Masterthesis Marlou de Jong
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Index
INTRODUCTION
PART ONE: LITERATURE REVIEW
Chapter one: women in the labor market
- Women’s participation in the labor market
- Level of women’s pay
- Gender segregation
- Feminization
- Women in decision-making positions
Chapter two: the metaphor of the ‘glass ceiling’
- The origin of the metaphor
- Is the metaphor of the ‘glass ceiling’ still relevant in the 21st century?
Chapter three: diversity in the workspace
- Research on diversity in the workspace
- Is gender diversity in the workspace related to organizational performance?
Chapter four: promoting women in management
- Affirmative action programs: quotas
- Coaching
- Networking
Chapter five: women in the museum sector
- What are the differences between the cultural sector and other sectors?
- Women and museums: a historical overview
- Feminization of the museum field?
PART TWO: RESEARCH
1
Masterthesis Marlou de Jong
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Chapter one: quantitative research
- How is the gender balance in the top of the Dutch museums?
Chapter two: qualitative research
- What is the experience of women in the top of the Dutch museums?
PART THREE: CONCLUSIONS
Chapter ??:
diversity
Gender segregation in sectors
Feminization
Pipeline theory
2
Masterthesis Marlou de Jong
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Introduction
“De meeste feministes zijn halve kerels en zeuren eindeloos door over ingebeelde
problemen. Vooral types die de term ‘het glazen plafond’ nog steeds gebruiken zou ik wel
op de beha-brandstapel willen gooien.” (Most feminists are half chaps who linger
continuously about imaginary problems. Especially the types that still use the term ‘the
glass ceiling’ I would like to throw on the bra-stake.) I noticed this quote at the start of
January 2010 in the column of Hadjar Benmiloud in the daily free newspaper ‘Metro’.
As some argue, the metaphor of the glass ceiling might be the most familiar
metaphor to emerge from the previous century. The term ‘glass ceiling’ is defined in
1991 by the U.S. Department of Labor as ‘artificial barriers based on attitudinal or
organizational bias that prevent qualified individuals from advancing upward in their
organization into management-level positions’. The ‘ceiling’ refers to a barrier that
makes it difficult to climb up the organizational ladder. The ‘glass’ refers to the
transparency of this barrier; this barrier is not necessarily visible to the observer.
The columnist Benmiloud is obviously not a big fan of the term ‘the glass ceiling’.
She implies that the term is old fashioned and not valid anymore in our current society.
Is she right? Fact is that the number of women in the workplace has never been as
extensive as it is today. Also the percentages of women in leading positions are ever
growing. But are we there yet? Has the glass ceiling been scattered? In their book ‘The
Glass Ceiling in the 21st Century’, researchers from over the world published their
research results on this topic. The question raised in the introduction is if the glass
ceiling is still relevant in the 21st century. As they argue, the public opinion about the
advancement of women in the work place is mixed. A striking example that
demonstrates the mixed opinion about the existence or absence of the glass ceiling, are
articles published by the U.K. newspaper the Guardian. In one week time, the Guardian
published three articles on the glass ceiling: the first one claimed that the glass ceiling
was still ‘firmly in place’, the second stated that ‘Britain leads glass ceiling breakers’ and
the third one argued that ‘women struggle to shatter glass ceiling’ (Barreto, M. 2009).
The museum sector
As a student in cultural studies I’ve always been fascinated by the gender balance in my
classes. Without a doubt I can say that during my years at the University of Amsterdam
3
Masterthesis Marlou de Jong
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
and the Erasmus University, I never sat in a classroom with more male than female
students. The number of female students has always exceeded the number of male
students. Official numbers confirm my experience: more than 55% of the university
students of language, history and art-education is female (emancipatiemonitor, 2008).
(WHAT NUMBERS FOR ART RELATED STUDIES ALONE??? MUST BE HIGHER..) (NEEDS
MORE….)
Therefore, my research question is: Is the metaphor of the glass ceiling (still)
relevant in the museum sector in the Netherlands, and if yes, would a quota be a good
solution to break this glass ceiling? To get a good insight in the ‘status quo’ and also
because literature on the cultural sector specifically is limited, I will have to draw from
literature on the overall labor market. Furthermore, my research is limited to the
museum sector in the Netherlands, however, also literature that is not (primarily)
focused on the Netherlands will be used for the literature review. Especially in the
United States and the United Kingdom a lot of research has been conducted in this
research field.
Even though literature on the overall labor market is of great value to this
research, there are considerable difference between the cultural sector and other
sectors in the labor market. In my research I will devote attention to these differences
and similarities.
Structure of this thesis
In the first part of this thesis I will reflect on the existing literature on this topic. In the
first chapter of part one, I reflect on the discussion whether the metaphor of the glass
ceiling is still valid in the 21st century. I will combine literature from the U.S. and U.K.,
where gender studies remain high on the research agenda, with literature from the
Netherlands. One of the Dutch sources that I will include in the discussion is the book
‘De Mythe van het Glazen Plafond’ (the Myth of the Glass Ceiling) by Marike Stellinga. In
her book, which is published only last autumn, Stellinga declares that in the Netherlands
there is no such thing as a glass ceiling. With her blunt statement, Stellinga kicked some
dust in the debate on the advancement of women in the labor market in the Netherlands.
Furthermore, I will devote a chapter on affirmative action programs. Firstly I will
explain what the purpose of affirmative action programs are and in what way they are
different from equal opportunity policies. Then I will reflect on research that has been
4
Masterthesis Marlou de Jong
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
conducted on the effectiveness of affirmative action programs: in what ways have
affirmative action programs been effective and in what ways did it shortfall? In close
relation to the effectiveness of the programs, I will conclude this chapter with the
arguments of advocates and opponents on the implementation of affirmative action
programs.
