GEMM: Gender Equity in Museums Movement

“The GEMM Committee has written a platform paper addressing the need for action around gender equity in museums. You can download a PDF of the paper here, or read on below:

​Forty-three years ago a group of women gathered at the American Association of Museums annual meeting, now the Alliance, (AAM). Calling themselves the Women’s Caucus, they asked for numerous reforms to end gender-based discriminatory hiring and promotion practices in the museum profession. At the time, women held fewer than 16-percent of museum directorships, a number that declined before it increased. The Caucus also called for a legal guide to help women challenge discrimination, for support for open salary information, and guidelines for fair employment practices. That was then.

Today, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), women make up 46.7-percent of the museum field, working in every job title and every museum discipline.”