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

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

3.0

Sep 20, 2019

Great Benefits, Difficult Culture

Senior communications officer

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Great benefits. Smart co-workers. Great offices. Great perks.

Cons

Too many systems and processes - most of which folks don't follow. There's little follow up after your initial on boarding. Very corporate DNA. Culture of meeting after meeting - difficult to make decisions or change the way things are done.

2.0

Oct 17, 2015

Great mission but many missed opportunities

Anonymous employee

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Mission. Lack of resource constraints typically encountered working for a non-profit. Extraordinary technical (e.g. programmatic) talent (in contrast to surprisingly weak management talent). Great benefits.

Cons

As an organization and "business" very badly managed -- from strategy to resource allocation to talent management. This arises from (1) having technical experts in senior management positions, and (2) over-conciliatory, consensus-driven, passive-aggressive culture. Where pockets of true management talent exists, it's highly under-utilized. Management decision-making is undisciplined and political, resulting in sub-optimal results.

3.0

Aug 30, 2015

Hard work for a history-making institution

Senior manager

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

The aim of the foundation is to deliver on the belief that everyone deserves the chance to live a healthy and productive life; as an employee, all of your work goes towards this, even if it may not feel like it every day. I'm so proud of the organization, my time there, and the effort of so many creative passionate coworkers, not to mention the impact on millions of lives, now and forever. You're part of something bigger than yourself and that's tough to beat.

Cons

The foundation has gotten much larger over the years. Its giving has also increased substantially, both in terms of amount and geographical distribution. As such, I think it has become more complicated to get things done inside of the foundation. The organizational processes haven't quite kept pace and I think people don't necessarily stop to improve, but instead work harder to get things done. I don't think this is very different from any other growing organization. Leaders, along with staff, are actively focused on improving this.

Viewing 70 - 72 of 561 Reviews

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Jobs at Gates Foundation

Associate Communications Officer, Social Media

Senior Communications Officer, Brand Experiential Design

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

Senior Business Systems Analyst, HR & Payroll

Program Officer, Knowledge Management and AI Enablement