In the second part of this thesis I will present the results of my research on the
position of women in the top of Dutch museums. The research is a combination of both
quantitative as well as qualitative research. In the quantitative part I will collect
numbers on the percentage of female directors in Dutch museums. As previous research
has shown that the size of the museum is related to the amount of women in top
positions (Fischer, 2002), I will make a distinction between small, middle and large
museums. In the qualitative part of the research I will present the results of several
interviews with experts in the museum field.
Finally, in the last part of this thesis I will come to a conclusion on my research
question: is the metaphor of the glass ceiling (still) relevant in the museum sector in the
Netherlands, and if yes, would a quota be a good solution to break this glass ceiling?
5
Masterthesis Marlou de Jong
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Chapter one: Women in the labor market
-Women’s participation in the labor market
-Gender segregation
-Feminization
-Level of women’s pay
-Women in decision-making positions
In the last 25 years much has changed to the advantage of women. Discrimination on
basis of sex has disappeared, to a large extent, from law and regulations. Women are no
longer underrepresented in education, and educational levels have drawn equal.
Women’s participation on the labor market
Statistics that can be interpreted as showing great gains, are the numbers on female
participation on the labor market. Women’s participation on the labor market has risen
tremendously in the previous century. From 1900 to 2005, the percentage of women
working outside the house rose from 20% to 59% (U.S. Census Bureau, 2007). These
numbers are comparable to those in European and other Western nations. In the
Netherlands, the percentage of women working outside the house rose from 35% in
1987 to 57% in 2007 (Emancipatiemonitor, 2008).
Gender segregation
Besides the metaphor ‘glass ceiling’ also the term ‘glass walls’ is used in the literature to
explain the situation of women on the labor market. This metaphor refers to the
concentration of women in certain sectors of the labor market.
Gender segregation is the phenomenon that women and men are not equally
divided on both education and related to this in the labor market. Some educations and
professions are more popular among men; others are more popular among women.
Women are for example outnumbered in the services-industry, such as the health sector
or education: in England 86% of primary and nursery teachers were women (EOC
2001a). These percentages from the English labour market are comparable to the
Netherlands. In 2007 more than 80% of the employees in the health and welfare sector
are female. Also in the educational professions female employees outnumber their male
6
Masterthesis Marlou de Jong
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
colleagues: in 2007 around 60% of the educational professions was occupied by women
In contrary, men dominate the technical, economical and agricultural studies and
professions. Women are least represented in the construction industry: in 2007 less
than 10% of the employees in this sector was female (emancipatiemonitor 2008).
The organization ‘Statistics Netherlands’ (in Dutch: Centraal Bureau voor
Statistieken) collects and publishes statistics that can be used for scientific research.
Every year ‘Statistics Netherlands’ publishes a segregation-index; a way to measure
segregation in different professions, sectors and levels on the labour market. The
segregation-index varies from 0 to 1. The index is 0 when women and men are equally
divided over the different professions, sectors and levels; the index is 1 when all women
are engaged in different professions, sectors and levels than men. ‘Statistics
Netherlands’ states that the segregation-index based on profession and sector has risen
in the past years. ‘Statistics Netherlands’ states that the increasing number of women
entering the labour market from 2001 to 2007 resulted in a further segregation of men
and women in the different professions and sectors. The intake of women on the labour
market especially took place in the professions and sectors that are traditionally
regarded as female jobs and sectors (Emancipatiemonitor, 2008).
Why does this gender segregation arise? Gender segregation is linked to
stereotypical views of the role of women in society. Women are regarded to be more
‘caring’ than men, and this would direct them towards professions such as teaching or
nursing. Whether these stereotypical views arise out of genetic differences between men
and women, or are imparted by education is a different issue that I prefer to leave
untouched.
Others argue that gender segregation is linked to salary differences in different
sectors of the society (Beverung, 2007; Turner, 2001). Women happen to be
outnumbered in sectors that are poorly paid. One explanation for this is that
traditionally, men are seen as the breadwinner, and the payment of the women’s job is
considered as subordinate. Men therefore were more attracted to professions with
higher payment, what left the poorly paid jobs for the women. Secondly, research has
shown that men and women tend to associate job satisfaction with different things. Men
tend to associate job satisfaction with the level of salary and benefits they receive.
Women however, tend to attach value to other aspects than level of salary and benefits.
7
Masterthesis Marlou de Jong
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
They tend to value social interaction and the ability to help people in a job more than its
payment (EOC, 2000).
Others do acknowledge the link between gender segregation and salary
differences, but reverses the causal effect. In the explanations above gender segregation
is seen as a result of salary differences: because some jobs are poorly paid, men tend to
avoid these jobs and left them for the women. Some argue that it is actually the other
way around: salary differences are a result of gender segregation. They argue that due to
an increasing number of female employees the level of salary for certain jobs decreased.
I will examine this matter further in the chapter ‘feminization’ (Beverung, 2007).
Feminization
The term ‘feminization’ refers to the concentration of women in certain professions and
sectors. When women are highly segregated in a certain sectors, the sector is said to be
‘feminized’. ‘Statistics Netherlands’ argues that the educational professions in the
Netherlands are in the process of feminization.
The feminization of professions and sectors is often said to imply negative
consequences. It is argued that the feminization of a profession or sector is related to
salary stagnation and a general loss of respect for the job. As a result men, who in
general tend to associate job satisfaction with the level of salary and benefits, loose their
interest in working in the profession or sector. This starts the vicious circle as more
women will be employed due to the decreased male interest for the job. (Beverung,
2007).
Level of women’s pay
More statistics that can be interpreted as showing a ‘frustrating status quo’ are numbers
on the level of women’s pay. Although the wage gap between male and female
employees became smaller in the past decades, women’s pay level is still below that of
men. In the Netherlands, the hourly wage of female employees is on average 18% lower
than that of male employees. These wage disparities can be partly explained out of
occupational segregation.
