The role the nonprofit world plays in “economic bullying”
A recent articlein The Chronicle of Philanthropy uses the inequitable salaries of nonprofitemployees as an example of “ economic bullying.” The articleadopts the position that civil society accepts this sort of economic bullyingand offers social exploitation as one the reasons. Interestingly, while thearticle suggests that the nonprofit world is a victim of social exploitation,it also suggests the nonprofit world is a victimizer.
The argument forthe nonprofit world as victimizer is that it underpays women and human-serviceworkers and relies heavily on unpaid volunteers for essential labor. Thearticle goes on to suggest volunteerism in the nonprofit world presentsproblems because nonprofits have failed to articulate their value to society orwhat it costs to provide that value. Consequently, nonprofits are victimizersbecause they are guilty of engaging in the practice of paying people as littleas possible.
To be fair tothe nonprofit world, the article suggests the government plays a contributing rolein social exploitation because as the major purchaser of social services, thegovernment forces costs down to balance the budget. Still, given thecharacteristics of nonprofit and other exempt organizations, what alternativesare available to prevent from contributing to social exploitation?
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