Open Forum

Some listers may recall the now 4-month old trending issue concerning museum workers leaving the field because of unsustainably low wages & the exploitative overwork expected in our field.

These days, "time poor" museum practitioners seem to have lapsed into silence on such issues.

In this light, may I suggest that individuals who remain concerned & who plan to attend upcoming national and/or regional museum association annual general meetings consider introducing resolutions requesting action like the following.

Any willing movers & seconders are encouraged to massage the wording of the following draft resolution-or write your own!-to suit the particular museum organisation.

Understand; these problems will never be solved if museum workers say or do nothing about them. Action is absolutely necessary!

DRAFT Resolution for Professional Museum Organisation Annual General Meetings:

References Cited:

American Association of Museums. 2000. Code of Ethics for Museums. Washington: American Association of Museums.

Erdman, Sarah et al. 2017. "Leaving the Museum Field." Alliance Labs blog [American Alliance of Museums] posted 22 September http://labs.aam-us.org/blog/leaving-the-museum-field/  .

International Council of Museums. 2004. ICOM Code of Ethics for Museums. Paris: International Council of Museums.

Merritt, Elizabeth. 2015. "Unsafe Ideas: Building Museum Worker Solidarity for Social Justice." Center for the Future of Museums Blog posted 2 June at http://futureofmuseums.blogspot.ca/2015/06/unsafe-ideas-building-museum-worker.html .

Milldrum, Claire. 2017. "Why I Left The Museum Field: A Guest Post By Claire Milldrum." ExhibiTricks: A Museum/Exhibit/Design Blog posted 11 September http://blog.orselli.net/2017/09/why-i-left-museum-field-guest-post-by.html .

Nonprofit Quarterly. 2014. [Pay deficits in the case of women in museum work for example are well-documented. Nonprofit Quarterly March 2014 reporting on National Center for Arts Research found that women leading art museums "earn 79 [to 71 for small museums] cents on the dollar paid to male peers," The GuideStar 2013 Nonprofit Compensation Report finds similar differential between pay for men compared to women across all categories.  2012 American Association of Museums study reports women make 78%.]

Ocello, Claudia et al. 2017. "Why are Great Museum Workers Leaving the Field? Survey by Claudia Ocello, Dawn Salerno, Sarah Erdman, & Marieke Van Damme." https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1_aHdxmG0Jdb4deqsjyhH9eoDUIPXz_EdkU-7gWuXDwE/edit?usp=sharing .

Some listers may recall the now 4-month old trending issue concerning museum workers leaving the field because of unsustainably low wages & the exploitative overwork expected in our field.

These days, "time poor" museum practitioners seem to have lapsed into silence on such issues.

In this light, may I suggest that individuals who remain concerned & who plan to attend upcoming national and/or regional museum association annual general meetings consider introducing resolutions requesting action like the following.

Any willing movers & seconders are encouraged to massage the wording of the following draft resolution-or write your own!-to suit the particular museum organisation.

Understand; these problems will never be solved if museum workers say or do nothing about them. Action is absolutely necessary!

DRAFT Resolution for Professional Museum Organisation Annual General Meetings:

References Cited:

American Association of Museums. 2000. Code of Ethics for Museums. Washington: American Association of Museums.

Erdman, Sarah et al. 2017. "Leaving the Museum Field." Alliance Labs blog [American Alliance of Museums] posted 22 September http://labs.aam-us.org/blog/leaving-the-museum-field/  .

International Council of Museums. 2004. ICOM Code of Ethics for Museums. Paris: International Council of Museums.

Merritt, Elizabeth. 2015. "Unsafe Ideas: Building Museum Worker Solidarity for Social Justice." Center for the Future of Museums Blog posted 2 June at http://futureofmuseums.blogspot.ca/2015/06/unsafe-ideas-building-museum-worker.html .

Milldrum, Claire. 2017. "Why I Left The Museum Field: A Guest Post By Claire Milldrum." ExhibiTricks: A Museum/Exhibit/Design Blog posted 11 September http://blog.orselli.net/2017/09/why-i-left-museum-field-guest-post-by.html .

Nonprofit Quarterly. 2014. [Pay deficits in the case of women in museum work for example are well-documented. Nonprofit Quarterly March 2014 reporting on National Center for Arts Research found that women leading art museums "earn 79 [to 71 for small museums] cents on the dollar paid to male peers," The GuideStar 2013 Nonprofit Compensation Report finds similar differential between pay for men compared to women across all categories.  2012 American Association of Museums study reports women make 78%.]