Women in decision-making positions
8
Masterthesis Marlou de Jong
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Also the statistics that show a significant rise in female managers look promising: in
1972 only 18% of the managers was female, in 2005 women occupied 42% of the
managerial positions (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2006). The percentages of female
managers in the Netherlands are lower than in the U.S. In the year 2007 women
occupied 26% of the managerial positions in the Netherlands. Although this percentage
seems little compared to that of the U.S., statistics show an increase in female managers
in the past decades (Emancipatiemonitor, 2008).
However, other statistics can be interpreted as showing a ‘frustrating status quo’
(Barreto, 2009): the representation of women in the most powerful positions of society,
such as leading positions in the government or top organizations. In 2008, the European
Professional Women’s Network (EPWN) conducted research on the gender of the
members of boards of the 300 top organizations in Europe. There was no country, either
in Europe or outside it, where women occupied at least half of the positions in boards of
directors. In the Netherlands, 12% of the positions within the boards of top
organizations was occupied by women (Board Women Monitor, 2008).
9
Masterthesis Marlou de Jong
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Chapter two: the metaphor of the ‘glass ceiling’
-Origin of the metaphor
-Is the metaphor of the ‘glass ceiling’ still relevant in the 21st century?
The origin of the metaphor
As mentioned in the introduction, the metaphor of the ‘glass ceiling’ is maybe one of the
most famous metaphors to emerge from the 20th century. The term is first used in 1979
by two women working for ‘Hewlett-Packard’, the company producing electronic
devices. Those women used such term to describe the situation they found themselves
in: although it seemed that they had equal changes to get promoted to better positions,
they hit a certain point beyond which they seemed to be unable to progress. The ‘ceiling’
refers to a barrier that makes it difficult to climb up the organizational ladder. The ‘glass’
refers to the transparency of this barrier; this barrier is not necessarily visible to the
observer (Barreto, 2009; .
Although used earlier, the term ‘glass ceiling’ became popularized in 1986 by an
article in the Wall Street Journal (Hymowitz, Schellhardt, 1986). In 1991, the term is
officially acknowledged by the U.S. Department of Labor. They defined the ‘glass ceiling’
as: ‘artificial barriers based on attitudinal or organizational bias that prevent qualified
individuals from advancing upward in their organization into management-level
positions’ (U.S. Department of Labor, 1991, p.1.). Generally spoken, the glass ceiling
refers to the discrepancy of women, but as clearly stated in the definition of the U.S.
Department of Labor, the term can also refer to other social groups that might encounter
hidden barriers on their way up the organizational ladder. Also disabled people,
homosexuals or cultural minorities can be restrained by a glass ceiling. For the hidden
barrier that might restrain homosexuals from reaching top positions I encountered the
term ‘pink ceiling’, derived from the ‘glass ceiling’ (Barreto, 2009; Irwin, 1999).
“The house of disparity”
Besides the ‘pink ceiling’, I encountered many other metaphors derived from the ‘glass
ceiling’. Since the metaphors all refer to parts of a building, I collected them under the
10
Masterthesis Marlou de Jong
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
heading ‘the house of disparity’; glass walls, sticky floors, pink- and celluloid ceilings,
glass escalators and glass cliffs.
Glass walls refer to the concentration of women in certain sectors: gender
segregation. For example, statistics show that women are more pulled towards healthand education professions than men. But gender segregation not only takes places
between different sectors; gender segregation also occurs between different functions
within the same sector. Women are for example concentrated in functions as marketing
or human resources. Thus, the metaphor ‘glass walls’ refers to horizontal, rather than
vertical barriers. It refers to the barriers women encounter when they try to work in
different sectors or different positions than those that are traditionally occupied by
women. In the following chapter I will go more in depth about gender segregation.
The metaphor of the ‘sticky floor’ refers to another barrier that women might
encounter on their way up the organizational ladder. A power that makes them ‘stick’ to
the floor and hinders them in their way to top positions. This power is the care of
children or a household.
The metaphor of the pink- and the celluloid ceiling are also variation on the ‘glass
ceiling’. As mentioned earlier, the ‘pink ceiling’ refers to difficulties encountered by
homosexuals while climbing up he organizational ladder. The ‘celluloid ceiling’, first
used by sociologist Martha Lauzen, is specialized on barriers encountered by women
who wish to promote to top positions in the creative professions in Hollywood.
I also encountered the metaphor of the ‘glass escalator’, which refers to the
accelerated process of men to top positions in especially female-dominated sectors such
as the health- or educational sector.
Finally the metaphor of the ‘glass cliff’ refers to the phenomenon that women are
more likely to be recruited than men for leadership positions that imply a high risk of
criticism and failure.
Is the metaphor of the ‘glass ceiling’ still relevant in the 21st century?
In the meantime the metaphor of the ‘glass ceiling’ exists more than 30 years and is
introduced into other sectors than the business sector where the term originated. The
rise of t
11
Masterthesis Marlou de Jong
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
‘However, despite continued political lobbying, legislative reform, and the almost 50
years that have passed since the second wave of the feminist social and political
movement, the extend of women’s advancement is unclear.’ Media and public opinion is
mixed about the question whether or not the ‘glass ceiling’ is still in place. ‘Such
uncertainty also resonates in the available statistics on women’s representation in the
workplace. Indeed, as many of the chapters in this volume attest, the statistics may be
interpreted as showing great gains or a frustrating status quo’.
The existence of the ‘glass ceiling’ has always been debatable. Recently, the Dutch
journalist Stellinga argued that the ‘glass ceiling’ is a myth and she blamed women for
lacking in ambition to reach top positions
12
Masterthesis Marlou de Jong
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Chapter three: Gender diversity in the workspace
-Research on diversity in the workspace
-Is gender diversity in the workspace related to organizational performance?
