Access, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in Cultural Organizations: Insights from the Careers of Executive Opera Managers of Color in the US (Routledge Research in the Creative and Cultural Industries)

Analyzing the lack of diversity among opera executives, this book examines the careers of executive opera managers of color in the US. By interrogating the impact of race on arts managers' careers, the author contemplates how opera might attract and retain more racially diverse arts managers to ensure its future.

With a focus on North America, research is contextualized via qualitative data to explore, enhance and institutionalize access, diversity, equity and inclusion (ADEI) in the opera industry. In a revealing series of expert-conducted interviews, the author poses illuminating questions, such as:

• what if an inability to recruit and retain diverse executives is the primary source of opera's challenges?
• if more racially diverse opera executives existed would the art form persist in struggling to find its place in contemporary society?
• from where will the next generation of diverse opera managers emerge?

As the magnitude of the global diversity problem grows within the cultural industries, this book serves as a guide for arts management practitioners, researchers and students who may view their class, disability, ethnicity, gender, race, or sexual orientation as a liability in their pursuit of executive careers.