At a recent event, a sentiment was expressed that increasing workforce diversity is not possible against a backdrop of recruitment freezes and redundancies.
It is, in fact, essential. Such times are exactly when we should be pushing for values-based change and challenging the status quo.
It is through a diversity of perspectives that we will find new ways of doing things and ensure our museums have a future.
For more than 17 years, the Museums Association has championed widening diversity within the sector, but not much has changed. So over the next six months, we will investigate why and what we can do about it.
It seems clear that we still need to broaden our idea of what diversity is. Identity is complex. It is made and remade constantly, as people negotiate their lives.
This means it is reductive to identify with people on the basis of a single characteristic. More broadly, most museums now have mission statements that incorporate some element of inclusivity, but how many leaders embody these values? Does our behaviour match the mission?
Applying a more nuanced understanding to the relationships we make inside and outside our organisations could help to create a culture change that goes beyond project funding, shifts to the institutional core and allows organisations to truly question and explore inequality.
We are not there yet and look forward to exploring these issues with our colleagues at the MA Conference in Birmingham (5-6 November).
Jess Turtle is the project coordinator, Transformers, at the Museums Association
It is, in fact, essential. Such times are exactly when we should be pushing for values-based change and challenging the status quo.
It is through a diversity of perspectives that we will find new ways of doing things and ensure our museums have a future.
For more than 17 years, the Museums Association has championed widening diversity within the sector, but not much has changed. So over the next six months, we will investigate why and what we can do about it.
It seems clear that we still need to broaden our idea of what diversity is. Identity is complex. It is made and remade constantly, as people negotiate their lives.
This means it is reductive to identify with people on the basis of a single characteristic. More broadly, most museums now have mission statements that incorporate some element of inclusivity, but how many leaders embody these values? Does our behaviour match the mission?
Applying a more nuanced understanding to the relationships we make inside and outside our organisations could help to create a culture change that goes beyond project funding, shifts to the institutional core and allows organisations to truly question and explore inequality.
We are not there yet and look forward to exploring these issues with our colleagues at the MA Conference in Birmingham (5-6 November).
Jess Turtle is the project coordinator, Transformers, at the Museums Association
