Proceedings of the conference Women's Changing Roles in Museums, held at Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC, March 16 - 19, 1986, and sponsored by the Office of Museum Programs, Smithsonian Institution, and the Smithsonian Institution Women's Council.

Women have been at the forefront of change in many arenas for the past several decades, from the workplace to the family to educational institutions. In March 1986, more than 200 participants gathered in Washington, DC for an event that was another first - the first national conference on women's roles in the museum profession. Timed to coincide with Women's History Month, the conference had three aims: to examine women's participation in museums in historical perspective; to identify the qualities and the professional skills needed to attain positions of leadership in museums; to assess future roles for women museum professionals.
(p. i)

CONTENTS
Preface by Jane R. Glaser and Susan Kalcik.
Welcome and introduction by Robert McCormick, Jane R. Glaser, and Susan Kalcik.

Keynote address: 
     Women as policymakers by Mary Rose Oakar.

Historical perspective: Images of women in museums:
     Introduction by Edith Mayo.
     Women pioneers in the public museum movement by Melinda Young Frye.
     The art of Adelyn Breeskin: an appreciation (a tribute by Benjamin Forgey,
     reprinted from the Washington Post).
     Images of women in museums by Jean M. Weber.

Setting your career path: how to get there:
     Career planning for women in the museum profession by Linda Sweet.
     The career path in a science museum by Stanwyn G. Shetler.
     Smithsonian women: seizing the opportunities by Shireen L. Dodson.
     Strategies for setting a career path by Kendall Taylor.

Must women raise their voices to be heard?:
     Women as communicators by Peggy A. Loar.
     Race, gender and leadership by Bettye Collier-Thomas.
     Observations on developing a leadership style by Anna Cohn.
     Raising our voices to the right tune by Peggy Cooper Cafritz.

How to establish a network and set up a power base:
     Forming your own power base by Clementine Brown.
     The continuing process of building networks by Susan Hamilton.
     The privileges and responsibilities of a network by Cheryl McClenney-Brooker.
     Life as a network by Tom L. Freudenheim.
     Networks as a sharing process by Amina J. Dickerson.

Luncheon address: 
     Advocating women's rights in the 1980's by Judith L. Lichtman.

Women as colleagues and supervisors:
     The art of negotiation by Gretchen Gayle Ellsworth.
     Some characteristics of a supervisor by Marjorie L. Share.
     Confidence in the team by Charlene James-Duguid.

Balancing personal and professional life in museum work:
     Exploring new approaches to the work environment by Mary Schmidt Campbell.
     Integrating personal and professional life by Judith White.
     Sharing the responsibility by Patricia H. Chieffo.
     Balancing scholarship and family by Cynthia Jaffee McCabe.
     Addressing economic realities by Mary Lynn Perry.
     Integrating a transatlantic life by Adrienne L. Kaepler.

Women as scholars:
     The validity of cultural scholarship by Marc Pechter and Margaret Kapthor.
     The absence of women scholars in science museums by Victoria A. Funk.
     The scholar's changing role in the museum by Virginia M. Mecklenburg and
     Marc Pachter.
     Training and hiring women for scholarly positions by Victoria A. Funk.
     Minority women as scholars by Evangeline J. Montgomery.

Funding agencies as advocates for women's programs:
     The future of funding for women's programs by Michael B. Syphax.
     How women's funds work by Jody Hymes.
     The Ford Foundation and women's issues by Ruth Mayleas.
     A Congressional mandate for change by Celinda Lake.
     Women, money and museums by Donna Ari.

Future perspectives: where are we going?:
     Introduction by Jane R. Glaser.
     A new museum honoring women's artistic achievement by
     Wilhelmina Cole Holladay.
     Women of Accomplishment in art museums by Daniel Herrick.
     Where are women going in the museum profession? by Jean M. Weber.

Biographies.

 

Proceedings of the conference Women's Changing Roles in Museums, held at Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC, March 16 - 19, 1986, and sponsored by the Office of Museum Programs, Smithsonian Institution, and the Smithsonian Institution Women's Council.