Ocello, Claudia et al. 2017. "Why are Great Museum Workers Leaving the Field? Survey by Claudia Ocello, Dawn Salerno, Sarah Erdman, & Marieke Van Damme." https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1_aHdxmG0Jdb4deqsjyhH9eoDUIPXz_EdkU-7gWuXDwE/edit?usp=sharing .

Hello Mr. Thistle,

Thank you for your post. I am on the Board of Trustees for the National Emerging Museum Professionals Network. We are a group spanning across the United States hoping to better the careers and experiences of those in the first 10 years of their museum career. We've recently begun discussing what we can do to better the salary situation for entry/mid-career professionals and how we can draw attention to the problem. Our president, Michelle Epps, would love to speak with you about your post and thoughts of how we can begin this change. If you wouldn't mind speaking with her, please email her at president@nationalempnetwork.org. If that doesn't work please let me know and we can set something else up.

We hope to hear from you, and thank you again for your post. 

Katie Conrad

Some listers may recall the now 4-month old trending issue concerning museum workers leaving the field because of unsustainably low wages & the exploitative overwork expected in our field.

These days, "time poor" museum practitioners seem to have lapsed into silence on such issues.

In this light, may I suggest that individuals who remain concerned & who plan to attend upcoming national and/or regional museum association annual general meetings consider introducing resolutions requesting action like the following.

Any willing movers & seconders are encouraged to massage the wording of the following draft resolution-or write your own!-to suit the particular museum organisation.

Understand; these problems will never be solved if museum workers say or do nothing about them. Action is absolutely necessary!

DRAFT Resolution for Professional Museum Organisation Annual General Meetings:

References Cited:

American Association of Museums. 2000. Code of Ethics for Museums. Washington: American Association of Museums.

Erdman, Sarah et al. 2017. "Leaving the Museum Field." Alliance Labs blog [American Alliance of Museums] posted 22 September http://labs.aam-us.org/blog/leaving-the-museum-field/  .

International Council of Museums. 2004. ICOM Code of Ethics for Museums. Paris: International Council of Museums.

Merritt, Elizabeth. 2015. "Unsafe Ideas: Building Museum Worker Solidarity for Social Justice." Center for the Future of Museums Blog posted 2 June at http://futureofmuseums.blogspot.ca/2015/06/unsafe-ideas-building-museum-worker.html .

Milldrum, Claire. 2017. "Why I Left The Museum Field: A Guest Post By Claire Milldrum." ExhibiTricks: A Museum/Exhibit/Design Blog posted 11 September http://blog.orselli.net/2017/09/why-i-left-museum-field-guest-post-by.html .

Nonprofit Quarterly. 2014. [Pay deficits in the case of women in museum work for example are well-documented. Nonprofit Quarterly March 2014 reporting on National Center for Arts Research found that women leading art museums "earn 79 [to 71 for small museums] cents on the dollar paid to male peers," The GuideStar 2013 Nonprofit Compensation Report finds similar differential between pay for men compared to women across all categories.  2012 American Association of Museums study reports women make 78%.]

Ocello, Claudia et al. 2017. "Why are Great Museum Workers Leaving the Field? Survey by Claudia Ocello, Dawn Salerno, Sarah Erdman, & Marieke Van Damme." https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1_aHdxmG0Jdb4deqsjyhH9eoDUIPXz_EdkU-7gWuXDwE/edit?usp=sharing .

Some listers may recall the now 4-month old trending issue concerning museum workers leaving the field because of unsustainably low wages & the exploitative overwork expected in our field.

These days, "time poor" museum practitioners seem to have lapsed into silence on such issues.

In this light, may I suggest that individuals who remain concerned & who plan to attend upcoming national and/or regional museum association annual general meetings consider introducing resolutions requesting action like the following.

Any willing movers & seconders are encouraged to massage the wording of the following draft resolution-or write your own!-to suit the particular museum organisation.

Understand; these problems will never be solved if museum workers say or do nothing about them. Action is absolutely necessary!

DRAFT Resolution for Professional Museum Organisation Annual General Meetings:

References Cited:

American Association of Museums. 2000. Code of Ethics for Museums. Washington: American Association of Museums.

Erdman, Sarah et al. 2017. "Leaving the Museum Field." Alliance Labs blog [American Alliance of Museums] posted 22 September http://labs.aam-us.org/blog/leaving-the-museum-field/  .

