Who’s on Board?
Gender and Race in Nonprofit Board Rooms
A Report on the Governing Boards of Greater Philadelphia’s Largest Higher Education and Healthcare Institutions.
Modest gains in board diversity.
A sharp decline in transparency.
The Numbers You Need To Know
Greater Philadelphia’s largest colleges, universities and health systems are central to the region’s economy and civic life. Who governs them, and what the public can know about
those boards, matters.
0
%Women still hold fewer than 40% of board seats in both sectors
Higher Ed 39.3%
Healthcare 38.3%
0
%People of Color hold about one-quarter of board seats
Higher Ed 25.4%
Healthcare 24.3%
0
%Board chairs who are Women or People of Color
Up from 28% in 2022
0
%Institutions that provided, confirmed or corrected their board demographic information
Down from 72% in 2022
WHY IT MATTERS
These aren’t just boards. They govern Philadelphia’s anchor institutions.
They govern institutions that touch millions of lives
They are public-serving, tax-exempt institutions
Their stakeholders are more diverse than their boards
UNIQUE INSIGHTS
What Board Leaders and
the Research Told Us
To understand the environment behind the numbers, WNLI interviewed ten experienced leaders who serve on or regularly work with higher education and healthcare boards.
01
Boards are operating in a climate of fear and caution.
02
Diversity efforts continue—but are often less visible.
03
Some boards are stepping back from diversity commitments.
04
Core values and leadership drive board diversity.
05
Progress requires clear goals, intentional recruitment and broader candidate pipelines.
06
Fundraising-driven recruitment can limit diversity, while board diversity strengthens governance.
FOUR FINDINGS, FOUR CONCLUSIONS
What We Found
FINDINGS 1
Progress continues—but it is modest and uneven.
| 2022 | 2025 | |
|---|---|---|
| Healthcare — Women | 34.4% | 38.3% |
| Healthcare — People of Color | 18.7% | 24.3% |
| Higher Ed — Women | 38.3% | 39.3% |
| Higher Ed — People of Color | 23.8% | 25.4% |
Healthcare saw the stronger gains; higher education changed comparatively little.
FINDINGS 2
Aggregate numbers hide stark differences among boards.
2
boards have only two Women
2
boards have no People of Color
4
boards have only one Person of Color
Progress is not evenly distributed.
FINDINGS 3
Board chairs changed faster than board composition from 2022 to 2025.
White Men
72% → 44%
White Women
22% → 32%
Men of Color
4% → 22%
Women of Color
2% → 2%
A significant shift—with one conspicuous exception: Women of Color remain just 2% of board chairs.
FINDINGS 4
Transparency moved sharply backward from 2022 to 2025.
72%
Overall response rate 2022
45%
Overall response rate 2025
27.5%
Provided Their Own Data
17.5%
Confirmed or Correct WNLI’s data
55%
Provided Neither
Without disclosure, stakeholders cannot measure progress—and boards cannot be held accountable.
FROM FINDINGS TO ACTION
Intention
Measurement
Accountability
Where is your board starting?
Accelerating
Progress
For Boards already committed and ready to move faster.
Collect and report aggregate demographic data annually
Establish measurable board-composition objectives
Broaden candidate pipelines
Include diversity in the skills matrix
Develop Women and People of Color for future board leadership
Maintaining Commitment
For Boards navigating today’s changing environment.
Reaffirm why diverse governance supports mission
Keep current evidence about its value
Examine whether Board culture actually includes differing perspectives
Keep outreach and recruitment intentional
Evaluating
the Issue
For Boards reconsidering how diversity fits priorities.
Start with the data
Review current Board composition
Ask whether it reflects mission, stakeholders and strategic complexity
Consider how differing perspectives affect risk oversight, challenge and decision-making
HOW TO GET STARTED
5 Questions for Your Board
01
Do we know the demographic composition of our board?
02
Do we collect that information through voluntary self-identification and report it in aggregate?
03
Does our Board composition reflect the stakeholders, communities and complexity of the institution we govern?
04
Are we casting a sufficiently broad net when recruiting new members and future Board leaders?
05
Does our Boardroom culture genuinely invite different perspectives and challenge assumptions?
About the Study
There are 967 board seats across Greater Philadelphia’s
largest nonprofit anchor institutions.
0
Board data
collected
0
institutions
studied
0
M+annual revenue
threshold
0
Of 40 of the eds and meds, 18 provided or confirmed their information. 22 required independent research.
Who’s Governing Greater
Philadelphia’s Anchor Institutions —
And Why You Should Care
A Roundtable discussion with leading experts on the regional anchor economy, nonprofit governance, higher education, healthcare, philanthropy and civic leadership.
Monday, October 26, 2026
5-7:30 p.m.
Fitler Club Ballroom
1 S. 24th Street
Philadelphia, PA 19103
About WNLI
About Women’s Nonprofit Leadership Initiative (WNLI) The Women’s Nonprofit Leadership Initiative (WNLI) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit association of women leaders working to significantly increase the presence and diversity of women on the governing boards of the largest and most influential nonprofits—higher education and healthcare institutions, and to expand women’s influence on and formal leadership of these boards. WNLI believes that diverse stakeholders, who have an interest in and are affected by decisions of the so-called eds and meds, must have their needs and perspectives represented at the tables where critical decisions are made—starting at the top with governing boards. Founded in 2012 in Philadelphia, WNLI’s all-volunteer working members concentrate efforts on the Philadelphia area and collaborate with organizations nationally to effect change. WNLI has conducted and published regional and national research, published in regional and national media, and spoken on numerous national and local panels and webinars.
Acknowledgments
WNLI extends deep appreciation to the Philadelphia Foundation and the Fleishner Family Foundation of the Philadelphia Foundation for their generous underwriting grant support for this report. WNLI acknowledges with gratitude contributions to the research by Drexel University’s Raj and Kamla Gupta Governance Institute. We are also grateful to the Whitepenny, Maven Communications and Chatterblast agencies for their collaboration and pro bono expertise in developing the report design, digital brand, public relations and social media strategies and campaign implementation work provided for this report. Sincere thanks to the distinguished individuals who participated in the anonymous interviews and shared their insights and perspectives about the findings. This report would not be possible without the support and participation of WNLI’s membership.