Research on diversity in the workspace
The first research on diversity at work was conducted in the 1960’s. In the past 50 years
research on this topic became more and more popular due to changes in the labor
market. Originally research on diversity was focussed on the way organizations deal
with differences in ethnic background, race, gender and age. In the last decade however,
research on diversity also included differences with respect to their skills, beliefs,
attitudes, values and knowledge. We can say that the concept of diversity has broadened
out from demographic differences such as ethnic background, race, age and gender, to
‘acquired’ characteristics such as skills, beliefs, attitudes, values and knowledge. In the
literature these two levels of diversity are often classified as ‘surface-level’ and ‘deeplevel’ diversity. Demographic differences, as they can be seen on first sight are classified
as ‘surface-level’ diversity; characteristics as skills, values and knowledge are classified
as ‘deep-level’ diversity as they can not be detected on first sight (Harrison, 2002; Rink,
2009).
This division in the concept of diversity is closely related to a second division that
is often used in research on diversity: less job-related and highly job-related diversity
(Pelled, 1996; Simons, Pelled & Smith, 1999). Highly job-related diversity is based on
attributes such as education, captured experiences, and skills. Less job-related diversity
is based on attributes such age, gender and race. The latter therefore finds more
interface with ‘surface-level’ diversity whereas highly job-related diversity is more
related to ‘deep-level’ diversity. As research on diversity is broad and my time limited, I
will only focus on research on gender diversity and will therefore leave ‘deep-level’
diversity and highly job-related diversity aside.
Is gender diversity in the workspace related to organizational performance?
One of the main questions raised in research on diversity is whether diversity is
beneficial for the functioning of the organization. Advocates of diversity in the
workplace promote the positive effect that diversity will have on the functioning of the
13
Masterthesis Marlou de Jong
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
organization. Slogans as ‘Diversity Works’ and ‘It’s all in the Mix’ contribute to this idea
(Memory Magazine, 2010). However, research has mixed outcomes whether diversity is
beneficial for the functioning of organizations: some research results suggest that
diversity has a positive influence on the organizational performance; other research
results suggest the opposite. Therefore, diversity in the workspace has often been
referred to as the ‘double-edged’ sword (Milliken & Martins, 1996). To give an insight in
the unsettled debate what the relationship is of diversity and organizational
performance, I will discuss some results of previous research.
Numerous studies found that there is a positive relation between high
proportions of female board members and superior organizational performance. So
bringing more women in top positions is ‘not just the right thing, but also the bright
thing’, as advocates of women in top positions state (Women on Boards, report May
2002). Literature discusses many arguments why it beneficial for the organizational
performance to have more women in top positions. Rosener divides these arguments in
the labor pool argument, the market argument and the governance argument (Rosener,
2009).
The labor pool argument argues that women are in the workplace to stay. Many
women are well educated and talented, and ‘looking for careers instead of jobs’ as
Rosener names their ambition. Companies want to attract talented employees on all
levels of their organization. An equal percentage of women in boards positions sends out
a message to all women employed or the women interested in working in that
organization, that this company values diversity. In contrary, Rosener suggests that:
‘When potential female employees and key existing employees see no women on a
board, it raises questions about the corporate culture and a woman’s chances for
advancement’ (Rosener, 2009). McKinsey suggests that the image that an organization
values diversity can have an even further spread effect: a corporate culture that values
diversity can also appeal to (female) investors and customers (McKinsey, 2008).
The market argument is based on the increasing power of the female consumers:
research shows that women are the driving force behind more than 70% of the
household purchases. The car producer Nissan argued that even for traditionally maleorientated products as cars, women now have a major influence on purchase decisions:
in Japan, women influence 60% of new car purchases. As a successful company knows
how to tune its products to its consumers, the diversity within the board of an
14
Masterthesis Marlou de Jong
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
organization should be a reflection of the consumer base (McKinsey, 2008; Rosener,
2009).
The third argument mentioned by Rosener is the governance argument. This is
based on the idea that diversity can boost creativity. Within a workgroup, demographic
differences such as gender, leads to a larger variety in knowledge, values and beliefs that
the workgroup possesses together. This can lead to unique insights that could have been
overlooked by more heterogeneous workgroups (Rink and Ellemers, 2009). As Rosener
puts it, ‘Women tend to ask different questions than men because they come from a
completely different environment and vantage point’ (Rosener, 2009).
Numerous studies support the above-mentioned theories with concrete numbers.
For example in 2001, the scientist Adler conducted research on the relationship
between women in senior positions and the performance of the organization. To
compare performance of the organization, he used the Fortune 500. This is a ranking list
published annually by the American magazine Fortune of the 500 American
organizations with the highest revenue. Adler concluded that the 25 firms with the
highest number of women in senior positions listed on the Fortune 500, were highly
positioned on the ranking in terms of return on assets and return on investments (Adler,
2001).
More recent studies confirm Adler’s research results. In 2007, the international
consultancy agency McKinsey conducted research on the impact of gender diversity on
the performance of organizations. In their research rapport ‘Women Matter’, McKinsey
stated that organizations with three or more women in senior management positions,
outperformed companies with no women in top positions on several organizational
criteria such as innovation, motivation, vision and coordination and control.
Also
studies on financial performance show that organizations with more women in top
positions outperform other companies in their sector: the 89 companies in Europe with
the most gender-diverse management teams performed financially better than their
industry average (McKinsey, 2007).
These research results are positive for the promoting of more women in
management positions. However, the causal relationship between women in top
positions and organizational performance is often questioned. Do more women in top
positions lead to better organizational performance, or do organizations that perform
15
Masterthesis Marlou de Jong
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
well “allow themselves the luxury of attending to social issues such as board diversity”?
