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 132 reviews)); "Great people all working towards the same mission" ((in 55 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 14 reviews))

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

"Culture is toxic and impractical" ((in 41 reviews)); "HR and management is poor" ((in 27 reviews)); "You will be the luckiest if you end up in a team that has a great manager." ((in 20 reviews)); "Most of the senior leadership at this (global organization) is white and male" ((in 19 reviews)); "Terrible work/life balance." ((in 16 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

3.0

Sep 25, 2018

So much that's good with a couple of fatal flaw

Program officer

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

-Inspiring mission with ability to connect your work every day to that mission -Opportunity to do interesting and novel work constantly; if you are willing to lean in to it, you can find tons of ways to add value -Amazing benefits - frankly, I can't imagine finding better ones anywhere -Smart and motivated colleagues -Decent work/life balance (somewhat depends on your team but if you're willing to set personal boundaries, people generally respect them) -Senior leadership's priorities are in the right place

Cons

-No clear or logical pathways for promotion -Job title in the program officer family can feel arbitrarily assigned -Visible voices and charisma are valued over quality of work execution; translates into a culture where men are systematically valued over women -You need a manager who values your work and advocates for you to move ahead; if you don't have that, you are out of luck -They over-hire and hire often without a clear idea of what folks will do when they get there -Senior leadership priorities don't always get translated to action that makes sense

Gates Foundation Response

7y

Thank you for your clear and specific feedback and advice. We will feed this into the current workstream concerning clarifying roles profiles and career pathways. -chris.ernst@gatesfoundation.org

2.0

Sep 5, 2018

Noble Mission - challenging culture

Anonymous employee

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

The inspirational mission and the strategic vision for development that has a real impact.

Cons

The mission does not translate into a culture that promotes real diversity and gets the best from its employees. Working there feels like a transactional experience for many, and in places it tolerates very poor management.

Gates Foundation Response

7y

No doubt about it, this is an area where most philanthropies need meaningful improvement, and we are no different. Rich demographic and cultural diversity is a lens by which the foundation is considering all leadership succession opportunities, and this will need to be sustained over multiple years. -chris.ernst@gatesfoundation.org

5.0

Sep 3, 2018

fabulous experience

Anonymous employee

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

intern lunches, lecture series, interesting projects

Cons

often feels removed from the field work

Viewing 298 - 300 of 561 Reviews

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Jobs at Gates Foundation

Senior Business Systems Analyst, HR & Payroll

Associate Program Officer, Digitally Enabled Teaching and Learning

Lead Platform Engineer

Deputy Director, Digital Transformation and AI Policy & Advocacy

Senior Program Officer, Measurement, Learning, & Evaluation (9 month LTE)