Is Gates Foundation a good company to work for?

Gates Foundation has an overall rating of 3.7 out of 5, based on over 699 reviews left anonymously by employees. This rating has decreased by 3% over the last 12 months. 63% of employees would recommend working at Gates Foundation to a friend and 70% have a positive outlook for the business. The best reviews about Gates Foundation have been left by employees working as Program Assistant , Senior Program Assistant and Associate Program Officer .

Does Gates Foundation pay their employees well?

According to anonymously submitted Glassdoor reviews, Gates Foundation employees rate their compensation and benefits as 4.5 out of 5. Find out more about salaries and benefits at Gates Foundation. This rating has improved by 5% over the last 12 months.

How satisfied are employees working at Gates Foundation?

63% of Gates Foundation employees would recommend working there to a friend based on Glassdoor reviews . Employees also rated Gates Foundation 3.3 out of 5 for work life balance, 3.4 for culture and values and 3.2 for career opportunities.

What are the top reviewed jobs at Gates Foundation?

Program Officer (56) , Program Assistant (40) , Senior Program Officer (36) , Deputy Director (20) , Senior Program Assistant (16) , Associate Program Officer (12) , Program Coordinator (11) , Project Manager (9) , Director (7) , Program Manager (7) , Senior Officer (6) , Associate Strategy Officer (5) , Consultant (5) , Intern (5) , Senior Program Coordinator (5)

What are the pros of working at Gates Foundation according to real employee reviews?

"Benefits are great and very comprehensive" ((in 125 reviews)); "Great people all working towards the same mission" ((in 58 reviews)); "There are so many great colleagues and experiences to learn from." ((in 47 reviews)); "Great benefits and pay." ((in 25 reviews)); "Salaries are good for those coming from the non" ((in 14 reviews))

What are employees saying about Gates Foundation layoffs in 2026?

Explore Glassdoor’s employee reviews to understand what current and former employees are saying about Gates Foundation layoffs and their outlook for job security at Gates Foundation in 2026.

What are the top reviewed Gates Foundation locations?

Seattle , Washington , New York , Chicago , Ridgewood , North Chicago , Vienna , Phoenix , Omaha , Arlington , San Antonio , Virginia , Los Angeles , Mountain View , Palo Alto , United , Laurel , Jacksonville , Boston , Cambridge , Springfield , South Seattle

Gates Foundation reviews

3.7

63% would recommend to a friend

(561 total reviews)

Mark Suzman

81% approve of CEO

70% positive business outlook

Company ratings over time

Ratings trend for the last 6 months (561 reviews)

Ratings by demographic groups

Race / Ethnicity

Gender

Sexual orientation

Disability

Parent or family caregiver

Veteran status

Gates Foundation has an employee rating of 3.7 out of 5 stars, based on 561 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The Gates Foundation employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Nonprofit & NGO industry (3.7 stars).

Reviews by job title

561 reviews

2.0

Jul 1, 2022

No heart, no soul

Senior program officer

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Access to resources to invest in important areas

Cons

Constant layoffs and turnover due to consultant-driven strategy changes every couple of years. Institution does not care about employees, no effort to grow or retain, sees no value in institutional knowledge or mature relationships with partners and grantees. No logic, no values to layoffs. Behind the times in many areas because listening to consultants with no content expertise rather than technical experts on staff. Despite the rhetoric, extremely risk averse in grant-making. Delegation of authority (everything above 5 M needs approval at the Presidential level) leads to huge bottlenecks and very slow process--approx. 1 year to make a grant... whether it's for 5 million or 30 million--despite the fact that they obsess about strategy, have yearly portfolio reviews, etc.

2.0

Dec 12, 2014

Good place to work but not the best place to work.

Anonymous employee

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Best benefit package. Great retirement benefits. Some awesome pool of smart super intelligent people. People from diverse background understand and follow the mission. Great campus. Get to meet with Bill & Melinda, Mr. Bill Sr., and also Warren Buffet.

Cons

Not the best place to work. Hurts to see that many people don't even follow the mission. Apparently 'All lives have equal value', is not practiced by each manager. Amazing to see that your title speaks so much about the behavior and treatment from high level people, especially in your own team. You will be the luckiest if you end up in a team that has a great manager. No growth opportunities. If u apply for other roles within the organization, you become the most unfavorable person on the team. A lot of perception which is highly biased and doesn't work in your favor. If they don't want you they will find a reason you ensure you are gone. Double standards are hurtful to see. Hoping that with the new CEO, things will change for better.

2.0

Jul 28, 2016

Anonymous

Anonymous employee

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

I worked with some wonderful people. I had some great supervisors until I got a bad one. The mission. The benefits. I learned so much! Saw President Carter and Jane Goodall!!

Cons

I was overworked and then thrown away when I got an awful supervisor. It was a horrible demeaning experience, one that I will never forget. I was there for over 6 years and I was very dedicated. It was an amazing learning experience but terrible as well.

Gates Foundation Response

9y

I'm sorry that you had a supervisor that created a demeaning situation for you. Please feel free to reach out to me directly if you'd like to share more details. Best of luck to you in the future. pam.yanchik@gatesfoundation.org

Viewing 34 - 36 of 561 Reviews

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