Gender agenda
What are the career challenges for women working in museums and galleries, particularly when they have families? Gwendolyn Smith reports
Emily (not her real name) is on maternity leave with her first child. She has a good job at a national museum in London but still feels nervous about what to expect when she returns to work as a mum.
“I’m quite career driven and I don’t know how trying to have flexible hours is going to affect that,” she says. The HR department has done nothing to allay her fears.
“When I went on maternity leave, I had to do HR’s job for them,” she says. “I had to explain to them what the policy was, since they offered me no clarity.”
She has also not been kept up-to-date on staff bulletins while she’s been away, even though the museum is undergoing a restructuring process.
Emily is not alone. For many working mothers in the sector, the prospect of balancing career ambitions with childcare responsibilities is a concern.
Yasmin Khan, a freelance consultant who is studying gender issues in the sector, points out that these worries don’t just end with maternity leave.
“There’s always a lot of emphasis on the arrival of the baby, but it needs to be thought through as the child grows up and other children come into the picture,” she says.
With such a large female workforce you would think that the sector would have strategies to cater for working mothers. But questions are raised by the fact that there is only one woman at the top of a national museum directly funded by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport – Diane Lees at Imperial War Museums.
There are other female national museum directors such as Penelope Curtis at Tate Britain (Nicholas Serota is the head of the whole of Tate) and there is Janice Murray at the National Army Museum, although that is funded by the Ministry of Defence. So are we losing talented workers by not being flexible enough?
Khan is frustrated by the contrast bet-ween the creativity of the sector’s workforce and the rigid, nine-to-five hours it largely keeps. She partly blames antiquated models of working for the difficulties working mothers encounter in museums.
“Traditional hours of nine to five suit a different era and a different type of family model than we have today,” Khan says. “While society has evolved in terms of lifestyle, those sort of frameworks haven’t.”
Nevertheless, responses to Museums Journal’s Working Mothers Survey show that some museums and galleries do offer flexible hours to those who need them.
Emma Williams, the collections and acc-ess officer at Amgueddfa Abertawe (Swansea Museum), says her employer was “very helpful” when it came to negotiating her part-time role after she had children.
And Lucy Shaw, who re-entered the sector when her children got older, says her employer, Oxford University Museums, takes the issue of unconscious bias very seriously. She adds that Oxford University Museums is good at taking a flexible approach with childcare duties for men and women.
This raises an important point: working fathers, who are still often overlooked even though they also require job flexibility.
“As a society, we should remember that working dads exist,” Shaw says. “It would be better for families as a whole if there was more shared care.”
It remains to be seen whether men in museums will feel able to take advantage of the shared parental leave that comes into effect in April 2015.
Still, as Khan points out, the sector’s low wages mean that many women in museums and galleries are still providing the second income in their family. This can make it difficult for those whose main income is their museum salary.
Emily, whose partner will be doing most of the childcare when she goes back to work, says: “There are lots of people working in museums where it is not just a hobby job, it’s their main income. That’s when it gets more tricky.”
So is the sector alienating female staff by sticking to outdated working models, or are sacrifices necessary for getting to the top?
Shaw thinks women partly need to “take responsibility for themselves and be ambitious in what they want to achieve”.
But Khan says: “It’s valid to say that women are just going to have to bite the bullet and make it work, but my response still is: ‘No, there are other ways of working.’”
Gwendolyn Smith is a freelance journalist
Emma Williams, collections and access officer, Amgueddfa Abertawe (Swansea Museum)
“I’m lucky because I work at a local authority museum where we have flexi-hours and there are opportunities if you have caring responsibilities. I have two kids, aged four and five, so I work part-time.
The museum is covering my other hours so it means that the post won’t get cut. Until my children get to an age where they can get to school by themselves I can’t imagine working a 37-hour week. We live an hour away from the museum and my husband works in Cardiff. I’m still only coming out of the lack of sleep years that come with having young children.
Even though everybody is supportive, I still feel guilty about not being able to give my whole self, either to work or my children. Still, the kids are growing up and getting interested in history, so coming to the museum with mummy is now an exciting thing for them to do.”
Rebecca Mileham, freelance writer and consultant
“Coming back to London’s Science Museum from maternity leave, I was asked if I could go into a job-share instead of working part-time. This turned out to be really liberating. The person I was job-sharing with was great and I think we learned a lot from each other. We’re still good friends.
Still, I think it’s not only working mothers who need to be given flexible hours. Working fathers and anyone caring for elderly relatives also need to be supported. I work freelance now and don’t have to commute, which has lifted a huge weight off my shoulders.
It also means I have time to contribute to the wider community. My husband also works for himself so we can usually cover childcare for each other when one of us gets a big project. I know this is not an option open to everybody, but it’s working out well for us.”
