Ten Easy Steps Towards More Inclusive Programming
An extract from LGBTQ+ Good Practice Guide (Arts Council England and Museums Association, second edition, 2020) by Dan Vo downloadable here.
1. Make A Statement Make sure your organisation’s equality and diversity statement is on display and staff and volunteers are aware of it. This should include a clear position on zero tolerance for homophobic, transphobic or biphobic language.
2. Use Inclusive Language Listen to how people self describe their identity and the pronouns they may use to describe themselves, partners and relationships. Reflecting their choice of language is a meaningful step showing acceptance and acknowledging them. Take care to ensure any language used and behaviours exhibited does not assume people are heterosexual or cisgender. It is possible to do this by using gender neutral language.
3. Set Up an LGBTQ+ Working Group Having a staff and volunteer network provides a valuable forum for issues to be discussed, opportunities for peer support and networking as well as a sounding board for proposals for the development of LGBTQ+ focussed programming. Through this group it is possible to develop sustainable relationships with local LGBTQ+ social and support groups.
4. Share The Stories Identify stories from within your collection that speak to diverse LGBTQ+ histories and themes and post them onto your website or create a small trail based around the objects. It does not have to be extensive: some museums have simple trails of a handful of objects, while the British Museum probably has the gold standard offering in the form of a downloadable audioguide. Do make your staff and volunteers aware of the objects as they can be incorporated into existing tours or even developed into a specialist tour whether for a specific event or an ongoing basis.
5. Get Involved with LGBT+ History Month Setting up a day of talks and inviting speakers to talk on LGBTQ+ history is an easy way to start engaging with the LGBTQ+ communities. Dedicated to ‘educating out prejudice’, LGBT History Month has been celebrated annually in February since 2005. Recently, to support LGBT History Month in galleries, libraries, archives and museums (GLAMs) an ‘OUTing the Past’ conference has also been organised by Schools OUT UK which provides a diverse range of expert speakers on interesting topics which your museum can choose from.
6. Training LGBTQ+ history is not just relevant to February during LGBT History Month. As a means of ensuring year round engagement, do include diversity and inclusion training as part of staff and volunteer training. Stonewall UK, the LGBT Foundation or Gendered Intelligence will be able to provide recommendations if you would like to source speakers beyond your own LGBTQ+ Working Group. Ensure there is training and support for staff and volunteers to challenge discrimination if they witness it.
7. Fly The Flag Flying the Rainbow Flag during LGBT History Month or Pride Month is simple, yet highly effective, way of showing support for the LGBTQ+ communities. Do not underestimate the powerful impact of this gesture which can simultaneously signal acceptance, celebration and welcome to the LGBTQ+ communities.
8. Show Your Support Having information about local LGBTQ+ community social or support groups creates a welcoming atmosphere. Similarly, if staff are able to wear rainbow pins or badges on their lanyards it is possible for them to show solidarity as allies or members of the LGBTQ+ communities.
9. March With Pride You can support your staff and volunteers in marching at Pride in your local area, or having a community stall at a relevant event. This allows you to step out of the museum and directly engage with the diverse LGBTQ+ communities in your local area.
10. Monitor Your Progress Consider including questions that allow the collection of information about the sexual orientation and gender of staff and volunteers as well as visitors. This may be done in HR forms as well as feedback forms. It is important to allow optional disclosure and ensure information collected is kept strictly confidential. Remember it is crucial to ask for information in a way that is comfortable for everyone and is not too complex or alienates people. All public sector bodies have an Equality Duty under the Act which requires them to take into account the needs of people whose identity is covered by one or more of the nine characteristics protected by the Act. This means that collecting demographic data is a prerequisite to fulfilling this legal duty.
queerhcn.org 