Respondent profile - Museums Association

Respondent profile

As part of the research, we asked individuals to share details of their work situation and demographic profile.

Place of work

29%
National museums
27%
Independent museums
23%
Local Authority museums
7%
Independent trust previously a Local Authority museum
8%
University museums
1%
Military museums
3%
Freelancers
2%
Commercial companies supporting the sector

Type of work

Respondents were asked to reflect on their primary purpose of work and the types of work clustered around different activities. Respondents could select as many options as applied.

38%
Curatorial and collections
including conservation
35%
Exhibitions and displays
including interpretation
35%
Education and learning
including access and outreach
27%
Front of house
including visitor services and commercial activities
14%
Senior management
including governance
8%
Volunteering or interns
8%
Operations and facilities
including sustainability
6%
Consultants in other areas of museum practice
5%
Marketing and PR
3%
Fundraising
2%
Finance and administration
2%
Technology and digital
2%
Workforce and HR

Location of work

75%
England
9%
Scotland
8%
International
3%
Wales
1%
Northern Ireland
4%
Working across the UK

Career stage

1%
Student
2%
Volunteer
2%
Retired
27%
Early career
44%
Mid-career
22%
Senior or established
2%
Other

Length of sector service

Career stage and length of service are often related but not always.

20%
Under 5 years
30%
Between 5 and 10 years
32%
Between 11 and 20 years
18%
Over 20 years

Demographic profile

Responding to the demographic questions was optional, with opportunities to select ‘prefer not to say’ or to self-describe.

The respondent demographic raises some additional research needs in relation to the experiences of others within the sector that did not or felt they could not complete this questionnaire. This will be explored in the future to ensure the issues are identified and any specific recommendations included.

Age

2%
Between 19 and 24
28%
Between 25 and 34
36%
Between 35 and 44
21%
Between 45 and 54
10%
Between 55 and 64
1%
Over 65
2%
Prefer not to say

Gender

81%
Female
14%
Male
4%
Prefer not to say
1%
Prefer to self-describe

Disability

22%
Disclosed a disability
5%
Prefer not to say

Race and ethnic origin

73%
British, English, Northern Irish or Welsh
10%
Other white
3%
Irish
2%
Black, African, Caribbean, Black British, Asian or Asian British
3%
Other, other mixed or multiple ethnicities
9%
Prefer not to say

Sexual orientation

73%
Heterosexual
13%
Prefer not to say
7%
Bisexual
3%
Lesbian
2%
Gay man
2%
Other

Class and socio-economic status

The measures that contribute to this are varied and we included a range in line with the government’s social mobility indicators.

Education and educational attainment

Over 70% of respondents attended a state-run school, selective and non-selective.

Only 16% attended fee paying schools, classed as independent or public schools.

The remaining respondents attended school outside the UK – this mirrored the international respondents that completed the questionnaire.

67% of respondents are educated to undergraduate level, with a further 12% of respondents educated to postgraduate level, including PhDs.

Free school meals, income support and family history

12% of respondents received free school meals and 17% of respondents received income support.

50% of respondents’ parents did not attend university.

Religion and belief

65%
No religion
19%
Christianity
12%
Prefer not to say
2%
Other
0.9%
Islam
0.9%
Buddhism
0.2%
Hinduism
Advertisement