Lucy Shaw, manager, Oxford Aspire
“I was very ambitious in my 20s but had some health issues so I had to think about having children sooner rather than later. I worked freelance for about 15 years while my children were young. This suited me really well, but it did mean that I had to put my ambitions on hold.
Thanks to mentoring by Sally MacDonald [the new director of the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester] I had the confidence to go back into museums four years ago and apply for a job at Oxford University Museums.
I went back to full-time work when my children were in secondary school, but it is a particularly hard thing to do as a single parent. I couldn’t have done that when they were little.
Women need to be better at saying that being a working mother is difficult but not impossible. I’m always prepared to admit this, and I think this can be quite liberating for younger women to see.”
Lucy Harland, director, Lucidity Media
“I’ve been working freelance for the past six years – since my kids were nine and six. This wasn’t my motivation for going freelance though – being flexible doesn’t necessarily help when you’re a mum.
When you’re in full-time employment, for instance, your life is more predictable. You have financial and employment security, and you can take family leave or sick leave.
When you’re working for yourself you need to deliver to your deadline. As my clients are often working to tight deadlines, I just have to absorb any problems at home into my workload.
The advantage with freelance work is that you can often be physically around. Nevertheless, I’ve just been on a work trip to Oman for two weeks. That wouldn’t be the case if I were working at a museum in the UK.”
Hilary McGowan, cultural consultant and executive coach
“From my work, I understand that flexible working hours might be great for working mothers but providing them can be a nightmare for people running the service.
Policy-makers often have no concept of the impact on operational problems because they’re sitting in some civic centre rather than being out there running a museum or a library or a swimming pool.
The feminisation of the profession is a great concern because we need a balance of gender in the sector. I believe part of the reason men aren’t applying for jobs is due to the poor pay offered by the sector. When it comes to women, I think if you’re really good, you’ll get where you want to be, irrespective of any barriers in the way.”
Claire Allan, learning manager (site and events), National Museums Scotland
“After I had my first child, I wanted to come back on a part-time basis and my employers were very supportive about this. My current role is full-time, but until this January I worked four days a week.
I’m still able to work from home some Friday mornings though, and even take the afternoon off from time to time in compensation for other hours I work. In our department, people higher up the chain have children themselves and are consequently very understanding.
Technology has made working from home a lot easier – I now have access to all my emails and work files. My role does involve quite a lot of weekend and evening work, though. This is a challenge and sometimes I feel guilty about it when I think of my children.
My kids are now nine and six and I don’t think I would have been ready for this when they were younger.”
“I’m quite career driven and I don’t know how trying to have flexible hours is going to affect that,” she says. The HR department has done nothing to allay her fears.
“When I went on maternity leave, I had to do HR’s job for them,” she says. “I had to explain to them what the policy was, since they offered me no clarity.”
She has also not been kept up-to-date on staff bulletins while she’s been away, even though the museum is undergoing a restructuring process.
Emily is not alone. For many working mothers in the sector, the prospect of balancing career ambitions with childcare responsibilities is a concern.
Yasmin Khan, a freelance consultant who is studying gender issues in the sector, points out that these worries don’t just end with maternity leave.
“There’s always a lot of emphasis on the arrival of the baby, but it needs to be thought through as the child grows up and other children come into the picture,” she says.
With such a large female workforce you would think that the sector would have strategies to cater for working mothers. But questions are raised by the fact that there is only one woman at the top of a national museum directly funded by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport – Diane Lees at Imperial War Museums.
There are other female national museum directors such as Penelope Curtis at Tate Britain (Nicholas Serota is the head of the whole of Tate) and there is Janice Murray at the National Army Museum, although that is funded by the Ministry of Defence. So are we losing talented workers by not being flexible enough?
Khan is frustrated by the contrast bet-ween the creativity of the sector’s workforce and the rigid, nine-to-five hours it largely keeps. She partly blames antiquated models of working for the difficulties working mothers encounter in museums.
“Traditional hours of nine to five suit a different era and a different type of family model than we have today,” Khan says. “While society has evolved in terms of lifestyle, those sort of frameworks haven’t.”
Nevertheless, responses to Museums Journal’s Working Mothers Survey show that some museums and galleries do offer flexible hours to those who need them.
Emma Williams, the collections and acc-ess officer at Amgueddfa Abertawe (Swansea Museum), says her employer was “very helpful” when it came to negotiating her part-time role after she had children.
And Lucy Shaw, who re-entered the sector when her children got older, says her employer, Oxford University Museums, takes the issue of unconscious bias very seriously. She adds that Oxford University Museums is good at taking a flexible approach with childcare duties for men and women.
This raises an important point: working fathers, who are still often overlooked even though they also require job flexibility.
“As a society, we should remember that working dads exist,” Shaw says. “It would be better for families as a whole if there was more shared care.”
