The Effect of Gender on the Motivation of Members of Generation Y College Students to Volunteer

Abstract

Many human-service agencies and nonprofit organizations are experiencing increasing difficulties recruiting new volunteers. As a demographic group, young adults are very involved in volunteer activities and may reflect an excellent source of volunteers. The effect of gender on the motivations of young adults to volunteer, however, has received relatively little research attention. Examining the effect of gender on the motivations of young adults to volunteer was the objective of this study. The results support the existence of a gender difference in the motivations of young adults to volunteer. Interestingly, significant gender differences were not observed for two of the six motivations–social and career motivations–the two motivations for which gender stereotypes would suggest a difference. The gender difference observed, however, was relatively weak, especially when compared to the differences observed across the motivations for both males and females.