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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2018/jul/12/new-york-museum-curator-mother-rescinded-job-offer
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| New York museum rescinded job offer because I was a mother, curator claims | New York museum rescinded job offer because I was a mother, curator claims |
| (about 1 month later) | |
| The curator at the center of a gathering art-world storm over gender and parental discrimination says her experience of losing out on a major New York arts institution job – allegedly after revealing she had recently given birth – is at the next frontier of the #MeToo movement. | The curator at the center of a gathering art-world storm over gender and parental discrimination says her experience of losing out on a major New York arts institution job – allegedly after revealing she had recently given birth – is at the next frontier of the #MeToo movement. |
| Nikki Columbus, 43, an outgoing editor at Parkett magazine, last week sued the edgy, Queens-based MoMA PS1 contemporary art museum for discrimination. She accuses three senior museum executives of abruptly dropping an offer to make her associate curator of performance, upon learning that she was a new mother. She claims the move violatescity laws regarding caregivers, pregnancy and women’s rights. | Nikki Columbus, 43, an outgoing editor at Parkett magazine, last week sued the edgy, Queens-based MoMA PS1 contemporary art museum for discrimination. She accuses three senior museum executives of abruptly dropping an offer to make her associate curator of performance, upon learning that she was a new mother. She claims the move violatescity laws regarding caregivers, pregnancy and women’s rights. |
| “The realization that Ms Columbus was a new mother who would have caretaking responsibilities caused Respondents to turn on a dime,” the suit, which is lodged with the City of New York Commission on Human Rights, alleges. The conduct of the executives in question, named as the chief operating officer, Jose Ortiz; the director, Klaus Biesenbach; and the chief curator, Peter Eleey, “is the hallmark of discrimination”, the lawsuit contends. | “The realization that Ms Columbus was a new mother who would have caretaking responsibilities caused Respondents to turn on a dime,” the suit, which is lodged with the City of New York Commission on Human Rights, alleges. The conduct of the executives in question, named as the chief operating officer, Jose Ortiz; the director, Klaus Biesenbach; and the chief curator, Peter Eleey, “is the hallmark of discrimination”, the lawsuit contends. |
| Columbus told the Guardian on Monday: “When I told them I had to consider childcare as part of my schedule, Eleey asked me, why didn’t you say this two months ago? I was a little surprised, and I tried to be solicitous. Then, when I heard back again, I was told I could not perform the job as it is presently structured.” | Columbus told the Guardian on Monday: “When I told them I had to consider childcare as part of my schedule, Eleey asked me, why didn’t you say this two months ago? I was a little surprised, and I tried to be solicitous. Then, when I heard back again, I was told I could not perform the job as it is presently structured.” |
| One of Columbus’s attorneys, Elizabeth Saylor, described her client’s experience as a blatant example of the discrimination women face in the workplace, and is seeking damages for lost wages and emotional harm. “Nikki is one of thousands of women in the art world who have been discriminated against because they are mothers, Saylor said. | One of Columbus’s attorneys, Elizabeth Saylor, described her client’s experience as a blatant example of the discrimination women face in the workplace, and is seeking damages for lost wages and emotional harm. “Nikki is one of thousands of women in the art world who have been discriminated against because they are mothers, Saylor said. |
| The museum has yet to formally respond to the action, though a representative told Artnet News: “MoMA PS1 is committed to a work environment in which all applicants and employees are treated with respect and dignity.” | The museum has yet to formally respond to the action, though a representative told Artnet News: “MoMA PS1 is committed to a work environment in which all applicants and employees are treated with respect and dignity.” |
| But Columbus’s experience, she said, tallied with others, both within the notionally progressive art world and beyond. She said she had been warned by other women not to discuss that she was carrying a child during the initial interview process. | But Columbus’s experience, she said, tallied with others, both within the notionally progressive art world and beyond. She said she had been warned by other women not to discuss that she was carrying a child during the initial interview process. |
| The prejudice, she continued, was as prevalent in a progressive liberal arts environment as it might be elsewhere. Because Columbus did not overtly “show” during her term, the biases she ultimately met with were all the more obvious, she claimed. | The prejudice, she continued, was as prevalent in a progressive liberal arts environment as it might be elsewhere. Because Columbus did not overtly “show” during her term, the biases she ultimately met with were all the more obvious, she claimed. |
| “Sure I was surprised it could be so blatant, but I’ve felt that even within the art world there is poor maternity leave, poor protections for pregnancy and poor caregiver policies.” | “Sure I was surprised it could be so blatant, but I’ve felt that even within the art world there is poor maternity leave, poor protections for pregnancy and poor caregiver policies.” |