(Schumpeter, 2010).
Other research provides contradictory results by arguing that board and
workgroup diversity can also have a negative influence on the organizational
performance. In his research on social categorization and the self-concept, Turner forms
the social identity theory. This theory suggests that people categorise themselves into
social groups with whom they share relevant features. Members of highly diverse work
groups, share less relevant features together (Turner, 1985). Research shows that
diversity can threaten the cohesion of work groups. In highly diverse work groups there
can be a lower level of group identification, which leads to a lower level of cohesion in
the work group. A lower level of cohesion will lead to decreased cooperation within the
work group and can result in worse performance of the organization.
There is also research that could support the above-mentioned theory by
providing numbers that show that diversity is not always beneficial for the
organizational performance. In 1996, Siciliano found that gender diversity in the board
of an organization has a positive influence on the social performance of the organization.
The social performance of an organization was measured by looking at its social mission
and provision of charitable or community services. Contrary, Siciliano argues that
gender diversity can have a negative influence on the financial performance of the
organization. Siciliano concluded that more women in the board of organizations is
related to a lower level of raised funds (Siciliano, 1996).
In conclusion, it is not possible to conclude whether gender diversity in the
workspace is beneficial or adverse. Research on this topic has contradictory results as
organizational performance can be defined in many ways.
16
Masterthesis Marlou de Jong
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Chapter four: Promoting women in management
-Coaching
-Networking
-Affirmative action programs
What are affirmative action programs?
Positive or affirmative action programs are developed to increase the proportion of
women in certain sectors, functions or training programs. Affirmative action programs
are different from policies that try to achieve equal opportunities for every individual.
This is because these equal opportunity policies depart from the notion that fairness has
achieved once intentional discrimination has been prohibited. Affirmative action
programs however, go one step further and assume that it is not sufficient if intentional
discrimination is fought. Affirmative action programs assume that there also such thing
as unintentional discrimination: a set frame of stereotypes and views that are
unconsciously contributing to a system of inequality. To achieve an equal gender
balance on the workplace, also the unintentional discrimination needs to be fought:
‘Real equal opportunity does not exist just because formal barriers are removed. Direct
discrimination and hidden barriers prevent women from getting their share of
(political) influence’ (www.quotaproject.org). Advocates of affirmative action argue that
through the implementation of targets and quotas, the set frame of stereotypes and
views that endure gender inequality, can be changed. Furthermore affirmative action
will lead to a direct increase in the representation of target groups (Wirth, 2001; Iyer,
2009).
In affirmation action programs, different measures to achieve the goal of an equal
gender balance on the workplace can be applied. This can be the application of targets or
quotas. There is an important difference between targets and quotas. Targets are often
set by the employer himself, and therefore offer some degree of flexibility. Quotas, often
imposed by a higher body, are less flexible. The higher body, for example the
government, can impose a fine if the quota is not met (Wirth, 2001; Iyer, 2009).
Many organizations across the globe have launched affirmative action programs.
Especially in politics, affirmative action programs are very common: today, more than
half of the countries of the world makes use of affirmative action programs to form their
17
Masterthesis Marlou de Jong
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
parliament. The reason why especially in politics there is such a strong emphasis on an
equal gender balance, can be found in the public character of the politics. An equal
gender balance in politics can have a positive effect on other sectors of society: ‘if the
leading party in a country uses a quota this may have a significant impact on the overall
rate of female representation’ (www.quotaproject.org). In this sense, the politics carry
the responsibility of having an exemplary role (www.quotaproject.org; Iyer, 2009).
But also in other sectors of societies, affirmative action programs are used. In
some cases governments impose these affirmative action measures by legislation; but
more often the companies undertake the measures on voluntary basis. The United
States, Canada, Australia and Norway are some known examples of countries in which
the government has been actively involved in the application of affirmative action
measures. Examples of large multinational companies that undertook affirmative action
measures voluntarily are Xerox, Pepsi-Cola, American Express and Lucent Technologies
(Iyer, 2009).
Although quotas for women in decision-making positions have been around for
quite some time, quotas are still a topical subject: last March, Deutsche Telekom, one of
Germany’s biggest companies, declared that they will voluntarily implement a gender
quota for its middle and upper management positions (Moore, 2010). Also in the
Netherlands the discussion whether or not to apply quotas is vivid. An important event
that stirred up the debate, wa
Norway, where quotas for women on boards originated. In 2005, Norwegian
government gave listed firms two years to put women in 40% of board seats.
The effectiveness of affirmative action
An important question is whether or not affirmative action has proved to be an effective
measure for increasing the representation and status of women in certain sectors,
functions or training programs. Several studies have been conducted to measure the
effectiveness of affirmative action programs. However, the effectiveness of such
programs be measured in different ways. Results are therefore contradictory.
One way to measure whether or not affirmative action programs have been
effective, is to focus on the representation of women in certain sectors, functions or
training programs. Several studies in the U.S. as well as in other countries where
18
Masterthesis Marlou de Jong
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
affirmative action measures has been applied, show that female employment increased
at a faster rate in organizations where affirmative action measures where applied than
in comparable companies where these measures were not applied. Therefore we can
conclude that affirmative action programs are effective in increasing the representation
of women in certain positions.
Another way to measure the effectiveness of affirmative action is to look at the
productivity and efficiency of companies that applied affirmative action measures. How
do organizations that apply these programs perform economically? Various studies
were conducted on the question whether affirmative action measures effects the
productivity and efficiency of the companies that applied them. These studies concluded
that the implementation of affirmative action measures did not disadvantage
organizations: the studies showed that affirmative action measures do not lead to a
decrease in performance or productivity (Iyer, 2009).
A third way to measure the effectiveness of the programs is to focus more on the
experience of affirmative action beneficiaries once they’ve entered an organization.
