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 143 reviews)); "Great people all working towards the same mission" ((in 57 reviews)); "Fantastic and smart colleagues" ((in 50 reviews)); "it was alright and good pay" ((in 15 reviews)); "great team to work with." ((in 11 reviews))

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

"Culture is toxic and impractical" ((in 36 reviews)); "Instead, she seems more concerned with promoting her own profile than reforming bad management." ((in 25 reviews)); "Most of the senior leadership at this (global organization) is white and male" ((in 22 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

2.0

Nov 20, 2015

I would not go back to BMGF if they paid me a million dollars/year.

Communications officer

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

The pay and benefits are outstanding. There is certainly a feeling of "cache" when you work at Gates, the people you meet are incredibly intelligent, the travel can be exhausting but so satisfying.

Cons

I would not go back to BMGF if they paid me a million dollars/year. This is an organization that is so poorly run, that wastes *unbelievable* amounts of money, that "re-orgs" departments every time someone sneezes (laying off long-term employees, moving people around like chess pieces). Top-heavy, cliques, does not care about the human beings who work there; we were all just bodies and brains to play with.

Gates Foundation Response

9y

I'm so very sorry about your experience. It looks like you were at the foundation a few years ago, and I believe that some of your feedback has been heard internally and changes are happening. Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts even if they are hard to hear.

3.0

Nov 19, 2015

Stressful Environment

Program assistant

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Benefits are amazing and you are exposed to ground breaking and important ideas and leaders. The people that work there are very mindful and caring in their pursuit to solve some of the world's biggest problems.

Cons

Very stressful environment. They suck the life out of you. There is no work-life balance even though they try to convince you there is. The upper management is not in touch with what the real work involves. They take imprudent shortcuts to look like they are saving money. There is a definite imbalance between the intellectual/academic knowledge and good business practices. They hire for a very specific bit of expertise and then there is verylittle mobility within the organization -- especially at the lower levels.

3.0

Nov 19, 2015

Could be so much better

Anonymous employee

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

It's a tremendous honor to work on behalf of such a good mission and a pleasure to work alongside so many smart, dedicated people. The building is beautiful, the benefits are fantastic and the travel opportunities are one of a kind.

Cons

It is incredibly bureaucratic and extremely poorly led at the senior management level. It is far too difficult to get work done. We spend more time talking to each other via powerpoint than focusing on external recipients. Reorganizations are so frequent, it is a long-running internal joke. Most of the leaders who are instituting these reorganization decisions don't know the work because they haven't been there long. Inevitably, these architects leave in two years and the process starts all over again. It's exhausting.

Viewing 418 - 420 of 561 Reviews

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Jobs at Gates Foundation

Senior Communications Officer, Creative Partnerships (Limited Term Role*)

Senior Communications Officer, Brand Experiential Design

Senior Research Scientist, Population Health Modeling (Nutrition and Disease) (*2-year LTE)

Coordinator, Business Project Management (Convenings) (LTE until 31 December 2027)

Principal Officer, Measurement, Learning & Evaluation