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 136 reviews)); "Great people to work for" ((in 56 reviews)); "There are so many great colleagues and experiences to learn from." ((in 51 reviews)); "Great benefits and pay." ((in 21 reviews)); "Great opportunities to learn about making an impact at scale" ((in 14 reviews))

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

"Culture is toxic and impractical" ((in 40 reviews)); "Instead, she seems more concerned with promoting her own profile than reforming bad management." ((in 23 reviews)); "Most of the senior leadership at this (global organization) is white and male" ((in 20 reviews)); "You will be the luckiest if you end up in a team that has a great manager." ((in 18 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

2.0

Aug 3, 2021

Dysfunctional and Hypocritical

Anonymous employee

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Beautiful buildings, great benefits, Mission you can get behind, Lots of Fun Events and Speakers Pre-Covid

Cons

Toxic Culture, wasteful spending, ineffective leadership, not as diverse as they like to tell the public they are, little career mobility. Want a "yes man" mentality - if you aren't that, you are deemed difficult.

2.0

Feb 12, 2018

To get real look inside, look at most recent reviews, not most popular reviews

Program officer

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Mission of the foundation is amazing and infectious - a rare opportunity to pursue your passion; Great benefits (golden handcuffs); Flexible work schedule; Beautiful building

Cons

Speaking solely on Global Health division (other divisions don't seem to have this level of dysfunction) - extremely hierarchical that comes from the very top with expectations for the bottom to execute without question. Otherwise, be prepared to be thrown under the bus. The leadership are all from the same network of followers - disease teams used to be led by experts in the field and not from the same pharmaceutical empires. Doing "what is right" isn't about the community - but avoiding getting fired / laid-off. Support staff (assistants, coordinators) constantly shifting between teams or leave the foundation because they are overworked and unappreciated. Very few opportunities for career advancement, especially for program staff. Performance reviews don't appear to make a difference for managers or employees. Endless strategy reviews throughout the year reflect a lack of trust and leave little time to get actual work done. It's not a coincidence that the average lifespan of a foundation employee is 2-3 years, with few exceptions - two years ago over 40% of employees admitted to be actively looking for a new job on a culture survey.

Gates Foundation Response

8y

Everyone's perspective matters and so I'm sorry to see your experience within one of our division's was less than you hoped. Feel free to reach out if you'd like to share more - chris.ernst@gatesfoundation.org

1.0

Dec 4, 2017

Great mission, extremely poor management

Anonymous employee

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Great mission as set out by Bill & Melinda Gates

Cons

The environment is toxic, management is horrible, HR is abysmal, and there are re-organizations annually.

Gates Foundation Response

8y

I'm sorry that as a current employee you seem so very unhappy. As a member of HR management, I'd like to hear your constructive and helpful feedback on how we can improve our function and the management across the foundation. pam.yanchik@gatesfoundation.org

Viewing 61 - 63 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 Research Scientist, Population Health Modeling (Nutrition and Disease) (*2-year LTE)

Senior Business Systems Analyst, HR & Payroll