Women more likely to donate than men

Women more likely to donate than men

PJ staff report | December 23, 2010

Across all charity types, women are at least as likely as men to donate, and for eight of 11 categories, they are significantly more likely to give, a new study says.

For the following charitable causes, women are significantly more like to give than men -- religious institutions; improving communities and neighborhoods; basic necessities; youth; education; health care; international causes; and combined purposes like United Ways or Catholic Charities.

And in the areas of the environment, the arts and a category comprising all other causes, women are just as likely to give as men, the study says.

The gap in likelihood to give is highest for international causes, with women 55 percent more likely to give than men, followed by community causes, where women are 51 percent more likely to donate.

"Women and men are both engaged," says Debra Mesch, director of the Women's Philanthropy Institute at the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University. "But their giving priorities are different. Additional research will help us better understand why women are more likely to give to certain types of organizations."

Unlike many previous giving studies, which typically survey married household, researchers surveyed only single heads-of-household in an effort to eradicate static around gender roles.

Researchers also controlled for differences in age, wealth, education and other factors.

Significance of this Study

The prevailing perception of women's giving is that women are more likely to give, but they give smaller amounts than men. Research in this area offers some support for this belief. Men and women do exhibit different charity choices and patterns of donating money. Males tend to concentrate their giving among a few charities, whereas females are more likely to spread the amounts they give across a wide range of charities (e.g., Andreoni, Brown, & Rischall, 2003; Piper & Schnepf, 2008). That is, "women are more egalitarian in their giving, while men are more strategic" (Brown, 2006). Previous research also indicates that women tend to give to organizations that have had an impact on them or someone they know personally (Parsons, 2004; Burgoyne, Young, & Walker, 2005). Subsequently, much of the empirical research indicates that men and women exhibit different charity choices and patterns of donating money. However, research has been inconsistent as to the differences in charity choice. This study offers a more comprehensive perspective of men and women's giving by examining the likelihood of giving across all charity subsectors, using a nationally representative sample of U.S. households.