Eliminate sexual harassment in the museum field.

Eliminate sexual harassment in the museum field.

Started
October 23, 2019
Petition to
Museum professionals
Signatures: 672Next Goal: 1,000
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Why this petition matters

Started by GEMM- Gender Equity in Museum Movement

Gender Equity in Museums Movement (GEMM) asks you to make a personal commitment to ending sexual harassment in the museum workplace by signing this pledge.

We believe everyone on the gender spectrum is a strong and valuable resource for museums and heritage institutions. In 2018, a survey of museum employees stated 55-percent of the 500 respondents reported experiencing sexual harassment. Organizations continue to make strides by providing sensitivity training to their staff and board members, and laws continue to be enacted to punish the organization for being inactive and the perpetrator.  However, we know that in certain moments in time, we all need to play our role in making society a better place, to no longer play the quiet bystander.

GEMM believes museums and heritage organizations must make their workplaces safe spaces. It is important to hold ourselves and the museum field accountable.

Please read, consider, and sign the pledge below. 

I promise:

  • To create and nurture workplaces free of sexual assault and understanding of consent.
  • To practice zero tolerance for discrimination, harassment, and sexual violence.
  • To intervene in situations of harassment.
  • To educate myself and my professional community on issues surrounding sexism in our unique workplace.
  • To refrain from sexist and disrespectful language and to speak up against it.
  • To provide a safe place to work. 
  • To be open to dialogue about museum workers’ concerns and needs.
  • Please take the pledge and join us in our commitment to affect change and promote transparent museum workspaces.

This is a public resource for the museum world, identifying individuals who’ve taken the GEMM pledge.  It is our hope that those who sign, will hold one another accountable, and those looking to join the museum community will know of safe spaces from which to begin.

This document is not legally binding, nor will it protect any individual. Please email GEMM with any comments and / or questions.

I CONFIRM THAT ALL INFORMATION GIVEN IS TRUE, COMPLETE AND ACCURATE TO THE BEST OF MY KNOWLEDGE.  

Citation Link: nikhil trivedi & Aletheia Wittman (2018), “Facing Sexual Harassment and Abuse in the Feminizing Museum,” Journal of Museum Education, 43:3, 209-218, DOI: 10.1080/10598650.2018.1488126.

Support now
Signatures: 672Next Goal: 1,000
Support now
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Decision Makers

  • Museum professionals