Women Making History: The Leaders of Today – roundtable discussion chaired by Victoria Tandy, Co-Founder of the Women Leaders in Museums Network

‘Women Making History: The Leaders of Today’ is a roundtable
session exploring the presence of women in senior roles in heritage
organisations, at the Women and Power conference which took place
on the 6th and 7th March 2019. Women and Power: Redressing the
Balance was a 2-day conference, jointly convened by the National
Trust and the University of Oxford, which took place on the 6th and
7th March 2019 at St Hugh’s College in Oxford. The conference
brought together professionals from across the academic and
heritage sectors to reflect on programming around the 2018
centenary of the Representation of the People Act which granted
some women the right to vote and to look to the future of
researching and programming women’s histories. The conference
featured papers from a range of heritage, cultural and academic
institutions who marked the centenary anniversary. Many of the
programmes, exhibitions and events that responded to the centenary
not only explored the stories of 100 years ago but openly
questioned the representation of women’s lives in the histories
inherited by curators and researchers, and experienced in public
life, today. This roundtable session ‘Women Making History: The
Leaders of Today’ explores the presence of women in senior roles in
heritage organisations through the lived experience of the first
generation of female museum leaders. What difference have these
women made to how heritage is managed, preserved, and constructed?
What barriers have they encountered? How have these women helped
others to succeed? The session draws on the findings of three
projects which have all sought to make a difference for women
working in the sector: the Women Leaders in Museums Network; the
Confidence Choice and Connections programme; and the Changing the
Narrative initiative. It explores the ways in which cohorts of
women have worked together to support each other and encouraged
other women to put themselves forward for leadership roles in the
sector and discusses what is needed in future to ensure the
representation of women’s experiences in all aspects of heritage
practice. Speakers: Virginia Tandy, Co-Founder, Women Leaders in
Museums Network (Chair) Hilary Carty, Director, Clore Leadership
Programme Kate Clark, Visiting Professor in Heritage Valuation
University of Sussex Sara Wajid, Head of Engagement, Museum of
London For more information about the Women and Power conference
and the National Trust Partnership at the University of Oxford
please visit: www.torch.ox.ac.uk/national-trust-partnership