Recent data from Time Well Spent shows that there are more women in volunteering than men. Taking a closer look at the data might tell us why.

• NCVO’s demographic analysis shows that 40% of women have volunteered in 2017/18 compared to 35% of men. Furthermore, 23% of women had volunteered in the month before data collection, but only 21% of men had.
• Similarly, the Office for National Statistics found that although participation rates for men and women were similar (41% and 42% respectively), the time each gender spent volunteering was very different. Women, on average, spent 15.7 minutes per day volunteering while men only spent 11.3 minutes per day in voluntary work.
• TeamKinetic’s data supports this analysis with 60% of registered volunteers identifying as female and 40% as male from a total of 100,000 volunteers.

These discrepancies suggest that either something is preventing men from spending more time volunteering, or something is pushing women to volunteer more.

A Way To Make New Friends?

The NCVO report mentioned that women viewed the social aspect of volunteering as a motivation to sign up. 23% of women joined to make new friends/meet new people in comparison to the 18% of men who signed up for the same reason. As a consequence of volunteering, women reported that they felt more confident (76%) than men (71%). Interestingly, female efforts to make new friends appeared to have been more successful than their male counterparts’. Women reported fewer instances of conflict or tension compared to men (25% vs 32%).

Aside from the social side, volunteering can also have a significant positive impact on mental health for both sexes.

Young People Planning For Their Futures

I spoke to some of my peers who have volunteered in the past. The majority of them either did it to gain work experience of some sort, or because their friends were doing it. In today’s job market, experience is vital. At least two-thirds of employers are looking for graduates with relevant work experience.

I volunteered at a local charity shop a few years ago to gain work experience and because my friend worked there. I had a great time and it definitely helped me get a job afterwards.

MMU Student, Lois.

If using volunteer work to gain relevant work experience is a trend amongst young people, perhaps the gender differences in volunteering rates will become level soon. However, we must also acknowledge the various other factors that affect volunteer rates such as age, socio-economic status, and race.

Not All Sunshine and Rainbows

Despite the majority of volunteers being female, there are still some aspects of volunteering that may be letting these hard-working women down. Many women (62%) don’t believe they can have much impact on the organisations they volunteer for. Men are more confident in this area, with 70% of them believing they can make a significant influence on organisations. A reason for this could be the higher ratio of men to women in representative roles. Research suggests that women are more likely to help at an event rather than go to meetings on behalf of the organisation like male volunteers.

This behaviour could be seen as stereotypical and may be due to outdated societal norms. These norms are being broken down. Men and women are becoming more equal. As a result, the expected stereotypes are fading away, but it is happening too slowly.

Flexibility First?

Stereotypes do not appear to affect the number of women in volunteering roles. So why do they volunteer?

Data suggests that flexible roles attract female volunteers. This can refer to the organisation being flexible themselves, or the volunteering opportunities they are offering. For example, perhaps the sessions are one-offs or aren’t set to certain times/days of each week. The want for flexibility may be driven by a range of factors such as family, work, or social commitments. Organisations and volunteer managers should recognise the needs of their volunteers to get the most out of them.

Let’s Flip The Question

We’ve asked why there are more women in volunteering than men, but why are there fewer men in volunteering? What’s stopping them?

Societal norms could be blamed; the conditioning of men to be the main provider may make them think they have no time for volunteering, or even that it’s a waste of time! In the past, a lack of male-focused roles may have been to blame. Nowadays there are a large variety of roles available on a range of websites, such as universities, councils, and sports clubs.

Research from 2016 suggested that male volunteers needed something specific to ‘hook’ them into volunteer work. They’d be likely to work with an organisation they already had a connection to. On the other hand, women appear to volunteer for social reasons and to help the community.

Curious About Your Own Volunteers?

TeamKinetic’s volunteer management software can help you analyse the demographics of your volunteers, e.g. the ratio of male to female volunteers. This can give you great insight into who your volunteering opportunities are attracting.

Find out how TeamKinetic can work with you to recruit, manage, and retain your student volunteers by visiting our website or calling us on 0161 914 5757.

You can also find us on social media: Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and YouTube. We share and create content suitable for anyone interested in volunteering!

Check out our blogs on Women in Sport and Creating a Legacy Post-Women’s World Cup for more content like this.