LGBTQ+ equity at MGS: our journey so far

One area MGS has been engaging with in more depth over the last year is LGBTQ+ inclusion. This is a topic that Scottish museums and galleries don’t feel confident engaging with, and as part of the Inclusion priority area of Scotland’s Museums and Galleries Strategy, we have been looking into what and how we can do to support museums and galleries to make their spaces and collections more LGBTQ+ inclusive.  

In 2024 MGS staff attended an LGBTQ+ awareness session: following this, we developed an Action Plan for the organisation. This contains actions both for us internally as an organisation and externally in the shape of support and resources for the sector.  

There have been developments since then, including work by our comms team to ensure our marketing materials represent all kinds of families. We have developed guidance for our staff on the use of pronouns in various settings. We also have ensured we have gender neutral toilet facilities.   

There have been various resources and projects we have supported and championed like the How To Queer Your Historic House toolkit. We are supporting the University of Leicester’s Research Centre for Museums and Galleries as they develop the second edition of their Trans-Inclusive Guidance for Cultural Organisations, which will be coming out next year.  

We have provided funding to Glasgow Women’s Library to take part in a Queer Heritage and Collections Network project– their project will celebrate 30th anniversary of the relocation of the Lesbian Archive and Information Centre (LAIC) to Glasgow Women’s Library. Their project will also include book launch for ‘Desi Queers: LGBTQ+ South Asians and Cultural Belonging in Britain’ by Professor Churnjeet Mahn, Rohit Dasgupta and DJ Ritu.  

We have also signalled our support for LGBTQ+ people by acknowledging awareness events including Pride Month, LGBT History Month, and Trans Day of Visibility. We’ve developed guidance for museums and galleries on how to engage with Pride Month, and used awareness days to highlight LGBTQ+ inclusive events and exhibitions.

We want to make sure that we’re getting things right on our journey towards LGBTQ+ equity. That’s why a key objective in our LGBTQ+ Action Plan is to achieve certification for our work from people with lived experience of queerness and a knowledge of inclusion. We identified the LGBT Youth Scotland Charter as a strong candidate for certification because it sets rigorous targets and provides a clear framework for our efforts to make MGS a truly LGBTQ+ inclusive organisation.  

We’re aiming to achieve the Silver Charter – the same level of certification recently attained by V&A Dundee. We started our work on the Charter in April, and have 12 months to meet our objectives. After this point – and provided we’ve done the work – we’ll have secured our Charter accreditation for a three-year period. 

I’m one of several members of MGS staff who has teamed up to help meet the objectives of the Charter by forming a Charter Champions Group. We’re working together to ensure that our organisation’s policies are more inclusive, that our staff are aware of LGBTQ+ identities and issues, and that we can provide a safe and welcoming environment for LGBTQ+ staff, board members, and stakeholders.  

My role in the Charter Champions Group focuses on content development. This has involved working with my marketing team colleagues to create news stories and blog posts that raise the profile of LGBTQ+ inclusion work taking place in Scotland’s museums. I’ve also conducted an audit of our advice guides to identify topics that could benefit from LGBTQ+ perspectives. 

The pursuit of equity for any marginalised group is a constant process which requires critical reflection on how we work and who we work with. It’s early days yet, but I’m already finding it incredibly rewarding to play a part in our progress towards Charter accreditation. By breaking down barriers to equity for LGBTQ+ people, our Charter Champions Group is supporting the ongoing efforts of MGS to encourage a fairer and more representative museum sector for all.