Studies focused on these aspects found that affirmative action programs may harm the
well-being and status of female employees after they’ve entered the organization.
Women, who believe that they are hired for a certain job only because of the affirmative
action, can feel stigmatized by it (Iyer, 2009). Experimental research found that female
leaders who believe to be selected because of their gender had a more negative
perception of their own competence, selected less challenging tasks and reported higher
levels of stress than female leaders who believe to be selected based on their merits.
Studies with this focus therefore conclude that affirmative action programs are not
effective to improve the status of women in certain positions (Heilman, 1987; Iyer,
2009).
Furthermore, other studies found that women’s feeling of stigmatization by the
affirmative action programs is also reflected by their external social context: women
who are believed to have benefited from the affirmative action programs are perceived
and treated differently by their social environment. Studies were conducted in which
male and female employees of organizations had to evaluate their colleagues. These
studies found that the evaluation of presumed affirmative action beneficiaries is more
negative than the evaluation of men and women who were selected merely because of
their merits (Iyer, 2009).
19
Masterthesis Marlou de Jong
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
In conclusion, studies conducted on whether or not affirmative action programs
are effective measures for increasing the representation and status of women in certain
positions, have mixed outcomes. Affirmative action programs are effective in increasing
the representation of women in certain positions. Furthermore, the programs do not
have a negative influence on the organizational performance. However, the programs
may harm the status of the female employees once they’ve entered the organization.
Both their reflection upon themselves can be deteriorated as well as the evaluation of
their colleagues. However, I have to place some remarks with the research results
presented in the previous paragraphs. The effects reported in the studies are found in
experimental lab settings. In reality, the effects seem to be limited.
Criticism on positive action programs
Advocates of affirmative action programs argue that the program should be seen as a
‘temporary catch-up strategy’. Affirmative action measures should therefore only be
applied within a fixed time frame to correct gender imbalances in certain sectors and
professions. After this balance is achieved, the measures can be discharged (Wirth,
2001).
Opponents of the affirmative action programs often argue that the programs are
based on reserve discrimination.
The economist Schumpeter, argues that the quota that the Norwegian
government imposed on its listed firms, had leaded to a big loss of
‘boardroom
experience’. The women who benefited from affirmative action programs had, averagely
spoken, less experience as the men they replaced: the new, younger female directors
were less likely to sit on other boards, more likely to come from middle management
and had spent less time running companies (Schumpeter, 2010).
According to Schumpeter, the biggest barrier for women to enter the boardroom
is a lack of hands-on experience of a firm’s core business. As discussed earlier in the
chapter on gender segregation, women are more likely to occupy positions into
functional roles such as marketing, human resources and accounting. Starting from
these positions, it becomes more difficult to advance to the boardroom than for
positions in other segments of the organization.
WHY IS THIS SO???? Therefore
Schumpeter concludes that imposing a quota for women in boardrooms will only tackle
the symptom of discrimination but not the cause. To tackle the cause of the problem,
20
Masterthesis Marlou de Jong
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
organizations have to ensure that more women gain the right experience before they
enter the boardroom: ‘That may be a slower process than imposing a quota, but it is also
likely to be a more meaningful and effective one.’ (Schumpter, 2010).
21
Masterthesis Marlou de Jong
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Chapter five: women and museums
- A historical overview
- Cultural education
- Women’s participation in the museum sector
- Women in decision-making positions in the museum sector
- Feminization of the museum field?
A historical overview
The connection between women and museums is reverberated in the origin of the word
‘museum’. The term ‘museum’ comes forth from the Greek word ‘mouseion’, where the
museum was home to the Muses. The nine Muses were the daughters of Zeus and his
mistress Mnemosyne. They are seen as the goddesses of the arts and culture.
Every since the rise of the museums as we know them now, women played a
significant role in the museum world. From the 19th century there were many women
who initiated the founding of major museums. Some examples from the United States
are Lizzie Bliss, Mrs. Cornelius J. Sullivan and Abby Aldrich Rockefeller who founded the
Museum of Modern Art in New York. Or Gertrude Vanderbilt and Juliana Force who
founded the Whitney Museum of American Art. Who were these early women who acted
as pioneers in the museum field? Often the women were daughters or wives of rich
fathers and husbands. They shared an interest in history and art, and wanted to do
something beneficial for the society (Schwarzer, 2007; Taylor, 1994).
Before the close of World War II and in the years after that, the power that the
early museum women had achieved receded due to an increasing male interest in
museum work. As Schwarzer argues ‘many women were pushed to the margins of
institutions they had founded and led’. Women stayed involved in the museum field, but
this time as volunteers. These volunteer associations organized by women were often
reduced to ‘white-glove social clubs’: associations of women from well-established
families who sip tea and speak ‘proper’ English. However, these volunteer associations
played an important role in the daily operations of the museum and fund-raising.
(Schwarzer, 2007). On a conference on the changing role of women in museums, Weber
distinguished four generations of women in the 20th century who were involved in the
22
Masterthesis Marlou de Jong
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
museum field. Weber distinguishes the women who organized volunteer associations as
the first generation of women in the museum field (Weber, 1994).
At the end of the 1960’s a new generation of women entered the museum field.
Growing up in the years leading to the feminist movement, these women had a different
attitude as the previous generation. Many of them participated in the feminist
movement and were willing to fight for an equal treatment in the workplace. These
years were also characterized by a major expansion in museum activity and many
women were happy to fill these vacancies. This generation of women was idealistic and
dreamed of having it all: education, family and a career. That many of these women
suffered from a burn-out therefore doesn’t come as a surprise (Schwarzer, 2007; Weber,
1994).
