<<"if i'm misreading the original post and the call is to simply hire based on color, gender, religion, etc. then i'm completely opposed. any employee, it seems to me, has to be able to bring something tangible to the institution." What do you define as "something tangible?" Again, you're imposing some abstract desire to make people who can participate in museums more like the "standard," whatever the standard is at that particular point in time.>> Well, there is a standard for people who participate in museums. Standards are not a bad thing. They exist to qualify people to do certain things when these people have reached a level of competence for accomplishing those things. I certainly do want museums to hire based on that person's past experience or current interest in museums and preservation. Race, color, gender etc. should not even enter the equation. If I have a museum with 25 employees, and they are all white males because white males were the only ones who met the criteria, there is nothing wrong with that. All that says is perhaps more people of other races & genders should become qualified for the positions they apply for. I WILL NOT EVER hire a person based solely upon color, race, religion or gender to fill a quota when I find someone else who does a better job. Call me what you will, but our history is too important to entrust to anyone but the absolute most qualified people. Rick Rowlands