Organizational Survey

Introduction

As part of its assessment process, Inclusivity conducted a survey to gauge the opinions of the employees and board members of the MFA. The following reports on the main findings of the survey. In addition to an analysis of all responses, we also analyzed the responses for different affinity groups, namely

• Gender identity

• Role in the organization (Board Member or Employee)

The response rates for each of the groups are given in the following table:

It is noticeable that all employees completed at least part of the survey, as did most women. The response rate for board members was significantly lower at just under 48%. Given that all employees completed the survey, and almost all women, it is hard not to conclude that the survey was not completed by male board members.

The survey is divided into five sections, namely

• Internal Culture

• Leadership Commitment

• Business Case for Diversity

• Programs and Services

• Personal Awareness

We present the most striking observations along those lines. Respondents were also given the opportunity to submit written comments on each question, and we also highlight some of the most salient comments. The following sections highlight and expand upon the main themes observed.

Internal Culture

The responses to the statements in the section on Internal Culture vary widely. Thus, most respondents agree or strongly agree that the MFA has a commitment to a diverse workforce (64%), promotes a set of values to enhance equity (63%), and values everyone’s input at all levels (60%). While there are no differences between the genders for the first two statements, 65% of women agree or strongly agree with the last statement, but only 50% of men.

However, there is less agreement about the extent to which the MFA has a diverse workforce at all levels, with only 35% of respondents agreeing or strongly agreeing, and 26% disagreeing or strongly disagreeing. A higher percentage of men agree than women. However, among women, 45% neither agree nor disagree. Among board members, 56% agree or strongly agree with 33% neither agreeing nor disagreeing, while the level of agreement or strong agreement among employees is only 30%, with 39% neither agreeing nor disagreeing. However, it should be noted that only 9 board members completed the survey.

There is also a relatively low level of agreement or strong agreement (47%) with the statement “MFA’s staff and leadership reflect the demographic of the people it serves”, although there are noticeable differences between the board members, 70% of whom agree or strongly agree, and employees, only 42% of whom agree. Among employees, men agree or strongly agree at a higher percentage that women (58% versus 44%). Some of the written comments suggest that it may indeed be the case that the MFA’s staff and leadership reflect the population that it serves but that MFA fails to attract a diverse set of patrons. In other words, just as the MFA staff and leadership are primarily female and non-Hispanic white, the museum visitors appear to be primarily female and nonHispanic white.

The level of agreement or strong agreement with the statement “The MFA attempts to reduce bias in the workplace (ex. Training team building)” is also relatively low at 45% (more so among men, only 36% of whom agree or strongly agree). Some of the written comments mention the COVID pandemic, and the subsequent need for remote work, have made it difficult to organize team building exercises.

Leadership Commitment

The respondents seem to believe that the MFA leadership is committed to advancing equity in the organization, with 75% agreeing or strongly agreeing. However, while almost all men agree or strongly agreement (90%), the level of agreement or strong agreement is lower among women (67%), with 30% of women neither agreeing nor disagreeing. 89% of board members agree or strongly agree as opposed to 70% of employees.

Most of the respondents also believe that the MFA’s practices enable the success of all individuals, no matter what group they belong to, with 65% agreeing or strongly agreeing, although there is also a relatively high percentage of respondents who neither agree nor disagree (21%). Again, the percentage of women who agree or strongly agree is lower than the percentage of men (60% versus 73%), but the percentage of women who neither agree nor disagree is significantly higher (23% versus 18%). There are no noticeable differences between the board members and the employees.

Finally, 44% of respondents disagree or strongly disagrees that some of MFA’s rules and policies are based on assumptions that can lead to bias. In this case, a higher percentage of men neither agree nor disagree (45% versus 33%). Again, there are no noticeable differences between the board members and the employees.

Business Case for Diversity

Most respondents also see the business case for diversity. For example, 90% agree or strongly agree that diversity is vital to MFA’s success, and 78% agree or strongly agree that the MFA’s culture support and encourages change.

There are no noticeable gender differences, or differences between board members and employees.

However, there is a lower level of agreement or strong agreement that the MFA attempts to reduce bias about the community it serves, at 60%, with 27% of respondents indicating that they neither agree nor disagree. The level of agreement or strong agreement is higher among men than women (80% versus 55%), and while no men indicate that they neither agree not disagree (31%) of women do. A higher percentage of board members agree or strongly agree with the statement than employees (88% versus 51%).

Finally, only 54% agree or strongly agree that the MFA is committed to retaining and developing its employees, with 21% disagreeing or strongly disagreeing. There are significant gender differences. No men disagree or strongly disagree with the statement but 27% of women do.

Programs and Services

There was less uniformity in the responses to the questions related to programs and services. The levels of agreement or strong agreement with statement related to how well the MFA understands it partner communities, removes barriers to access, promotes intercultural rigor, and connects with the diversity of its audience range from 42% to 60%. The level of agreement or strong agreement is higher among men than women. In most cases, there is again a large percentage of respondents who indicate that they neither agree or disagree or that they do not know, ranging from 32% to 45%, and again the percentage of respondents who select this open is much higher among women than among men. It also noticeable that about a third of board members indicate that they do not know.

However, there is uniformity in the responses to the question whether the MFA makes its material available in multiple languages, with 70% disagreeing or strongly disagreeing. There is no noticeable difference between the genders. Two third of board members indicate that they do not know, while only 10% of employees do.

Personal Awareness

The picture that emerges from the section of the survey on personal awareness is one of organization whose members are strongly committed to DEI at a personal level. For example, 85% of respondents agree or strongly agree that it is important for them to work for an organization that emphasizes getting to know people from different backgrounds, all (100%) disagree or strongly disagree that it is difficult for them to feel close to a person from another culture, and 93% disagree or strongly disagree that getting to know someone from another race is generally an uncomfortable experience.

There are no noticeable differences between the genders, except the statement “People in poverty are often there because of their own doing”. 85% of women disagree or strongly disagree with this statement but only 55% of men.

There are no noticeable differences in the response patterns between board members and employees.