| The lawsuit describes negotiations over pay and various working hours and conditions after Columbus was initially offered the job, which MoMA PS1, in later rescinding its job offer, said it interpreted as “a rejection of our offer”. | The lawsuit describes negotiations over pay and various working hours and conditions after Columbus was initially offered the job, which MoMA PS1, in later rescinding its job offer, said it interpreted as “a rejection of our offer”. |
| Columbus said the only thing that had fundamentally changed between the offer and the rescinding was that she had revealed she had just given birth. | Columbus said the only thing that had fundamentally changed between the offer and the rescinding was that she had revealed she had just given birth. |
| What if women ruled the world? | What if women ruled the world? |
| In an email responding to a request for comment, a spokeswoman for MoMA PS1 said: “Thank you for reaching out. We haven’t received a complaint. Out of respect for the privacy of all applicants and employees, we don’t comment on individuals’ hiring candidacies or personnel matters. MoMA PS1 is committed to a work environment in which all applicants and employees are treated with respect and dignity. We promote equal employment opportunities and do not tolerate any discrimination.” | In an email responding to a request for comment, a spokeswoman for MoMA PS1 said: “Thank you for reaching out. We haven’t received a complaint. Out of respect for the privacy of all applicants and employees, we don’t comment on individuals’ hiring candidacies or personnel matters. MoMA PS1 is committed to a work environment in which all applicants and employees are treated with respect and dignity. We promote equal employment opportunities and do not tolerate any discrimination.” |
| In November, a paper published by the Census Bureau looking at the pay of spouses found that the pay gap between husbands and wives doubled after they had their first child, a disparity not entirely explained by women dropping out of the work force or working fewer hours. | In November, a paper published by the Census Bureau looking at the pay of spouses found that the pay gap between husbands and wives doubled after they had their first child, a disparity not entirely explained by women dropping out of the work force or working fewer hours. |
| Columbus’s experience, she said, might be included in an expanding #MeToo movement that has exposed misconduct and poor handling of harassment and discrimination in many industries, including media, entertainment, art, financial, technology and restaurant work. | Columbus’s experience, she said, might be included in an expanding #MeToo movement that has exposed misconduct and poor handling of harassment and discrimination in many industries, including media, entertainment, art, financial, technology and restaurant work. |
| “Sexual harassment and sexual assault are obviously in a different league of personal injury, but gender discrimination is another way that women are kept from rising in the workplace. We’re learning from #MeToo that women have been afraid to speak out, so that is one reason I wanted to come forward,” she said. | “Sexual harassment and sexual assault are obviously in a different league of personal injury, but gender discrimination is another way that women are kept from rising in the workplace. We’re learning from #MeToo that women have been afraid to speak out, so that is one reason I wanted to come forward,” she said. |
| The issues, Columbus suggests, go deeper than the curatorial departments of the art world. | The issues, Columbus suggests, go deeper than the curatorial departments of the art world. |
| “I think women artists know that they can be mothers and artists at the same time but they encounter a culture that thinks they can’t,” Columbus has observed. | “I think women artists know that they can be mothers and artists at the same time but they encounter a culture that thinks they can’t,” Columbus has observed. |
| “It’s been obvious for a long time that the art world at the institutional level is male-dominated. Art history and curatorial PhD programs are primarily female, but then you look at top curators and museum directors, they are roles that tend to be played by men.” | “It’s been obvious for a long time that the art world at the institutional level is male-dominated. Art history and curatorial PhD programs are primarily female, but then you look at top curators and museum directors, they are roles that tend to be played by men.” |
| While Columbus’s reflection on the gender breakdown conforms to recent studies, her going public with her story is having a polarizing effect. The collector-commentator Alain Servais posted on Twitter: “An alternative reading of the story is that she was stretching the rope with her numerous requests, not all linked to her pregnancy.” | While Columbus’s reflection on the gender breakdown conforms to recent studies, her going public with her story is having a polarizing effect. The collector-commentator Alain Servais posted on Twitter: “An alternative reading of the story is that she was stretching the rope with her numerous requests, not all linked to her pregnancy.” |
| Columbus described her MoMa PS1 experience as “a distressing and stressful thing” to happen. “It was wrong, really wrong, and I’ve gotten support for speaking out,” she said. | Columbus described her MoMa PS1 experience as “a distressing and stressful thing” to happen. “It was wrong, really wrong, and I’ve gotten support for speaking out,” she said. |
| This story was amended to reflect the name of Nikki Columbus’s lawyer, Elizabeth Saylor, who spoke with the Guardian. | This story was amended to reflect the name of Nikki Columbus’s lawyer, Elizabeth Saylor, who spoke with the Guardian. |
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