Friday, November 18, 2016
Women’s Leadership in Residential Theaters Study Now Finished
Stage Directions: In 2013, American Conservatory Theater partnered with the Wellesley Centers for Women to conduct a research study titled “Women’s Leadership in Residential Theaters.” The study meant to find out why so few women hold the top leadership positions in nonprofit theatres, and what could be done to increase that number. Preliminary findings were presented this past fall at various conferences, and the full results will be released this December.
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4 comments:
Some of the conclusions in this report have been identified as problems many times already: the glass ceiling, caregiver barriers and bias, and women often have to form their own company to get a leadership position. I did think that the proposed ‘why’ was interesting, and not something I had ever connected. Most leadership positions are already held by white men, who search committees then use as models, so the white male candidates seem to have more potential since they are more like the model. Women and people of color are probably perceived as breaking the mold, and therefore more of a risk. Starting with more diverse search committees might help break the glass ceiling, but with the low turnover rate, it would take time. Having less mentoring opportunities concerns me more. It also has a big impact on job advancement, but unlike search committees, can’t be approached with a formal, institutional change. Hopefully the results of this study will prompt reflection on an individual level, because I have no idea how to approach that side of this problem.
This is an interesting article and sounds a lot like my thesis. In fact, I could use some of these facts and figures as additional research. I am wholly unsurprised by the findings that women still experience glass ceilings and that men on board positions are more likely to entrust the company to other men. Interesting studies have revealed that people tend to trust people who look like them, so I would be curious if the board of directors mentioned are composed primarily of upper middle class, white men who would then hire like-individuals over women or people of color with the same experience for the same position. I would love to see more of the TCG generated information to see what the resulting statistics already are. I think that the fact that the caregiving status of the candidate is one of the subconscious biases of hiring companies is ridiculous in modern times, and I would be curious to analyze further why we have not moved past that in such a progressive industry.
It is really sad what the research ended up being. The idea that boards didn’t trust women to handle budgets is surprising. It is hard for me to see it because I am a woman but to be honest I would trust a woman over a man with money. I feel that women have a better understanding of how to budget and handle where things should go. I hope over time this trend changes where it is harder for a woman to be in the position of power that takes a lot of time out of the day because they are the “normal” caregivers of the family and need to spend time with their family. Why can’t people think that way about the man? Even if the mother of the family is stay at home the father should be thought of as taking time to see and be with his family. Shouldn’t when he is going up for a job promotion be thought of as taking time away from his family and so maybe shouldn’t get all these extra work hours because of it? Families need both parents not just the mother.
If 998 surveys can't convince you there's a systemic problem, I don't know what can. This study highlights a lot of what I already knew or suspected, that there's a glass ceiling in the arts, especially in directing positions. I find it extremely easy to believe that executive boards, so used to white male leadership in theater, have a hard time trusting women or people of color to do the same job, regardless of merit. In addition, the effects of traveling and odd/extreme working hours, like those often found in theatrical work, infringe on caregiving roles, and vice versa. This means that women who are mothers are often negatively affected by their status as such.
One thing that wasboth surprising and totally expected was the fact that theater labor structures, so often based on apprenticeships, are exclusionary to women and people of color because of the lack of mentors. I hadn't made this connection in my mind, so hearing that fact really added onto my slightly bitter mood.
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