Why charities and nonprofits are slow to crack down on #MeToo abusers

Scandals rocking the US Humane Society and the American Red Cross are the highest-profile examples so far of how the #MeToo movement is bringing sexual harassment and abuse at US nonprofit organisations to light. More are probably on the way.

While you might presume that this problem would be rare at organisations that exist only to do good, unfortunately it is commonplace and often goes unpunished. Even though the US federal government sets clear guidelines for recognising and avoiding sexual harassment and misconduct in all workplaces, nonprofit organisations often fail to adequately train their employees and volunteers to root it out, and then botch the job of disciplining abusers.

There are cultural and structural characteristics that make nonprofit organisations both vulnerable to this kind of problem and slow to crack down. Hiring more and better qualified human resources professionals and following best practices that go above and beyond what labour laws require will help these organisations avoid #MeToo problems.

The wave of scandals began in early December 2017, when news broke that veteran public radio host John Hockenberry, who had stopped hosting The Takeaway programme in August 2017, had stepped aside after allegedly bullying and harassing his female co-hosts on the WNYC show. Despite ample on-air soul-searching, critics, including some of Hockenberry’s former colleagues, charge that the listener-supported station was taking too long to get to the bottom of what happened and hold its management accountable.

More recently, it came to light that former senior Red Cross official Gerald Anderson, who was forced from his executive position at the organisation over accusations of sexual harassment and assault, had landed a new, prominent nonprofit job at Save the Children. Despite no allegations of misconduct at his new employer, Save the Children has placed Anderson on administrative leave pending an investigation. The American Red Cross looks especially bad because it furnished Anderson with glowing references.

Then, in early February, Wayne Pacelle resigned from his job as the Humane Society’s top executive under pressure from board members and donors, amid allegations that he had sexually abused former employees, including an intern.

Obsession with overheads

Nonprofit organisations usually depend on the funds they raise from individual donors and foundations for most of their budgets, with government contracts and grants providing a third of their revenue on average. Many of their donors are obsessed with keeping overheads – money spent on management, fundraising and administrative expenses – low.

This approach, which many experts consider outmoded, can distort nonprofit management practices. Scrimping on administrative personnel can interfere with hiring, and retaining, the HR professionals nonprofits need. This can prove counterproductive when nonprofits fail to root out sexual harassment. In a sign that its #MeToo scandal will hurt its fundraising, major donors are threatening to stop supporting the Humane Society.

Nonprofit organisations are often also bad at policing in-house abuses. Most are small and can’t afford to employ their own full-time HR team. Even at larger organisations, inadequate staffing hinders the ability to train employees, investigate difficulties and impose sanctions. Nonprofits rarely do background checks. And when they do, they are often limited in scope.

And while most nonprofits usually do have official policies on sexual harassment, they don’t necessarily follow them. Few ensure that their volunteers are properly trained and supervised. When accusations arise, they are commonly handled internally. Just like in the private sector, nonprofits tend to discipline low-ranking employees and to look the other way at misconduct by star staffers – or cover it up with nondisclosure agreements.

Demographics may also play a role. Three out of four Americans employed by nonprofits are women, compared with less than half of the total workforce. And 72% of nonprofit chief executives are women, as are nearly half of nonprofit board members. But being in the majority doesn’t make women at nonprofits immune from work-related sexual harassment and abuse or toxic cultures. In the nonprofit world, big donors can exert real power over management – the very biggest donors are frequently white men.

That asymmetrical power dynamic can foster a culture where women get sexually harassed not by their co-workers but by funders, thanks to the socialising that loosening those purse strings can require.

Fixing it

At the very minimum, organisations should maintain codes of conduct and make training regarding proper (and improper) workplace behaviour.

All do-good groups should enforce the zero-tolerance sexual harassment policies most have on their books, and ensure these rules apply equally to their unpaid interns, board members and volunteers, as well as to paid staff.

As with all workplaces, clearly defining sexual harassment – which includes in-person and digital interactions – is key. So is establishing a clear and confidential process that spurs prompt investigations and swift action following complaints.

This is a lightly-edited version of an article originally published on The Conversation. The authors are Paul Battaglio, professor of economic, political and policy sciences at the University of Texas in Dallas; Doug Goodman, professor and program head of public & nonprofit management at the University of Texas in Dallas; and Meghna Sabharwal, associate professor and PhD adviser on the public and nonprofit management program at the University of Texas in Dallas.

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