Does Gender Congruence Make a Difference in Female Members’ Volunteering Behaviors?

Abstract

This article examines the association between gender congruence—the extent to which members and senior managers or leaders are of the same gender—and volunteering behaviors of members in membership associations. Recognizing several limitations, we find that greater gender congruence has a positive effect on the breadth of volunteering (number of activities) as well as the level of satisfaction associated with these activities among female members. However, gender congruence is neither significantly related to the likelihood of volunteering nor to the depth of volunteering. In other words, having female figures in leadership positions do not necessarily mean that female members will be more likely to volunteer or assume more intense volunteer responsibilities.