For Immediate Release

Arlington, VA – March 11, 2019 – The American Alliance of Museums and the LGBTQ Alliance’s Task Force for Transgender Inclusion today released Gender Transition and Transgender Inclusion in the Museum Workplace: A Toolkit for Trans Individuals, Institutions, and Coworkers. This expansive set of guides approaches trans inclusion from the perspective of transitioning museum professionals, their institutions/museums, and their colleagues.

“The toolkit is as useful as it is groundbreaking,” said AAM President and CEO Laura Lott. “Fortunately, the last several years have seen awareness and acceptance of transgender issues grow exponentially. However, there remains a need for museum leadership and employees to have a protocol that educates, informs, and ensures that museums are safe environments for all employees and visitors. I am pleased that, thanks to the dedication and hard work of the Task Force for Transgender Inclusion, the Alliance can share this important toolkit as part of our focus on museums’ diversity, equity, accessibility, and inclusion.”

The task force, created by the American Alliance of Museums’ LGBTQ Alliance and chaired by Alison Kennedy (Franklin Park Conservatory and Botanical Gardens) and Anna Woten (Atlanta History Center), has been working on the resource for much of the last year. The work comes in response to requests to provide support for institutions working to become more welcoming of transgender employees and visitors.

“The education and knowledge it provides can create a path for those interested in becoming allies and can foster a more inclusive atmosphere within the museum field,” Kennedy and Woten said.

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“In these times of cultural challenges to acceptance of all people, I can think of no more important, timely, or needed guidance than the resources the Task Force has created,” said Mike Lesperance, Chairperson of the LGBTQ Alliance.

The Task Force anticipates that the toolkit will most commonly be used in one of three ways:

• By the transitioning professional, who can use it to work with their institution and safely transition in the workplace
• By museums, to better understand the needs of the trans community and be able to meet those needs in the workplace
• By coworkers, who can use the resource to become better allies to their trans colleagues

About the AAM LGBTQ Alliance:

The Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Queer Alliance (LGBTQ Alliance) of the American Alliance of Museums provides a forum for communication and dialogue and is committed to advancing diversity, equity, inclusion, and inquiry with particular respect to sexual orientation and gender identity within museums. The LGBTQ Alliance facilitates transgender, queer, gay, lesbian, and bisexual visibility by promoting and enhancing awareness, understanding, and acceptance regarding museum-related LGBTQ issues. For more information, visit www.aam-us.org/professional-networks/lgbtq-alliance.

About AAM

The American Alliance of Museums has been bringing museums together since 1906, helping to develop standards and best practices, gathering and sharing knowledge, and providing advocacy on issues of concern to the entire museum community. Representing more than 35,000 individual museum professionals and volunteers, institutions, and corporate partners serving the museum field, the Alliance stands for the broad scope of the museum community. For more information, visit www.aam-us.org.