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MOTION BY SUPERVISORS HILDA L. SOLIS AND MARK RIDLEY-THOMAS <br />OCTOBER 27, 2015 <br />PAGE 2 <br />• Women are in the pipeline for top museum positions: The study found <br />that there has been a significant movement toward gender equality in art <br />museums with women now comprising 60 percent of museum staffs and a <br />majority in the curatorial, conservation, and education positions. These high <br />level jobs can be a pipeline toward higher leadership positions. <br />• Minorities have no significant pipeline for leadership positions: The <br />survey found that no such pipeline for leadership exists for individuals from <br />underrepresented communities. Although they represent 28 percent of <br />museum staff, the great majority of these workers are concentrated in <br />security, facilities, and other jobs that generally are not a pipeline to <br />leadership positions. <br />Elizabeth Merritt, Director of AAM's Center for the Future of Museums, noted <br />during the release of the study that "To thrive in the long term, it is crucial that museums <br />bring the demographic profile of their staff into alignment with that of the communities <br />they serve." <br />The City of New York and others have recognized that diversifying the arts field <br />is an important challenge not only for museums, but for all arts institutions, including the <br />performing arts. As a result, the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs <br />(Department) launched a major initiative in January of 2015 that includes a <br />demographic study of the diversity of boards and staff of New York City arts <br />institutions. The purpose of the study, whose results will be made available within a few <br />months, is to create a baseline that will help inform more meaningful City-wide <br />conversation around this issue of diversity and provide an underpinning for adopting <br />new strategies and implementing best practices to further diversify the field. <br />The New York initiative includes "peer-to-peer discussions about the successes <br />and challenges" they experience related to cultivating a diverse field. A major goal is to <br />"identify and celebrate best practices regarding the cultivation of workforce, leadership, <br />and audience diversity for adaptation by the field." The Department has noted that "this <br />65B-107 <br />