Headline
ArtMuseumStaff
DemographicSurvey
2022
MellonFoundationArtMuseumStaffDemographicSurvey20221Headline
ArtMuseumStaff
DemographicSurvey
2022
LiamSweeney
DeirdreHarkins
JoannaDressel
MellonFoundationArtMuseumStaffDemographicSurvey20222Foreword
rtmuseumsserveasstewardsofourvisualculture,spacesfor
scholarshipandexploration,andcatalystsforcontemplationand
Acreativity.Aspublicplaceswithcivicmissions,theyplayanessential
partinstrengtheningtheirlocalcommunities,providingexperiencesfor
collectivelearning,andsparkingtheimaginationsofallwhoenterthem.
Giventheiruniqueroleinoursociety,artmuseumsmustreflectthe
demographicsofourrichlydiversecountry.Duetoresearchundertakenbythe
MellonFoundationandIthakaS+Rsince2014,weknowtheseareinstitutions
thathavestruggledtohireaworkforceequitablyrepresentedinraceand
gender.Weknowpeopleofcolorarelesslikelytofeelwelcomeinmuseums
thanthosewhoareWhite.Weknowhistoricalcollectingpracticeshave
favoredtheartandculturalworksofmenofEuropeandescent.Awiderrange
ofperspectivesandknowledgeinbothmuseumleadershipandbroaderstaff
helptoensurethatthecurationandculturalnarrativespresentinmuseumsare
richerandmoreaccurate,andthatmuseumsareevermoreinvitingspaces.
Withthe2022cycleoftheartmuseumstaffdemographicsurvey,theMellon
FoundationandIthakaS+Rhavefoundsteady—yetstillslow—progress
sincewebeganrecordingandinterpretingthisdataeightyearsago.The
findingsinthisreportdorevealchangesinhiringpatternsinthetwoyears
sincethepandemicandracialjusticeprotestsof2020,andthosechanges
haveincreasedtheoverallnumberofmuseumstaffmemberswhoarepeople
ofcolor.Whileitisencouragingtoseethatseveraloftheseinstitutionshave
deployedeffectivestrategiestodiversifytheirstaffs,morethan80%ofcertain
keyrolescontinuetobeheldbyWhitepeople,andgainsamongstaffmembers
whoareBlackorIndigenousremainlimitedoverall.
Wesharethisreportpubliclyasresource:onethatmightstrengthenfair
andequitablehiringpractices,serveasanimpetusforgreaterdemographic
changeamongmuseumleadershipandstaff,andfundamentallybeofuse.We
lookforwardtoseeinghowthisworkcontinuestoaidintheevolutionofour
country’sartmuseums.
ElizabethAlexander
MellonFoundation
MellonFoundationArtMuseumStaffDemographicSurvey20223ExecutiveSummary
ithsupportfromtheMellonFoundationandKeyfindingsinclude:
inpartnershipwiththeAmericanAllianceof
WMuseums(AAM)andtheAssociationofArtoThefieldgrowsmorediverse:Withrespectto
MuseumDirectors(AAMD),IthakaS+Rhasconductedtheraceandethnicityofmuseumstaff,data
athirdcycleoftheArtMuseumStaffDemographicshowacontinued,moderateincreaseinpeople
Survey.Thiscyclegathereddatafrom328museumsofcolor(POC)acrossallmuseumroles.3Museum
inNorthAmericafromFebruarytoApril2022.Duringleadershipandconservationpositions,whilegrowing
thattime,participatingmuseumsreportedrecordsmorediverse,havenotexceededone-fifthPOC
forover30,000individuals,whosedemographicsarerepresentationoverall.Over40percentofyounger
analyzedinthisreport.1Inaddition,wehavebeenabletostaffandnewerhiresarePOC.Intheaggregate,the
supplementthedemographicanalysiswithperspectivesdemographicchangesinmuseumstaffareprimarily
fromartmuseumdirectorsabouttheireffortstoduetoincreasesinstafffromthreebackgrounds:
addressdiversity,equity,accessibility,andinclusionHispanic,Asian,andthosewhoareTwoorMoreRaces.