International Council of Museums. 2004. ICOM Code of Ethics for Museums. Paris: International Council of Museums.

Merritt, Elizabeth. 2015. "Unsafe Ideas: Building Museum Worker Solidarity for Social Justice." Center for the Future of Museums Blog posted 2 June at http://futureofmuseums.blogspot.ca/2015/06/unsafe-ideas-building-museum-worker.html .

Milldrum, Claire. 2017. "Why I Left The Museum Field: A Guest Post By Claire Milldrum." ExhibiTricks: A Museum/Exhibit/Design Blog posted 11 September http://blog.orselli.net/2017/09/why-i-left-museum-field-guest-post-by.html .

Nonprofit Quarterly. 2014. [Pay deficits in the case of women in museum work for example are well-documented. Nonprofit Quarterly March 2014 reporting on National Center for Arts Research found that women leading art museums "earn 79 [to 71 for small museums] cents on the dollar paid to male peers," The GuideStar 2013 Nonprofit Compensation Report finds similar differential between pay for men compared to women across all categories.  2012 American Association of Museums study reports women make 78%.]

Ocello, Claudia et al. 2017. "Why are Great Museum Workers Leaving the Field? Survey by Claudia Ocello, Dawn Salerno, Sarah Erdman, & Marieke Van Damme." https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1_aHdxmG0Jdb4deqsjyhH9eoDUIPXz_EdkU-7gWuXDwE/edit?usp=sharing .

Some listers may recall the now 4-month old trending issue concerning museum workers leaving the field because of unsustainably low wages & the exploitative overwork expected in our field.

These days, "time poor" museum practitioners seem to have lapsed into silence on such issues.

In this light, may I suggest that individuals who remain concerned & who plan to attend upcoming national and/or regional museum association annual general meetings consider introducing resolutions requesting action like the following.

Any willing movers & seconders are encouraged to massage the wording of the following draft resolution-or write your own!-to suit the particular museum organisation.

Understand; these problems will never be solved if museum workers say or do nothing about them. Action is absolutely necessary!

DRAFT Resolution for Professional Museum Organisation Annual General Meetings:

References Cited:

American Association of Museums. 2000. Code of Ethics for Museums. Washington: American Association of Museums.

Erdman, Sarah et al. 2017. "Leaving the Museum Field." Alliance Labs blog [American Alliance of Museums] posted 22 September http://labs.aam-us.org/blog/leaving-the-museum-field/  .

International Council of Museums. 2004. ICOM Code of Ethics for Museums. Paris: International Council of Museums.

Merritt, Elizabeth. 2015. "Unsafe Ideas: Building Museum Worker Solidarity for Social Justice." Center for the Future of Museums Blog posted 2 June at http://futureofmuseums.blogspot.ca/2015/06/unsafe-ideas-building-museum-worker.html .

Milldrum, Claire. 2017. "Why I Left The Museum Field: A Guest Post By Claire Milldrum." ExhibiTricks: A Museum/Exhibit/Design Blog posted 11 September http://blog.orselli.net/2017/09/why-i-left-museum-field-guest-post-by.html .

Nonprofit Quarterly. 2014. [Pay deficits in the case of women in museum work for example are well-documented. Nonprofit Quarterly March 2014 reporting on National Center for Arts Research found that women leading art museums "earn 79 [to 71 for small museums] cents on the dollar paid to male peers," The GuideStar 2013 Nonprofit Compensation Report finds similar differential between pay for men compared to women across all categories.  2012 American Association of Museums study reports women make 78%.]

Ocello, Claudia et al. 2017. "Why are Great Museum Workers Leaving the Field? Survey by Claudia Ocello, Dawn Salerno, Sarah Erdman, & Marieke Van Damme." https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1_aHdxmG0Jdb4deqsjyhH9eoDUIPXz_EdkU-7gWuXDwE/edit?usp=sharing .

Some listers may recall the now 4-month old trending issue concerning museum workers leaving the field because of unsustainably low wages & the exploitative overwork expected in our field.

These days, "time poor" museum practitioners seem to have lapsed into silence on such issues.

In this light, may I suggest that individuals who remain concerned & who plan to attend upcoming national and/or regional museum association annual general meetings consider introducing resolutions requesting action like the following.

Any willing movers & seconders are encouraged to massage the wording of the following draft resolution-or write your own!-to suit the particular museum organisation.

