Culture is now widely recognized as a global public good. Yet, a critical question remains: is it a public good for all?
Despite progress, significant gender inequalities persist across the cultural and creative sectors. While women make up the majority of students in culture-related fields and hold a significant share of jobs in these sectors, they continue to face numerous barriers throughout their careers – from unequal access to and participation in cultural life, to underrepresentation in leadership roles, limited visibility and recognition, pay and funding gaps, and exposure to harassment and gender-based violence. With less than a third of national art prize winners and only a quarter of World Heritage site managers being women, the data leave no doubt about who gets recognized and who holds influence in the cultural and creative sectors.