(DEAI)amongtheirstaff.Whiletherehasnotbeenasignificantincreasein
Blackstaffintheaggregate,between2015and2022,
AsmuseumshavestruggledwithrevenuelossesduethenumberofBlackstaffinmuseumleadership
totheCOVID-19pandemic,andinsomecaseslaidoffhasmorethandoubled,whiletriplingininformation
largenumbersofstaff,manyinthefieldhaveexpressedtechnologyandquadruplingincuratorialpositions.
concernthatmuseumswouldgrowlessdiverse,shifting
oGenderratiosremainconsistent:Genderratios
intoanemergencyposturethatwoulddeprioritize
haveheldconsistentsince2015butvarywidely
considerationsliketherepresentationaldiversity
accordingtoroleswithinthemuseum.Across
ofstaff.2Thisstudyshowsthattheoppositeistrue.
intellectualleadershippositionsinthemuseum,
Findingsshedlightonthetrajectoryofdemographic
femaleemployeesconstitutealargemajority,over
changesinthefield,theimpactofthepandemicon
75percent.Therepresentationoffemaleemployees
staffing,andtherelationshipbetweentheperspectives
inmuseumleadershiphasincreasedsubstantially,
andattitudesofmuseumdirectorsandthecomposition
from58percentin2015to66percentin2022.4
oftheirstaff.
oStaffingbouncesbackfromthepandemic:The
COVID-19pandemiccausedsignificantreductionsin
hiringamongsomeofthemostdiversedepartments
inmuseums,suchassecurity,facilities,andeducation.
However,museumshavedramaticallyincreased
staffinginalloftheseareassince2020.
1Museumswereinstructedtosubmitdataforalloftheircurrentlyemployedfull-andpart-timepermanentandtemporarystaff.
2Weheardspeculationofthisnaturefromadvisorsandintrademedia.Formoreliteratureonthistopic,seeNancyKenney,“Exclusive
Survey:WhatProgressHaveUSMuseumsMadeonDiversity,afterAYearofRacialReckoning?”ArtNewspaper,25May2021,
theartnewspaper/2021/05/25/exclusive-survey-what-progress-have-us-museums-made-on-diversity-after-a-year-
of-racial-reckoning.
3WeareusingthetermPOCwhenpresentingbinaryanalysisbetweenWhitestaffandstaffwhoreportedaraceotherthanWhite.
Forafulllistoftermsanddefinitionsusedinthisreport,pleaserefertoAppendixC.
4Fordefinitionsofgenderusedinthisreport,pleaserefertoAppendixC.
MellonFoundationArtMuseumStaffDemographicSurvey20224ExecutiveSummary
oRetentionrateswillbeanimportantfactorin
maintainingcurrentlevelsofdiversityinthefield:
Asmuseumsreboundfromthepandemic,theyare
doingsowithgreaterdiversityintheirhiringpractices.
However,inordertomaintainorcontinuebuilding
onthisincreaseddiversity,staffretentionwillbean
importantconsiderationformuseumleaders.
oMoremuseumdirectorsprioritizeDEAI:Morethan
twiceasmanymuseumdirectorsseeDEAIissues
ascentraltotheirworkcomparedto2020.Providing
alivablewageandensuringpayequityaremost
frequentlyseenasveryhighprioritiesbymuseum
directors.Directorsatmorediversemuseumsalso
considerincreasingrepresentationaldiversityamong
museumstaffandleadershiptobeaveryhighpriority.
Inrelationtooneanother,thesefindingspresenta
complexportraitofthesector.Museumsarediversifying
intheaggregate,andweareseeingincreaseddiversity
inpositionsthathadremainedstagnantbetween2015
and2018.However,mostofthediversity,particularly
representationofBlackandHispanicstaff,remains
in“people-facing”positions.Thesepositionsarealso
oftenlowpayingandhavethelowestretentionbetween
surveycycles.
MellonFoundationArtMuseumStaffDemographicSurvey20225