During the 1980’s the third generation of women entered the museum field. This
was the first generation that had advanced academic and professional training. In the
year 1982, for the first time in the history of the United States, there were more women
than men that graduated with a bachelor degree (Weber, 1994). Unlike the first
generation that worked unpaid, or the second generation that fought for acceptance in
the workplace, the third generation women regarded the museum work as a
professional career. They have had the same education as their male colleagues, and
created ‘old-girl networks’ as the counterpart of the existing ‘old-boy networks’
(Schwarzer, 2007; Weber, 1994).
The fourth and final generation that Weber distinguished are the women that ‘are
‘aware of ‘burnout’ and unrecognized overachievement.’ As Weber argues, this group is
increasing in number and these women become just as persistent as men in demanding
their basic safety nets such as retirement plans, overtime pay, physical and ethical
safeguards in the workplace (Weber, 1994).
Cultural education
In the previous paragraph I mentioned that from the 1980’s an increasing amount of
women with academic backgrounds entered the museum field. In the past 40 years,
cultural education programs have experienced an impressive increase in female
students. At the end of the 1960’s there was still a considerable difference in the
Netherlands between the sexes in regard to participation in cultural education: the
percentage of women was less than half the percentage of men. During the 70’s, inspired
23
Masterthesis Marlou de Jong
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
by the feminist movement, Dutch women began ‘playing catch-up’. From 1990 the
number of female students even exceeded the number of male students. In 1990 more
than 60% of the language, history and art students on both college as well as on
university level were female. (Emancipatiemonitor, 2008; Rengers, 2001).
These figures of the Netherlands correspond with figures from abroad. In 2001,
59% of the English undergraduate students in the area ‘creative arts and design’ where
female.
Women’s participation in the museum sector
Is there a strong gender segregation in the cultural sector? ‘Statistics Netherlands’
publishes the percentage of men and women occupied in the cultural sector and
remaining services. In 2007, 53% of the employees in the cultural sector and remaining
services was female. However, since the cultural sector and remaining services are
joined together in the same category the accuracy of this number is questionable
(emancipatiemonitor, 2008).
The cultural sector covers different art disciplines. In her research on the glass
ceiling in the cultural sector, Fischer divides the cultural sector in 5 segments: the visual
arts, the performing arts, cultural heritage, music and media (Fischer, 2002). In my
research I will focus on only segment of the cultural sector: the visual arts.
Within a sector there can be gender segregation for different positions. Turner,
who conducted research on the position of women in museums in England, found that
there is a job segregation in the museum field. Women are highly represented in the
following occupations: office and administration; development and educational;
marketing, PR and fundraising. In contrast, men are better represented in the jobs that
are occupied with conservation and technique; and maintenance and security. The
situation in England corresponds with the Netherlands: research on the
Women in decision-making positions in the museum sector
In 2001 Fischer conducted research on the glass ceiling in de cultural sector in the
Netherlands. For her research Fischer divided the cultural sector in 5 subdivisions: the
visual arts, performing arts, cultural heritage, music and media. In each of these
divisions, she calculated the percentage of women working in decision-making
positions. In all sectors the percentage men exceeded the percentage of women in
24
Masterthesis Marlou de Jong
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
decision-making positions. In the visual arts sector, it came closest to a balanced
situation: 43% of the decision-making positions was occupied by women. Out of the 5
subdivisions, the media sector was most distant from a balanced situation: 21% of the
decision-making positions was occupied by female employees (Fischer, 2002).
Furthermore Fischer divided the cultural organizations according to their size.
She concluded that the size of the cultural organization is related to the amount of
women in decision-making positions: the larger the cultural organization, the smaller
the percentage of female employees in decision-making positions. In small
organizations, with less than 10 permanent staff members, Fischer found an almost
equal amount of men and women in decision-making positions. In large organizations,
with more than 100 permanent staff members, she found less than 20% of the decisionmaking positions occupied by women (Fischer, 2002).
In the same year, Turner conducted research on women’s success in museum
careers in England and found similar results. On average 61% of the museum directors
was male. For the national museums, which are usually large organizations 86% of the
museum directors was male. Turner concludes that ‘although women are well
represented in the profession as a whole, they are not attaining the top jobs in a similar
proportion’ (Turner, 2002).
Feminization of the museum field?
In her research on the gender representation of museum collection positions in the
United States, Beverung observes that there is an increasing number of female curators
in the American museums. She argues that: ‘because of changing roles and
responsibilities, qualifications, and salaries associated with museum collection
positions, the museum community may be experiencing a ‘feminization’ of the
profession’.
According to Beverung this is a cause for concern. Due to feminization, the
museum collection positions might experience a further decrease in payment and
respect, which might drive away talented male (and female) professions. This might lead
to a general decline in quality and prestige of the collection positions in the museum. A
second concern is related to the task of museums to reach out for a diverse public
audience. The American Association of Museums states that for museums to fulfill its
mission: ‘the museum staff, including collections personnel, must be composed of a wide
25
Masterthesis Marlou de Jong
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
variety of individuals’ (American Association of Museums, 1992). A further feminization
of the museum personnel could therefore become a threat for the museum community’s
goal (Beverung, 2007).
Richie, who conducted research on gender patterns in art museums, found a
relation between the gender of the people working in the museum and its visitors.
Richie stated that when male curators at art museums organized exhibitions of cars and
motorcycles, the number of male visitors rose significantly. ‘But the art museum world
was cynical. Is it so wrong for art museums to admit that certain themes appeal more to
one gender than another?’ (Schwarzer, 2007; Beverung, 2007).
