Equal power

In 2017, Charity Commission research showed men outnumbered women trustees on boards by 2 to 1. And most trustees (92%) were white, older and above average income and education.

Closer to home, we know that while roughly 40% of museum Board members are women, they make up less than a third of chairs of major museums. We think it’s time to change that.

Where to look for trustee and chair positions

• Association of Independent Museums (AIM)
• Young Trustees Movement
• UK Government public appointments
• Museums Association job listings (you have to be a member to see these)

Resources for joining boards

Want to join a board but not sure where to start? Check out resources to help you build your CV and understand roles and responsibilities.

• Women on Boards resource centre
• Young Trustees blog
• AIM resources for prospective trustees
• Arts Council Museum Constitutional and Governance Arrangements
• Support for trustees at Share Museums East
• Collections Trust – the essential trustee

Got a position you’d like us to promote?

Does your board need a feminist shake up? We’re always happy to tweet your #MuseumTrustee vacancies. So if you want us to give our followers a feminist tap on the shoulder tweet us @mspaceinvaders. Or email spaceinvaderscampaign@gmail.com

Videos

• Space Invaders Manifesto Launch, featuring: Sharon Heal, Sara Wajid, Nirmal Puwar, Dr Orian Brooke, Melissa Strauss 20/07/2020
• WOW Angela Davis in conversation, Women of the World
• Women Making History: The Leaders of Today, Roundtable discussion chaired by Virginia Tandy, Co-Founder of the Women Leaders in Museums Network
• Women and Power, changing the stories we tell ourselves, Melissa Ben
• Why Do Ambitious Women Have Flat Heads? Dame Stephanie Shirley, 27/03/2015         
• The Career Advice You Probably Didn’t Get, Susan Colantuono, 11/2013
• Why We Have Too Few Women Leaders, Sheryl Sandberg, 12/2010,
• The Power of Vulnerability, Brené Brown, 06/2010
• Your Body Language Shapes Who You Are, Amy Cuddy, 06/2012

Research

• Taken on Trust: awareness and effectiveness of charity trustees in England and Wales, Charity Commission, 2017
• Equality in Progress report, Glasgow Women’s Library, 2018
• Equality, diversity and the creative arts, Arts Council England, 2018 – 2019
• Improving Women’s progression in the workplace, Global Institute for Women’s Leadership, 2019

Articles

• What is feminist leadership? Sharon Heal, Museum Space Invaders, 10/02/2020
• Unpack white feminism, Nicole Cardoza on anti racism daily 09/04/2021
• More UK funds run by people called Dave than women, City AM 08/03/2021
• More men called Dave or Steve lead FTSE 100 firms than women or ethnic minorities, Independent 08/03/2018
• Taking On the Boys’ Club at the Art Museum, Sonnet Stanfill, New York Times, 19/10/2016
• Building strong regional networks for women leaders in museums, galleries and heritage,  Women Leaders in Museums Network (WLMN)
• Women, prepare for a radical change, Sara Wajid in the Museums Journal Issue 115/09 p.15, 01/09/2015
• Why Men Still Get More Promotions Than Women, Harvard Business Review, by Herminia Ibarra, Nancy M. Carte, Christine Silva, 09/2015
• Call for Museums and Galleries to Appoint more Women to Top Jobs,  The Observer, by Vanessa Thorpe, 22/3/15
• Why Iceland is Hosting a Debate on Gender Equality… For Men,  The Telegraph, by Lauren Davidson, 10/01/2015
• The Directors, The Washington Post, by Katherine Boyle and Lonnae O’Neal, 28/02/2014
• Few Executives Are Self-Aware, But Women Have the Edge, Harvard Business Review, by John Baldoni, 09/05/2013
• The Presence and Perception of Women, CIPD, by Jan Hills, 19/09/2013
• Targeting Women for Top Jobs, CIPD, by Eilidh Wiseman, 19/09/2013

Books

How women rise, Sally Hegelson and Marshall Goldsmith

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