Steadfastly white, female, hetero and able-bodied: An international survey on the motivations and experiences of arts management graduates

This study found that 86% of survey respondents were either very satisfied or satisfied with their arts management degree. However, educators should refrain from celebrating. When it comes to demographic profiles across the globe, the study also found that arts management graduates self-identified primarily as white, female, able-bodied, heterosexual millennials. If graduates remain steadfastly privileged across multiple social identities, then the discipline and the field must collaborate proactively to ensure that students become critically engaged cultural brokers who can manage the arts in a diverse world. But by what means? First, with more curricular content on access, diversity, equity, inclusion and intercultural relations. Second, with strategic recruitment of diverse students. The discipline’s ability to provide culturally responsive offerings for all people depends on these measures. The consequences of ignoring the lack of demographic diversity among graduates will diminish arts management’s ability to effectively serve the most culturally vulnerable populations in our societies. © 2020, Ecole des Hautes Etudes Commerciales. All rights reserved.