Diversity in Leadership Among Arts Graduates: Aiming for an Inclusive Leadership

Abstract

This research explores the multiplicity of diversity based on gender, ethnicity, and age, and how it is reflected among leaders with an arts degree. They include leaders who are managers, arts administrators, curators, arts educators, theatre producers, and stage directors. In this quantitative study, the aggregated data of arts alumni, nearly 65,000 respondents from three consecutive years (2015, 2016, and 2017) from the Strategic National Arts Alumni Project (SNAAP), are analyzed using a descriptive method. The study shows that 45.7% of art alumni are in management positions, of whom 78.5% are white, and the remaining 21.5% are fairly evenly distributed among other ethnicities. Therefore, there is a lack of diversity in the positions of leadership. This paper suggests the need for inclusive leadership, in which diversity is encouraged.