Equity

The Transformative Power of Employee Activism

By Tracy L. Lawrence

Museums and cultural institutions are undergoing a seismic shift, being rightly called to reassess norms and practices to address historical inequities and better reflect and serve their communities. But in navigating this transformation, …
Using an Annual DEAI Report as a Tool for Transparency, Accountability, and Change

By Joe Imholte

At science museums, we spend considerable time and effort instilling the notion in our visitors that mistakes are not something to shy away from, but opportunities for learning and growth. But we don’t always seem to embrace that idea for …
Taking a Stand: A Q&A with Micah Parzen, CEO of the Museum of Us

By Adam Rozan

While for some museums the pandemic was a wake-up call to reimagine how they engaged and served their communities, for others it was an opportunity to go deeper. One of those museums, the Museum of Us, had been on a trajectory for several …
4 Ideas to Create Linguistic Accessibility at Museums

By Irma Cedeno Verdon

Though the word “accessibility” has often been equated with giving access to those with disabilities, it can also mean something broader. Accessibility means looking at everything we create through the lens of inclusivity and diversity and …
Building Equity: K-12 Education in Museums

By American Alliance of Museums

Watch this engaging conversation between Keahe Davis, Ah-Young Kim, Kelly Williams, and Tara Young as they discuss the state of museums and K-12 education. They talk about where we are and where we are going toward making museum and K-12 …
Museums and the Living Wage: How Filoli Developed a Bold Pay Equity Initiative

By Kara Newport

Each year CFM’s TrendsWatch brings attention to bear on critical issues for museums, challenging our sector to think about how we might adapt to a rapidly changing environment. Examining a future in which museums may create healthier …
How Do You Design a Fair and Effective Compensation Program?

By Katherine McNamee

At AAM, we were fortunate to have leadership’s support from the very beginning, and although the analysis did require a significant time commitment, it has been a worthwhile investment. Discussing compensation practices enabled deep …
Building Salary Equity at the Bakken Museum

By Joe Imholte

Some of the most interesting conversations I had at #AAM2022 were about workplace issues, notably pay equity, and I was heartened to find many people in leadership positions are looking for guidance and models of how to begin the process …
Anti-Racist by Design: How the Oakland Museum of California Is Building Equity into Its Practices

By Oakland Museum of California

At the Oakland Museum of California (OMCA), diversity, equity, inclusion, access, and anti-racism are commitments that have long been a part of our DNA, both internally and in our work with our community, partners, and other cultural …
How Can Education Programs Help Bridge the Digital Divide?

By Dr. Ebony Bailey and Dr. Kerry Sautner

In this series of posts, EdCom’s Trends Committee is taking a deeper look at emerging phenomena identified in the 2021 edition of TrendsWatch from the Center for the Future of Museums. In this post, they explore how museums sought to …