POC Representation Has Been Rising Among Museum Staff: Nationwide Study

While equal representation in the art industry may still take some work, the good news is that art museum staff have become more diverse in recent years, especially in positions of leadership. 

This positive uptick was reported in the Mellon Foundation’s Art Museum Staff Demographic Survey, created in collaboration with the American Alliance of Museums and the Association of Art Museum Directors.

The study, which was first published in 2015, has been tracking the number of people of color (POC) employed by art institutions through the years. And in its latest survey, it found that the percentage had risen from 27% to 36%. 

Over 30,000 museum employees took part in the survey, which was conducted in 328 North American museums from February to April 2022. 

Incredibly, the nearly 10% increase occurred despite multiple layouts hitting the most diverse departments in museums, including education, facilities, and security, as a result of the long drawn-out pandemic. 

Survey results found that there was an increase in staffers who identified as Hispanic, Asian, and mixed race; though the overall representation of Black, American Indian, and Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander employees remained stagnant since the last report in 2018. 

More importantly, executive roles in these museums have been more POC representation. In these four years, “intellectual leadership” positions saw 8% more diverse staff, including that of directors, curators, and conservators. 

Notably, the number of Black staff members in leadership roles has more than doubled since the survey first began seven years ago.  

This change certainly is a hopeful one, considering that the trend suggests the number could spike significantly by the next cycle, as POC employees make up 45% of all staff members hired in 2021. 

In the area of gender, female employees in museum leadership positions saw an increase from 58% in 2015 to 66% this year, while the ratio of women to men staff across the board remained at a constant 60% to 40%. 

“Though progress remains slow and uneven, the demographics of museum employees across the country are becoming more reflective of the diverse communities their organizations serve,” quips Mellon Foundation President Elizabeth Alexander. 

[via Artnet News and Mellon Foundation, cover image via Eileen Tan | Dreamstime.com]