Understand; these problems will never be solved if museum workers say or do nothing about them. Action is absolutely necessary!

DRAFT Resolution for Professional Museum Organisation Annual General Meetings:

References Cited:

American Association of Museums. 2000. Code of Ethics for Museums. Washington: American Association of Museums.

Erdman, Sarah et al. 2017. "Leaving the Museum Field." Alliance Labs blog [American Alliance of Museums] posted 22 September http://labs.aam-us.org/blog/leaving-the-museum-field/  .

International Council of Museums. 2004. ICOM Code of Ethics for Museums. Paris: International Council of Museums.

Merritt, Elizabeth. 2015. "Unsafe Ideas: Building Museum Worker Solidarity for Social Justice." Center for the Future of Museums Blog posted 2 June at http://futureofmuseums.blogspot.ca/2015/06/unsafe-ideas-building-museum-worker.html .

Milldrum, Claire. 2017. "Why I Left The Museum Field: A Guest Post By Claire Milldrum." ExhibiTricks: A Museum/Exhibit/Design Blog posted 11 September http://blog.orselli.net/2017/09/why-i-left-museum-field-guest-post-by.html .

Nonprofit Quarterly. 2014. [Pay deficits in the case of women in museum work for example are well-documented. Nonprofit Quarterly March 2014 reporting on National Center for Arts Research found that women leading art museums "earn 79 [to 71 for small museums] cents on the dollar paid to male peers," The GuideStar 2013 Nonprofit Compensation Report finds similar differential between pay for men compared to women across all categories.  2012 American Association of Museums study reports women make 78%.]

Ocello, Claudia et al. 2017. "Why are Great Museum Workers Leaving the Field? Survey by Claudia Ocello, Dawn Salerno, Sarah Erdman, & Marieke Van Damme." https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1_aHdxmG0Jdb4deqsjyhH9eoDUIPXz_EdkU-7gWuXDwE/edit?usp=sharing .

Some listers may recall the now 4-month old trending issue concerning museum workers leaving the field because of unsustainably low wages & the exploitative overwork expected in our field.

These days, "time poor" museum practitioners seem to have lapsed into silence on such issues.

In this light, may I suggest that individuals who remain concerned & who plan to attend upcoming national and/or regional museum association annual general meetings consider introducing resolutions requesting action like the following.

Any willing movers & seconders are encouraged to massage the wording of the following draft resolution-or write your own!-to suit the particular museum organisation.

Understand; these problems will never be solved if museum workers say or do nothing about them. Action is absolutely necessary!

DRAFT Resolution for Professional Museum Organisation Annual General Meetings:

References Cited:

American Association of Museums. 2000. Code of Ethics for Museums. Washington: American Association of Museums.

Erdman, Sarah et al. 2017. "Leaving the Museum Field." Alliance Labs blog [American Alliance of Museums] posted 22 September http://labs.aam-us.org/blog/leaving-the-museum-field/  .

International Council of Museums. 2004. ICOM Code of Ethics for Museums. Paris: International Council of Museums.

Merritt, Elizabeth. 2015. "Unsafe Ideas: Building Museum Worker Solidarity for Social Justice." Center for the Future of Museums Blog posted 2 June at http://futureofmuseums.blogspot.ca/2015/06/unsafe-ideas-building-museum-worker.html .

Milldrum, Claire. 2017. "Why I Left The Museum Field: A Guest Post By Claire Milldrum." ExhibiTricks: A Museum/Exhibit/Design Blog posted 11 September http://blog.orselli.net/2017/09/why-i-left-museum-field-guest-post-by.html .

Nonprofit Quarterly. 2014. [Pay deficits in the case of women in museum work for example are well-documented. Nonprofit Quarterly March 2014 reporting on National Center for Arts Research found that women leading art museums "earn 79 [to 71 for small museums] cents on the dollar paid to male peers," The GuideStar 2013 Nonprofit Compensation Report finds similar differential between pay for men compared to women across all categories.  2012 American Association of Museums study reports women make 78%.]

Ocello, Claudia et al. 2017. "Why are Great Museum Workers Leaving the Field? Survey by Claudia Ocello, Dawn Salerno, Sarah Erdman, & Marieke Van Damme." https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1_aHdxmG0Jdb4deqsjyhH9eoDUIPXz_EdkU-7gWuXDwE/edit?usp=sharing .