Open Forum

We recently completed a study of the perceived barriers to mobility. Our focus was on leaders in zoos, aquariums, and cultural institutions. While the focus was on women and people of color in Association of Zoo and Aquarium (AZA) organizations, we suspect some of the findings and recommendations could resonate with the AAM community.

About the research - Quantitative and qualitative data from over 750 AZA leaders (managers, directors, CEOs) were collected via online survey (administered Dec 22 through Jan 23). Follow-up focus groups were conducted to help clarify the data and to explore tangible actions (mentors, development opportunities, paid internships, culture change, etc.) to attract potential leaders, and to retain, and develop existing ones.

The attached infographic provides some key highlights. 

Thank you for sharing this research! I'd be interested in similar studies on barriers in the RFP process - has anyone seen anything like that? I feel like some of the rubrics used by agencies automatically disqualify small women- and minority- owned firms. For instance, weighting the number of projects completed in a year or total annual revenue keeps us from growing our firms. 

We recently completed a study of the perceived barriers to mobility. Our focus was on leaders in zoos, aquariums, and cultural institutions. While the focus was on women and people of color in Association of Zoo and Aquarium (AZA) organizations, we suspect some of the findings and recommendations could resonate with the AAM community.

About the research - Quantitative and qualitative data from over 750 AZA leaders (managers, directors, CEOs) were collected via online survey (administered Dec 22 through Jan 23). Follow-up focus groups were conducted to help clarify the data and to explore tangible actions (mentors, development opportunities, paid internships, culture change, etc.) to attract potential leaders, and to retain, and develop existing ones.

The attached infographic provides some key highlights.