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. 62% 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?

62% 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 140 reviews)); "Great people all working towards the same mission" ((in 58 reviews)); "There are so many great colleagues and experiences to learn from." ((in 48 reviews)); "it was alright and good pay" ((in 18 reviews)); "Salaries are good for those coming from the non" ((in 12 reviews))

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

"Culture is toxic and impractical" ((in 42 reviews)); "HR and management is poor" ((in 29 reviews)); "Most of the senior leadership at this (global organization) is white and male" ((in 21 reviews)); "You will be the luckiest if you end up in a team that has a great manager." ((in 21 reviews)); "Terrible work/life balance." ((in 15 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

62% would recommend to a friend

(561 total reviews)

Mark Suzman

81% approve of CEO

70% positive business outlook

Ratings by category

4.5

Compensation and benefits

3.5

Diversity & inclusion

3.4

Culture & values

3.3

Work/Life balance

3.2

Career opportunities

2.9

Senior management

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).

Ratings by demographic groups

Race / Ethnicity

Gender

Sexual orientation

Disability

Parent or family caregiver

Veteran status

Reviews by job title

561 reviews

4.0

Jun 7, 2016

Not living up to its potential.

Anonymous employee

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

The mission is powerful, the people are smart and passionate.

Cons

Turf wars and bureaucracy get in the way of good work.

Gates Foundation Response

9y

I'm so sorry that your experience wasn't as positive as we'd all like to see. If you'd like to share more with me or my colleagues, please reach out pam.yanchik@gatesfoundation.org.

4.0

Jun 3, 2016

Great people, excellent benefits - and exhausting

Anonymous employee

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Great people, some of the smartest and most interesting coworkers I've ever had. A mission to believe in and opportunity to learn a lot about the work and partners' work. Fabulous benefits.

Cons

Can be very political. No established/obvious track to advance, which means it's all up to the manager if you get opportunities to grow and develop. People management has only more recently started to be considered important; there are lots of smart people with very specific skill sets hired because they're experts in a specific field, now expected to people manage.

Gates Foundation Response

9y

Thanks so much for taking the time to post about your experiences at the foundation. The ELT is focusing on the role of the manager in our culture journey so hopefully you will see even more importance placed on the role of our managers.

3.0

Jun 1, 2016

great mission, amazing benefits, but...

Anonymous employee

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Everyone connects with this organization's mission. For a non-profit, you can't find better benefits. The most amazingly talented group of colleagues I've ever worked with. Flexible work schedules (if you and your particular team take advantage of it) including working from home at times.

Cons

The exponential growth a number of years ago caused so many lingering internal business system and process challenges to getting things done. Leadership changes seem to just reset the clock so you have to go back and redo things yet again that you already struggled to deal with in the past.

Gates Foundation Response

9y

Thanks so much for your thoughtful feedback and advice to the management team. As you may be aware, the organization is working to transform both our systems and our internal processes but this won't happen overnight. During this time of transition, all of our teams are working together to address things that can be addressed right now and things that may take a bit more time. Thanks again.

Viewing 382 - 384 of 561 Reviews

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