The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) is supporting a Cabinet Office drive to raise the proportion of women on public boards, aiming for 50% of public appointments to be female by 2015.
But government statistics show that only 38% of public appointments by the DCMS in 2012-13 were women. Only Tate, out of England’s national museums, has a board that comprises at least 50% women.
A spokeswoman for the National Museum Directors’ Council said: “National museums have not been formally approached about this aim. However, diversity remains a priority for all national museums.”
Comparisons with FTSE 250 companies suggest that national museums have a higher than average proportion of women on their boards.
The Female FTSE Board Report 2013, published by Cranfield University, shows that only 28% of FTSE 250 companies have boards where women account for 20% of members, while research by Museums Journal shows that 71% of the 17 national museums in England, Scotland and Wales have boards on which women account for 20% of members.
But more than half of national museums have boards where women account for less than 30% of members, and some think the government’s aims may be hard to meet.
Lucy Shaw, who authored the Museums Association’s report on diversity in the museum sector, published in March, said: “The reality is that getting there in two years’ time will be challenging, but that doesn’t mean we can’t set things in place to make it happen.
“It is not OK in 2013 [for boards] to be just white men from a certain background because that is not what the population looks like.”
She questioned why the DCMS was not considering other targets in addition to gender ratios. Shaw added that perhaps museum boards should reflect regional demographics, so that, for example, those in London would comprise 40% people from black and minority ethnic backgrounds.
It is not just an issue for national museums, but also for independents and local authority museums that have moved to trust status, according to Shaw.
Sam Hunt, executive director of the Association of Independent Museums, said: “From casual observation, a few [independents] have diversity on the map, but it is true to say that most fill boards to get the necessary skills and expertise for the business. Other issues such as representation follow that. At the end of the day, it is up to the museum to decide what is best for it.”
Former culture secretary David Lammy, who described the boards of museums as “pale, male and stale” in a 2007 speech, said: “Some progress has been made but there is still a long way to go.
“It is important that continuing efforts are made to increase the diversity of museum boards in every way possible. Making galleries and museums accessible to everyone will become much easier when the boards of these organisations represent the range of people who enjoy visiting them.”
But government statistics show that only 38% of public appointments by the DCMS in 2012-13 were women. Only Tate, out of England’s national museums, has a board that comprises at least 50% women.
A spokeswoman for the National Museum Directors’ Council said: “National museums have not been formally approached about this aim. However, diversity remains a priority for all national museums.”
Comparisons with FTSE 250 companies suggest that national museums have a higher than average proportion of women on their boards.
The Female FTSE Board Report 2013, published by Cranfield University, shows that only 28% of FTSE 250 companies have boards where women account for 20% of members, while research by Museums Journal shows that 71% of the 17 national museums in England, Scotland and Wales have boards on which women account for 20% of members.
But more than half of national museums have boards where women account for less than 30% of members, and some think the government’s aims may be hard to meet.
Lucy Shaw, who authored the Museums Association’s report on diversity in the museum sector, published in March, said: “The reality is that getting there in two years’ time will be challenging, but that doesn’t mean we can’t set things in place to make it happen.
“It is not OK in 2013 [for boards] to be just white men from a certain background because that is not what the population looks like.”
She questioned why the DCMS was not considering other targets in addition to gender ratios. Shaw added that perhaps museum boards should reflect regional demographics, so that, for example, those in London would comprise 40% people from black and minority ethnic backgrounds.
It is not just an issue for national museums, but also for independents and local authority museums that have moved to trust status, according to Shaw.
Sam Hunt, executive director of the Association of Independent Museums, said: “From casual observation, a few [independents] have diversity on the map, but it is true to say that most fill boards to get the necessary skills and expertise for the business. Other issues such as representation follow that. At the end of the day, it is up to the museum to decide what is best for it.”
Former culture secretary David Lammy, who described the boards of museums as “pale, male and stale” in a 2007 speech, said: “Some progress has been made but there is still a long way to go.
“It is important that continuing efforts are made to increase the diversity of museum boards in every way possible. Making galleries and museums accessible to everyone will become much easier when the boards of these organisations represent the range of people who enjoy visiting them.”