In earlier research on the Dutch museum field we can not recognize Beverung’s
concern. In her research on the glass ceiling in the Dutch cultural sector, Fischer
distinguished 5 decision-making positions: business director, general director, artistic
director, head artistic department and head organizations and communication. She
concluded that women are best represented in the positions of business director and
head organization. The positions of business director and head organizations in the
cultural sector in the Netherlands are almost equally divided over men and women. In
contrary, women are not so well represented in the positions as general director, artistic
director and head artistic department. Based on Fischer’s research results, we could
conclude that in the cultural sector in the Netherlands, the positions that are responsible
for the artistic content are still dominated by men. This is in contrast to Beverung’s
statement that the artistic positions are becoming ‘feminized’. An important remark that
I have to make, is that Beverung’s research was only focussed on the museum sector
while Fischer research covers the whole cultural sector (Fischer, 2002; Beverung, 2009).
In the book ‘Culture Gates’, the research centre ‘ERIC arts’ published the results
on their research on power positions in the cultural sector. The research was conducted
in several European countries and covered the music sector and new media arts. The
researchers of the project distinguished different types of power: economical or political
power and symbolic power. With economic or political power they referred to positions
as CEO’s of broadcasting companies, directors of national opera houses and museums or
heads of city cultural departments. With symbolic power they referred to positions that
can define the content and can control the gates that guard a diversity of ideas, styles
and information. These people are often referred to as ‘gatekeepers’ (Alexander, 2003)
and include positions as art critics, programme directors, editors in chief of newspapers
26
Masterthesis Marlou de Jong
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
etc. The ERIC arts scientists concluded that although women are very well represented
in the cultural sector both the economic and political positions as well as the symbolic
positions are filled by men: ‘these different ‘power positions’ remain in the hands of men
and therefore we are still a long way from achieving equality of presence and influence
in determining quality’ (ERICarts Report, 2003).
27
Masterthesis Marlou de Jong
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Literature on the position of women in the labor market in general:
Aarti, I. ‘Increasing the representation and status of women in employment: the
effectiveness of affirmative action’ in: Barreto, M. The glass ceiling in the 21st century:
understanding barriers to gender equality. Washington: American Psychological
Association, 2009.
Adler, R.
Roy D. Adler, Pepperdine University, quoted in the Harvard Business Review
(Nov. 2001), p.30.
Barreto, M. The glass ceiling in the 21st century: understanding barriers to gender equality.
Washington: American Psychological Association, 2009.
Barreto, M. Ryan, M. and Schmitt, M. ‘Introduction: Is the Glass Ceiling Still Relevant in
the 21st Century?’ in: The glass ceiling in the 21st century: understanding barriers to
gender equality. Washington: American Psychological Association, 2009.
Eagly, A. and Sczesny, S. ‘Stereotypes About Women, Men, and Leaders: Have Times
Changed?’ in: The glass ceiling in the 21st century: understanding barriers to gender
equality. Washington: American Psychological Association, 2009.
Hill, C. and Jones, G. Strategic Management. Houghton Mifflin, 2001.
Schumpeter, J. ‘Imposing quotas for women in boardrooms tackles a symptom of
discrimination, not the cause’ in: The Economist, 13th March, 2010.
Stellinga, M. De mythe van het glazen plafond. Amsterdam: uitgeverij Balans, 2009.
Toomey, C. ‘Quotas for women on the board: do they work?’ in: The Sunday Times, 8 June
2008.
28
Masterthesis Marlou de Jong
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Turner, J. ‘Social categorization and the self-concept: A social cognitive theory of group
behaviour’ in: Lawjer, E. Advances in group processes: Theory and research. Greenwich,
CT: JAI Press Vol. 2, pp. 77-122.
McKinsey, Women Matter: gender diversity, a corporate performance driver, 2007.
Conducted from:
http://www.mckinsey.com/locations/paris/home/womenmatter/pdfs/Women_matter
_oct2007_english.pdf
Memory Magazine, april-may, 2010.
Moore, T. ‘In Germany, a Quota for Female Managers’ in: Time. March 22, 2010.
Morgan, G. Images of Organization. London: Sage Publications, 2006.
Wirth, L. Breaking through the glass ceiling: women in management. Geneva:
International Labour Office, 2001.
29
Masterthesis Marlou de Jong
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Literature on the position of women in the cultural sector:
Beverung, M. Evaluation of Gender Representation of Museum Collection Positions in the
United States, 2007.
Cliche, D. Pyramid or Pillars: Unveiling the Status of Women in Arts and Media Professions
in Europe. Bonn: ARCult Media, 2000.
ERICarts Report. Culture-Gates: Exposing Professional ‘Gate-keeping’ Processes in Music
and New Media Arts. Bonn: ARCult Media, 2003.
Hamersveld, I. van. ‘Vrouwen gezocht: De sociaal-economische positie van vrouwen in
de culturele sector’ in: Boekman, vol. 44, 2000. Pp 131-141.
Hamersveld, I. van. ‘Breaking the Barriers. Women in Arts and Media Professions: The
Netherlands’ in: Pyramid or Pillars: Unveiling the Status of Women in Arts and Media
Professions in Europe. Bonn: ARCult Media, 2000.
Rengers, M. ‘Op vleugels van succes’ in: Ach, dat doe ik wel even, Theater Instituut
Nederland, 2003.
Schwarzer, M. ‘Women in the temple: Gender and Leadership in Museums’ in: Museum
News, May/June 2007.
Struyk, I. ‘De feminiene en masculiene dimensies van het kunstbedrijf’ in: Ach, dat doe ik
wel even, Theater Instituut Nederland, 2003.
Turner, V. ‘The factors affecting women’s success in museum careers: a discussion of the
reasons more women do not reach the top, and of strategies to promote their future
success’ in: Journal of Conservation and Museum Studies, no. 8, November 2002.
Valk, van der. S. ‘Feminien leiderschap: de eerste onder gelijken’ in: Ach, dat doe ik wel
even, Theater Instituut Nederland, 2003.
30
Masterthesis Marlou de Jong
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Valk, van der. S. Coaching in de de kunsten: Carrieres of barrieres in de kunsten. 20012002.
31