Why don’t more women hold top leadership positions in American theaters?

In 2013, American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) partnered with the Wellesley Centers for Women (WCW) to conduct a study on the gender equity of leadership opportunities in the nonprofit American theater. The project was made possible by the Virigina B. Toulmin Foundation, the Valentine Foundation, and individual donors.

Research included interviews with current Artistic Directors and Executive Directors, members of Boards of Trustees of theaters from the League of Resident Theatres (LORT) who had been involved in the leader selection process, search firm professionals who manage searches for top leadership positions, and people in the pipeline to leadership.

The Study  

Preliminary findings showed that some of the main barriers to women achieving lead leadership positions in theater are:

• Familiarity and Trust
  The overwhelming majority of white, male leaders in LORT theaters feeds the mostly unconscious expectation of what a leader should look like.
• Work-Life Balance
  Family responsibility represents a strong and hidden hurdle to progression, especially for women, yet conversations around work-life balance have remained a taboo.
• Mentoring and Affordability
  In the theater, careers have traditionally progressed through apprenticeships, however, women mentors have been in short supply.

To work towards greater diversity in leadership positions, Boards of Trustees can:

• Use vacancies in leadership as an opportunity for the theater to engage in self-examination, articulating the skills and experiences to include in the job description for the next leader.
• Ensure diverse search committee membership that includes a variety of voices. Make sure each voice gets heard by instituting unanimous voting.
• Conduct a publicly posted, external search for all major leadership positions, which will expose you to the widest slate of candidates.
   

To learn more about the research findings and how your theater can make the important changes, download the full report, watch the livestream of the conference, and check out the project overview on the WCW website.

Additional Resources

Participate in the Berkshire Leadership Summit

Recommendations to address issues faced by women in theater

How the Statera Foundation serves women in theater

Gender disparity in opera

Gender Equity Challenge for Bay Area businesses

Celebrate SWAN Day to promote women's creativity