AIC's 51st Annual Meeting

This talk explores the current state of gender equity in the U.S. conservation workforce, with a focus on understanding and improving the gender wage gap and creating trans-inclusive workplaces.

While the national gender pay gap is well-recognized, people may be unaware that the gap is larger in women-dominated workplaces like museums and libraries, and in women-dominated professions like conservation and many allied heritage preservation fields. The national pay gap has hovered around 20% since 2005, yet multiple surveys of AIC members reveal a gap of at least 30%. To examine the wage gap among AIC members, this paper draws on data from three compensation surveys of AIC members (in 2009, 2014, and 2021) and places it in context alongside findings from broader national surveys of museum workers and current data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

This talk also briefly reviews the mechanics of two major drivers of wage inequity—the glass escalator and the glass ceiling—the effects of which are greater in women dominated occupations. Multiple national surveys of museum workers confirm that the wage gap widens as employees advance in their careers, providing evidence of a “glass ceiling” for women. These surveys also clearly show men advancing at higher rates than women, revealing a “glass escalator” for men.

Although museum-specific data on the intersection of gender and race, cultural affinity, marital and family status, sexual orientation, and disability do not yet exist, this talk explores what we know about intersectional effects on the gender wage gap. Data on compensation and career outcomes for transgender workers are similarly lacking in the museum field, but information does exist at the national level and is also reviewed.

Finally and most importantly, this paper examines ways to improve equity, with a focus on structural employment practice changes at the institutional level, tips on creating trans-inclusive workplaces, a brief discussion of the role and possibilities of self-advocacy in museums and other settings, and a few suggestions about what professional associations like AIC can do to support equity in museums and for their members.

Please note that while this talk introduces new data, contextual information, and suggestions, it builds on work previously published and accessible to AIC members.