From the Daily Mail, "'Woke to blame for Louvre robbery': Female museum security chief accused of being a 'diversity hire' comes under fire as politicians say heist has made France 'the laughing stock of the world'." The key bit:
Dominique Buffin, 46, was hired as the Louvre's first female security chief by Laurence Des Cars, the museum's first female director, last year.
But Buffin, who has worked with the police and at France's ministry of culture, was accused of being hired as part of a 'feminisation policy'.
- More: "Alleged Diversity-Hire Head of Louvre Security Faces Calls to Resign After Humiliating Heist of Crown Jewels"--Breitbart.
- More: "Who Is the Louvre’s New Director? Colleagues Describe Laurence des Cars as a Keen Art Historian With the Savoir-Faire of a Diplomat"--Art Net (2021). They say she wasn't hired because she was a woman, but...
Des Cars has offered a similar message to women, urging those who “hesitate to apply for positions of responsibility” to “have confidence in themselves, without doubting their legitimacy,” she said, speaking to France’s ministry of culture in March.
Sylvie Patry, the Musée d’Orsay’s chief curator, has experienced Des Cars’s approach firsthand. “We don’t feel limited as a woman, or ever tell ourselves, ‘oh la la, that’s too important a position for me,’” Patry said. “She’s someone with a vision, who is inspiring, and she doesn’t ever give up…. It pushes you forward.”
In a country that still bristles at the idea of quotas, Des Cars’s supporters are also quick to point out that her own appointment was based on her unique qualifications rather than her identity. “There’s catching up that needs to be done in terms of women [in leadership positions], but she was not simply chosen because she’s a woman,” said Sébastien Allard, director of paintings at the Louvre, who co-wrote a seminal book with Des Cars about 19th-century art.
Nevertheless, Allard acknowledged, “it’s a strong and necessary symbol” to finally have a female director at the Louvre, where half of department heads are women.
Amazing how much you can do with a ladder and an angle grinder. Especially when no one's paying attention.
ReplyDeleteThe old display cases were designed so that if the alarms went off, the contents would drop into a vault. The new, improved versions were not. Apparently the alarms now only make an irritating noise.
DeleteImagine if the heads had been Algerian!
ReplyDelete