Proportionate representation?
72% of staff from Association of Art Museum Directors (AAMD) member institutions are non-Hispanic white. 28% of staff are historically underrepresented minorities.
The American population is 62% non-Hispanic white, a figure not totally disproportionate to the representation in museum posts. However 84% of posts generally considered to be higher ranking, including: curator, conservator, educator, and leadership positions, are occupied by non-Hispanic whites.
The Asian demographic (defined as “A person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent including, for example, Cambodia, China, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, the Philippine Islands, Thailand, and Vietnam.” ) makes up 5% of the US population, and therefore is the only demographic which is proportionally represented whithin this job category.
According to the 2014 US census, Hispanic and Latin Americans account for 17.% of the population, whilst Black or African American alone represent 13.2%, against 3% and 4% respectively in “job categories most closely associated with the intellectual and educational mission of museums.”
According to the 2014 US census, Hispanic and Latin Americans account for 17.% of the population, whilst Black or African American alone represent 13.2%, against 3% and 4% respectively in “job categories most closely associated with the intellectual and educational mission of museums.”
Gender Roles
Data shows that 60% of museum staff are female, with less than 1% identifying as neither male or female, the survey notes that “This is likely an underrepresentation of actual identity percentages but reflects the fact that so many employers track this categorization on a binary Male/Female basis.”
The survey shows that male dominated jobs include: IT work, art handling and security
Whilst women are more present in curatorial, conservation, and educational roles — 70%
The survey shows that male dominated jobs include: IT work, art handling and security
Whilst women are more present in curatorial, conservation, and educational roles — 70%
This division would appear to set women up for a larger representation in directorial roles, however a recent AAMD report found that only 43% of museum directors are women and that a gender pay gap is prevalent.
Whilst Mariet Westermann, Vice President of the Mellon Foundation recognizes that the results could be perceived as “discouraging”, this survey aims to be a baseline from which future progress can hopefully be tracked. It is important to note also that in 2013 the foundation made a $2.07 million donation to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art to enable LACMA, Art Institute of Chicago, High Museum of Art, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, and Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art to create undergraduate curatorial fellowship programs aimed at diversifying the workplace and providing a platform for students from historically underrepresented minorities to achieve fairer representation within cultural institutions in the United States.
The full survey, carried out by Roger Schonfeldn, Mariët Westermann & With Liam Sweeney, can be found here.
Whilst Mariet Westermann, Vice President of the Mellon Foundation recognizes that the results could be perceived as “discouraging”, this survey aims to be a baseline from which future progress can hopefully be tracked. It is important to note also that in 2013 the foundation made a $2.07 million donation to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art to enable LACMA, Art Institute of Chicago, High Museum of Art, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, and Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art to create undergraduate curatorial fellowship programs aimed at diversifying the workplace and providing a platform for students from historically underrepresented minorities to achieve fairer representation within cultural institutions in the United States.
The full survey, carried out by Roger Schonfeldn, Mariët Westermann & With Liam Sweeney, can be found here.
