Women and NGO professionalisation: a case study of Jordan

This article examines the impact of NGO professionalisation on who works in NGOs and why. Based on an in-depth survey of employees in 20 advocacy NGOs in Jordan, it demonstrates the gendered impact of professionalisation. The majority of NGO employees are highly educated women, often Western educated, who work in NGOs primarily for career opportunities and because they are drawn by the NGO's goals. In contrast to existing literature, this article argues that gender considerations, such as job flexibility to accommodate household duties, play less of a role in determining why women seek work in NGOs and their job satisfaction.