Gender


Imposed Volunteering: Gender and Caring Responsibilities During the COVID-19 Lockdown.

Andersen, Ditte, et al, The Sociological Review (Keele), vol. 70, no. 1, 2022, pp. 39–56,

This article conceptualises the idea of ‘imposed volunteering’ as a process that enforces and shapes societal caring arrangements. Women, along with ethnic and working-class minorities, are pinpointed as being disproportionately given the care work responsibilities, which worsens social expectations and inequalities. This article pushes for an equal distribution of care work responsibilities.

Good sports: Why sports need to engage female volunteers

Women in Sport (UK), 2017.

This article covers the data and experiences of female volunteers in sport. It also seeks to provide research and recommendations organisations should consider when recruiting female volunteers. Excerpt: “Sports organisations and groups attract the most volunteers with 54% of those who have formally volunteered at least once in the last 12 months, doing so in sport and exercise.” 

Te Mana tu o te Wahine: Women as leaders in the community & voluntary sector
Heathrose Research Ltd. Women in Leadership Aotearoa (Wellington), 2013.

The purpose of this report is to rectify the lack of information about how women in Aotearoa New Zealand are represented across the Community and Voluntary Sector (CVS), given that the sector’s voluntary and paid workforce is heavily dominated by women.

Gender differences in social support in the decision to volunteer
Wymer, Walter. International Review on Public and Nonprofit Marketing May 2012.

This paper reports the results of a study that examines gender differences relating to social influences and norms when individuals are making the decision to volunteer. The results were significant and supported the hypotheses. Females are more likely than males to expect reciprocation in volunteer recruitment by individuals within their social networks. Females are more likely than males to seek social support when initiating volunteer service. Managerial implications and suggested areas of future research are discussed.

Men’s and women’s volunteering: Gender differences in the effects of employment and family characteristics
Taniguchi, Hiromi. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, March 2006.

This report addresses the statistically significant difference in the way employment status affects men’s and women’s volunteering behavior. Relative to full-time employment, part-time employment encourages women’s volunteer work but not men’s, while unemployment exclusively inhibits men’s volunteering. Also, women typically spend more time providing unpaid care to aging family members, and this further contributes to the gender gap in volunteering among family caregivers to the elderly. Implications of these and related findings for volunteer work organisations are discussed.

Assessing the benefits for conservation of volunteer involvement in conservation activities
Bell, Karen. Dept. of Conservation. Science for Conservation, 2003.

This report assesses the benefits of volunteer involvement in conservation activities through a literature review, three focus groups with volunteers, a similar meeting with Department of Conservation staff and a postal survey. The report investigates the existing benefits of the Conservation Volunteer Programme for both conservation advocacy and the volunteers, discusses whether this programme is meeting conservation advocacy goals and then makes recommendations about improving the programme to meet these goals.