Diversifying the museum workforce: the Diversify scheme and its impact on participants' careers

Abstract

The Diversify positive-action training scheme ran in the United Kingdom from 1998 to 2011. It aimed to increase the accessibility of museum careers to Black, Asian and minority-ethnic individuals. From an initial focus on race, it developed to also offer training to people with disabilities and people from low-income backgrounds. It also included management-level traineeships. This article reports on a longitudinal study, commissioned by the Museums Association as part of its work to mark the end of the Diversify scheme, of the experiences and career progression of people who participated in the scheme as trainees, with a focus on those from minority-ethnic backgrounds. The responses offer insights into people's experiences of training, securing initial employment and career progression. Well over 80% of participants secured initial employment in museums and some 60% of participants responding to a survey are working in museum management or on track to work in museum management. However, perhaps a quarter to a third of participants who gained work in museums will have left the sector within a decade. There remains much to do to improve the diversity of the overall museum workforce.