On the 115th anniversary (1911-2026) of the International Women’s Day, ICOM reiterates its commitment to promoting gender equality and advocates for diversity and empowerment of women in the museum sector and beyond.
Since 2017, ICOM has been promoting the role of women in museums during International Women’s Day through the hashtag #WomenInMuseums, which has become a hub on social media platforms to share and celebrate the work of female museum professionals, women artists and women in history. With this continued campaign, we aim at highlighting the many ways in which women shape museums, from shifting narratives to fighting for inclusion.
On International Women’s Day we celebrate collective global activism and highlight the work of museums who accelerate action, innovate, break stereotypes, address discrimination and drive inclusivity.
We would like to spotlight some of these initiatives related to IWD2026:
Global initiatives:
- The UNWomen Rights. Justice. Action campaign comes at a defining moment: Women and girls have never been closer to equality, and never closer to losing it. It is a call for action for all women and girls worldwide to stand with women’s movements and work with governments that choose equality. See the select UN Women events here.
- The #GivetoGain global call emphasises the power of reciprocity and support needed to achieve gender equality. It calls for women-focused Giving, be it through knowledge, resources, visibility, infrustructure, advocacy, mentoring etc to contribute to women’s advancement, challenge discrimination and raise awareness.
- List of Women’s Museums by the International Association of Women’s Museums (IAWM) that monitors women’s museums (physical, virtual, and initiatives or gender museums) around the world.
- Gender-responsive synergies across the Rio Conventions: Multi-stakeholder perspectives 2025 report by UNWomen brings together 22 voices from around the world working at the nexus of biodiversity loss, climate change, and land degradation. It underscores that women’s leadership and participation, especially grassroots, Indigenous, and youth voices, are essential for building climate and environmental resilience.
Resources:
- ICOM Voices – The absence of a feminist museum in France: A look back at 25 years of initiatives and obstacles examines issues related to both feminism and museums, and offers a look at the Museum of Feminisms project along with other initiatives to create a feminist museum in France over the past 25 years and the obstacles that have been faced.
- Gendering the Museum collaborative project, with a toolkit, case-studies and resources aimed at museum and heritage professionals and community groups that provide practical guidance for curatorial, interpretation, programming and front-of-house staff to change the representation of genderin museums, galleries and heritage sites.
- Podcast Museums and Chill – Museums through a Gender Lens, where archaeologist and cultural heritage specialist Camila Opazo-Sepúlveda shares her insights on how museums can challenge dominant narratives, incorporate a feminist perspective in their exhibitions, and foster intercultural dialogue without replicating colonial dynamics. She also encourages us to ask: How can cultural institutions ensure that feminism and equity are not just occasional themes, but core principles embedded in their daily work?
Upcoming in-person events to attend:
- National Museum of Women in the Arts (USA) Photojournalism Wikipedia Edit-a-thon is an in-person event organised by NMWA – dedicated to championing women through the arts – and Wikimedia DC on 22 March 2026 that aims to close information gaps related to gender, feminism, and the arts.
- Women In The Museum XL: The (Museum’s) Future Is Female symposium organised by the Women of the Rijksmuseum team on 9-10 March 2026 offers lectures, plenary talks and hands-on workshops. It delves into the complex relationship between museums and feminist activism, and engages with different approaches to reframing historical narratives. It will explore how museums – especially those working with historical collections – can actively engage in today’s gender discourses.
Join the conversation by using the hashtag #WomenInMuseums to introduce us to the women who make your museum thrive. Share their stories, and tag ICOM on social media to spread the word. You may also use the hashtag to highlight related events and initiatives.
This month, the ICOM Voices article and Museums and Chill podcast, linked to women and feminist issues in museums are being shared. Stay tuned!
Gender mainstreaming: ICOM’s mission
For over 30 years, ICOM has been committed to promoting gender equality as a core diversity issue in museums.
After the establishment of a Cultural Diversity Policy Framework in 1998, ICOM published in 2010 the ICOM Cultural Diversity Charter during the 25th ICOM General Assembly in Shanghai, China. The aim of the Charter is to develop inclusive approaches and guidelines as to how museums should deal with cultural diversity and biodiversity. In addition to recognising and affirming all forms of cultural diversity and biological diversity at local, regional and international levels, the Charter encourages museums to reflect this diversity in all policies and programs across the world.
Three years after its publication, in 2013, the ICOM General Assembly passed the 2013 Gender Mainstreaming Resolution, which builds upon the Charter and highlights the need of including the issue of gender equality in the core of our organisation’s diversity and inclusion policies. The Resolution notes that gender mainstreaming and other cultural borders of diversity such as race, ethnicity, class, faith, age, physical ability, economic status, regionalism and sexual orientation are important for the development of the principle of inclusiveness in museums.