It remains to be seen whether men in museums will feel able to take advantage of the shared parental leave that comes into effect in April 2015.
Still, as Khan points out, the sector’s low wages mean that many women in museums and galleries are still providing the second income in their family. This can make it difficult for those whose main income is their museum salary.
Emily, whose partner will be doing most of the childcare when she goes back to work, says: “There are lots of people working in museums where it is not just a hobby job, it’s their main income. That’s when it gets more tricky.”
So is the sector alienating female staff by sticking to outdated working models, or are sacrifices necessary for getting to the top?
Shaw thinks women partly need to “take responsibility for themselves and be ambitious in what they want to achieve”.
But Khan says: “It’s valid to say that women are just going to have to bite the bullet and make it work, but my response still is: ‘No, there are other ways of working.’”
Gwendolyn Smith is a freelance journalist
Emma Williams, collections and access officer, Amgueddfa Abertawe (Swansea Museum)
“I’m lucky because I work at a local authority museum where we have flexi-hours and there are opportunities if you have caring responsibilities. I have two kids, aged four and five, so I work part-time.
The museum is covering my other hours so it means that the post won’t get cut. Until my children get to an age where they can get to school by themselves I can’t imagine working a 37-hour week. We live an hour away from the museum and my husband works in Cardiff. I’m still only coming out of the lack of sleep years that come with having young children.
Even though everybody is supportive, I still feel guilty about not being able to give my whole self, either to work or my children. Still, the kids are growing up and getting interested in history, so coming to the museum with mummy is now an exciting thing for them to do.”
Rebecca Mileham, freelance writer and consultant
“Coming back to London’s Science Museum from maternity leave, I was asked if I could go into a job-share instead of working part-time. This turned out to be really liberating. The person I was job-sharing with was great and I think we learned a lot from each other. We’re still good friends.
Still, I think it’s not only working mothers who need to be given flexible hours. Working fathers and anyone caring for elderly relatives also need to be supported. I work freelance now and don’t have to commute, which has lifted a huge weight off my shoulders.
It also means I have time to contribute to the wider community. My husband also works for himself so we can usually cover childcare for each other when one of us gets a big project. I know this is not an option open to everybody, but it’s working out well for us.”
Lucy Shaw, manager, Oxford Aspire
“I was very ambitious in my 20s but had some health issues so I had to think about having children sooner rather than later. I worked freelance for about 15 years while my children were young. This suited me really well, but it did mean that I had to put my ambitions on hold.
Thanks to mentoring by Sally MacDonald [the new director of the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester] I had the confidence to go back into museums four years ago and apply for a job at Oxford University Museums.
I went back to full-time work when my children were in secondary school, but it is a particularly hard thing to do as a single parent. I couldn’t have done that when they were little.
Women need to be better at saying that being a working mother is difficult but not impossible. I’m always prepared to admit this, and I think this can be quite liberating for younger women to see.”
Lucy Harland, director, Lucidity Media
“I’ve been working freelance for the past six years – since my kids were nine and six. This wasn’t my motivation for going freelance though – being flexible doesn’t necessarily help when you’re a mum.
When you’re in full-time employment, for instance, your life is more predictable. You have financial and employment security, and you can take family leave or sick leave.
When you’re working for yourself you need to deliver to your deadline. As my clients are often working to tight deadlines, I just have to absorb any problems at home into my workload.
The advantage with freelance work is that you can often be physically around. Nevertheless, I’ve just been on a work trip to Oman for two weeks. That wouldn’t be the case if I were working at a museum in the UK.”
Hilary McGowan, cultural consultant and executive coach
“From my work, I understand that flexible working hours might be great for working mothers but providing them can be a nightmare for people running the service.
Policy-makers often have no concept of the impact on operational problems because they’re sitting in some civic centre rather than being out there running a museum or a library or a swimming pool.
The feminisation of the profession is a great concern because we need a balance of gender in the sector. I believe part of the reason men aren’t applying for jobs is due to the poor pay offered by the sector. When it comes to women, I think if you’re really good, you’ll get where you want to be, irrespective of any barriers in the way.”
Claire Allan, learning manager (site and events), National Museums Scotland
“After I had my first child, I wanted to come back on a part-time basis and my employers were very supportive about this. My current role is full-time, but until this January I worked four days a week.
I’m still able to work from home some Friday mornings though, and even take the afternoon off from time to time in compensation for other hours I work. In our department, people higher up the chain have children themselves and are consequently very understanding.
Technology has made working from home a lot easier – I now have access to all my emails and work files. My role does involve quite a lot of weekend and evening work, though. This is a challenge and sometimes I feel guilty about it when I think of my children.
My kids are now nine and six and I don’t think I would have been ready for this when they were younger.”