There are 967 people who sit on the governing boards of Greater Philadelphia’s largest anchor economy enterprises — 40 nonprofit higher education and healthcare institutions that are among the region’s greatest assets. They collectively comprise $62.7 billion of regional GDP according to the latest information provided by the Federal Reserve Bank. 

Last week, the Women’s Nonprofit Leadership Initiative (WNLI) released a new report that reveals gender and race demographics of these board members and explains why board composition matters for governance, accountability and the impact these institutions have on millions of stakeholders.

The data captured in “Who’s On Board?, Gender and Race in Nonprofit Board Rooms” exposes the complicated times higher education and healthcare institutions are operating in. When asked to respond to straightforward questions about the composite demographics of their boards, 55 percent of these institutions declined to respond to two distinct requests for information; the first to directly provide it, the second to confirm or correct it. The lack of answers to both inquiries required extensive research to validate the demographics. In the previous 2022 study, 72 percent of the institutions were transparent about their data compared to 45 percent in the new study.

“It is crucial that the trustees that sit at these board tables have knowledge and experiences to fully inform decisions that affect their stakeholders and ultimately the vitality of the region.” — Women’s Nonprofit Leadership Initiative Co-chair Jane Scaccetti

WNLI did not disclose individual institution data in this study.  “It is not our aim to point to any single board but rather to highlight the overall state of board compositions with consideration to the region’s population and how board demographic data stacks up,” said Jane Scaccetti, WNLI co-chair. “These governing boards have significant impacts on the region. The people they serve are a diversity of students, patients, families, alumni, employees, suppliers and surrounding communities. It is crucial that the trustees that sit at these board tables have knowledge and experiences to fully inform decisions that affect their stakeholders and ultimately the vitality of the region.”

The stakeholders of Greater Philadelphia’s anchor economy institutions are more diverse than their governing boards. More than half of the people who live in Greater Philadelphia are women and 43 percent are people of color. While there were modest overall increases across some 2025 data sets compared to 2022, progress was not even and some were static or went backwards.

Women hold 39.3 percent of trustee seats on higher education boards and 38.3 percent of healthcare seats compared to 38.3 and 34.4 respectively in 2022. In this latest study, trustees of color hold 25.4 percent of higher ed seats up modestly from 23.8 percent in 2022 and 24.3 percent in 2025 of healthcare seats up from 18.7 in 2022.

“For institutions that benefit from public trust, tax-exempt status, and deep community reliance, silence on basic governance data is itself a governance issue.” — WNLI Co-chair Judith Gay

The greatest increases in demographic representation were across board chair positions, where the percentage of women and people of color increased from 28 percent in 2022 to 56 percent in 2025.  Specifically, the number of chair seats held by women grew from 10 to 18; the number of men of color increased from two to nine. However, women of color remain at one board chair since the previous study.

As nonprofit entities, these public-serving institutions are tax-exempt, but neither federal nor state law requires them to disclose aggregate board demographic data. WNLI is calling for self-directed transparency and accountability as a measure of commitment to ensuring missions embrace the complexity of stakeholder needs with insight and understanding. “The public’s ability to assess whether these institutions are living up to their obligation to govern in the public interest is extremely important,” said Judith Gay, WNLI co-chair. “For institutions that benefit from public trust, tax-exempt status, and deep community reliance, silence on basic governance data is itself a governance issue.”

To complement the findings in the report, WNLI conducted confidential interviews with experienced leaders who serve on or work closely with higher education and healthcare boards. The interviewees generally agreed that boards are navigating the current sociopolitical environment and their diversity profiles with heightened sensitivity. Several described a climate of fear and caution. Some boards are continuing their diversity efforts with less visibility, while others are retreating from earlier commitments altogether.

Nearly all interviewees discussed the importance of board culture and the core values and leadership that guide these boards. They asserted that clear diversity goals, intentional recruitment and broader candidate pipelines are fundamental to ensuring the right board composition to allow for discussions that examine issues and inform decisions without blind spots. Importantly, several called out that fundraising-driven recruitment can inadvertently limit trustee diversity while intentional board diversity strengthens governance.

The report includes a call to action for board leaders to purposefully examine their boards and establish nominating and governance processes to address board composition. WNLI provides recommendations for institution leaders at various stages of board development. 

To learn more about the importance and implication of the report, join WNLI for a conversation at Fitler Club on October 26, for which The Citizen and Philadelphia magazine are media sponsors. The event will feature:

• • Citizen columnist Elaine Maimon, a former college president, author and advisor
  • Pedro Ramos, President and CEO, Philadelphia Foundation
  • Wharton professor Patrick Harker, past president of the Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank
  • Phillip Hackney, Esq, University of Pittsburgh law professor and national expert on tax-exempt institutions and nonprofit governance
  • Penn Medicine professor Susan Taylor, MD
  • Moderated by Judith Gay, WNLI co-chair, Vice President Emerita of Community College of Philadelphia

Join The Philadelphia Citizen on Monday, October 26 from 5 to 7:30pm at the Ballroom at the Fitler Club, 1 S. 24th Street, Philadelphia, PA for a conversation about board diversity with the Women’s Nonprofit Leadership Initiative. Register here.

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