estimate that the pandemic has added a minimum of three additional work hours a day for parents. Fundraisers are performance driven—have you adjusted your metrics and expectations in light of this new reality?

This article originally appeared in the October 2020 issue of Advancing Philanthropy magazine, the Association of Fundraising Professionals’ flagship magazine.

Liz LeClair, CFRE (she/her), is a white cis-gendered fundraiser based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, in Canada. LeClair has been a member of AFP since 2005 and currently chairs AFP’s Women’s Impact Initiative, which is focused on research and advocacy around women’s issues in the sector.