Herron et al. - The Effect of Gender on the Career Advancement of Arts Managers
Herron, D.G., Hubbard, T.S., Kirner, A.E., Newcomb, L., Reiser-memmer, M., Robertson II, M.E., Smith, M.W., Tulliow, L.A. & Young, J.S. (1998) The Effect of Gender on the Career Advancement of Arts Managers. The Journal of Arts Management, Law, and Society, 28 (1): 27-40.
The authors conducted the National Study of Arts Mangers (NSAM) to determine whether a glass ceiling exists in arts management. The project stemmed from an article entitled Power List: 100 Most Important People in Theatre, which appeared in Theatre Week Magazine in August 1995. Out of the one hundred people listed, only sixteen were women. If a gender discrepancy does exist, what factors contribute to the inequity? Is this a prevalent trend in the field of not-for-profit arts? Do other arts disciplines have as few powerful women as the theater world?
From these initial questions, NSAM was developed to determine whether gender affects the career advancement of arts managers. NSAM surveyed arts managers at medium-sized museums, dance companies, operas, symphonies, and theaters. An Arts Manager was defined as a person who holds one of five positions: artistic director, executive director, development director, marketing director and education director. Artistic directors and executive directors were classified as upper-level managers, and marketing directors, development directors and education directors were considered middle-level managers. A written survey was the primary method of collecting data for the study. Telephone interviews were later used to collect anecdotal information and to investigate trends apparent in the survey responses. Finally, two groups of Pittsburgh arts managers, one all female and one all male, convened in focus groups to provide additional qualitative data.
Data on job position, salary, education, experience, age, and career goals were collected and analyzed. The results of that analysis suggest that gender inequities do exist in arts management. However, the reasons behind those disparities are complex. Factors such as age, education, and experience help to explain why men predominate in upper management positions and have higher salaries. However, those factors do not fully account for the discrepancies between male and female arts managers, suggesting that gender discrimination may affect the career advancement of women.
Herron et al. “The Effect of Gender on the Career Advancement of Arts Managers”