P.E.O. Record
Ready for Change
P.E.O.’s membership in 2007. At the 69th Convention of International Chapter in San Diego, California, Ruth explained the results of the survey and shared the findings of the research.
Components of the Research Included:
- Board member interviews
- Qualitative interviews of 53 inactive members
- Quantitative phone survey of 502 inactive members
- Quantitative online/paper survey of 13,504 active members
Thoughts from P.E.O. Leadership:
- “As society changes more rapidly every year, we need to find our own niche among women’s organizations.”
- “Being relevant to women’s lives today is the key.”
- “We need to understand what is on the minds of our members.”
The Market Research Revealed Four Themes for P.E.O. to Consider:
- Friendship outweighs tradition
- P.E.O. must attract the next generation of members and leaders
- Reduce the burden on chapter leaders
- Consider new ways of interaction
Friendship Outweighs Tradition
- Association with high caliber women is a top motivator
- P.E.O. members want to feel they belong
- Belonging and cliques don’t match—29 percent of inactives said that cliques exist in her chapter
- Philanthropy is the second most important component of belonging to P.E.O.
- P.E.O. members generally value the traditions but some traditions received low importance ratings including memorization, membership balloting, and meeting procedures
The first recommendation is to overall increase emphasis on activities that foster friendship and philanthropy and decrease emphasis on P.E.O. regulations and requirements.
P.E.O. Must Attract the Next Generation of Members and Leaders
- 38 percent of active members are 70+ years old, 31 percent are 60-69, 19 percent are 50-59, 8 percent are 40-49, 4 percent are 30-39 and 1 percent are 20-29
- 52 percent of the active membership and 39 percent of inactives believe P.E.O. is a better “fit” for older women
- One response to the survey read, “I felt out of place most of the time because the members were older than me.”
- Just 18 percent of active members had been members for less than five years; 56 percent had been members for 16 years or more
- A majority of active younger members are “legacy” members or those who had a relative in the organization
- Younger, working women are less likely to invite friends to become P.E.O. members
The second recommendation states: after making organizational and cultural changes suggested by this research, develop a membership initiative or internal public relations effort focused on recruiting younger women.
Reduce the Burden on Chapter Leaders
- 26 percent of the active membership and 28 percent of inactive members indicated that chapter president and officer duties cause burn-out
- The percent of women who perceived burn-out as a concern was significantly higher among women who work outside the home and/or have children living at home
- One survey response read, “I thought we would do more fun things then it ended up being work, work, work…”
The third recommendation is to reduce duties and reporting requirements for presidents and officers so they can spend time developing P.E.O.’s “belonging” and “philanthropy” aspects.
Consider New Ways of Interaction
- P.E.O. members would like more interaction with other chapters locally and with International chapter
- New member fellowship is important to 92 percent of members but only 67 percent are satisfied with it
- A top rated improvement would be to have lunch groups and other social opportunities outside the meetings
- Better understanding of International chapter is needed
- A survey response stated, “I joined P.E.O. because I was excited about the educational projects. I am frustrated because no one in my chapter seems to be able to explain them to me.”
The fourth recommendation is to increase the frequency of communications among chapters and with the International organization; assess use of new media in this effort
The P.E.O. Membership is Ready for Change
P.E.O. compared with women in U.S. population
Two age groups stand out
The Top Four Reasons for Inactivity were:
- The time commitment was too much
- I was uncomfortable with some of the traditions
- My chapter was not diverse enough
- The level of community service we provided to women in general was disappointing
The Top-Rated New Ideas were:
- Assign new members a mentor
- Develop more relevant programming
- Associate membership concept
- Lunch groups and other social opportunities
- More programs between chapters