ABSTRACT
Today women are visible throughout the museum workplace—in upper level management positions, curating exhibits, overseeing development and fundraising. A quick glance at the official museum directory reveals that the leadership of the largest, best known museums in this country is still predominantly male. Over recent decades, what has been accomplished and what challenges remain, to answer such questions, Museum News turned to certain women museum professionals who hold senior positions in the field: Delia Isabel Griffin, Elodie Courter Osborn, Grace Nute and Viola Shelly Shantz. Along with the original interviewees, this chapter includes comments from some additional thought leaders such as writer and art historian Kendall Taylor, Geri Thomas of Thomas & Associates, Inc., scientist Carol Bossert, and the women of Museum Workers Speak, the activist organization. In 1997, Kathy Dwyer Southern was executive director of Port Discovery: The Children's Museum in Baltimore. Today she teaches in George Washington University's museum studies program.
