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 129 reviews)); "Great people all working towards the same mission" ((in 59 reviews)); "There are so many great colleagues and experiences to learn from." ((in 54 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 37 reviews)); "Instead, she seems more concerned with promoting her own profile than reforming bad management." ((in 22 reviews)); "You will be the luckiest if you end up in a team that has a great manager." ((in 21 reviews)); "Most of the senior leadership at this (global organization) is white and male" ((in 17 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

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

1.0

Apr 28, 2016

Feeling the Churn

Senior program officer global policy & advocacy

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Great, dedicated colleagues at staff level. Great name value (but making a lot of enemies). Lots of frequent flyer miles b/c you are never home.

Cons

Internal politics and capricious management that starts and stops strategies so often it is dysfunctional. Uses and discards employees so much you lose count of the "he/she has decided to leave the organization to pursue other opportunities."

Gates Foundation Response

9y

First, I want to apologize for my tardy reply. I want to thank you for taking the time to give us feedback. I am sorry that the experience here at the foundation felt dysfunctional. We continue to aspire to create even bigger impact in the world and feedback around the culture is always helpful. If you'd like to share more specifics, I'm happy to set up some time to chat. Please reach me at pam.yanchik@gatesfoundation.org

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

Oct 19, 2015

Very mixed experience

Program officer

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

The mission (though for those who have spent their lives working at different mission-driven orgs it's not the only one out there with a great mission). No worry about fundraising or resources: the money is there. Lovely campus and great benefits. Some nice co-workers. Great door-opener and looks great on resume. Smart people. New CEO does seem to at least be raising the right questions though it is tough to change this place.

Cons

Exceptionally bad management. Frequent re-orgs. No mentorship, very little chance to move up. Employees are mostly unhappy and morale is awful. No transparency about decisions. Very old school top- down, passive aggressive Pacific NW culture, like MSFT or Amazon. Most people leave in about 3 years and those who stay have made survival their primary purpose. No one really challenges the founders and there is an aura of fear around "what would Bill say". For an organization that works mostly in developing countries or to improve poor public schools, there is very little diversity in staff and certainly in leadership.

Viewing 46 - 48 of 561 Reviews

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Jobs at Gates Foundation

Associate Communications Officer, Social Media

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

Senior Communications Officer, Brand Experiential Design

Senior Business Systems Analyst, HR & Payroll

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