Walters Art Museum to increase workers’ pay, raise hourly minimum wage to $17

The Walters Art Museum will increase hourly wages and salaries for all employees next year, including a new $17 hourly minimum wage, the museum announced Wednesday.

The compensation increases will go into effect with the Jan. 2, 2023 pay period.

“Competitive compensation is important for multiple reasons, including for our ability to attract and retain staff across the whole institution,” said Julia Marciari-Alexander, Andrea B. and John H. Laporte Director, in a statement.

Over the summer, the Walters began a study of compensation data from art museums nationwide. Through that study, the Walters decided to adjust workers’ pay to reach the national median salary for comparable roles.

On average, salaries and hourly wages at the Walters will be raised about 13%, museum officials said.

As part of the increases, the museum will also raise the base hourly wage to $17 for all full-time, part-time, and internship positions. The Walters previously raised its hourly minimum wage to $15 in January 2021.

The museum will also include salary ranges or hourly rates in all listings for open positions.

When Walters employees are promoted internally, the museum will adjust their compensation to match the salary range for the new position.

The Walters leadership plans to “regularly reevaluate our compensation, so that we are keeping pace with changes in the museum field and remain competitive as an employer,” Marciari-Alexander said.

As part of the study that was launched this summer, the museum examined compensation data from the Association of Art Museum Directors’ 2021 salary survey.

Walters Art Museum Human Resources Director Tiarra Chance and Director of Finance Michelle RhodesBrown collaborated on the study.

“This study, and the resulting increases in the museum’s salaries and hourly wages, demonstrates the commitment of Walters’ leadership to competitive compensation and to taking action when action is needed,” Chance said in a statement. “Conducting a compensation study was a priority for me when I joined the Walters in May, and I am pleased we have been able to complete this process and plan for a rapid roll-out of these increases, which will benefit our employees and the museum as a whole.”

RhodesBrown added that the increases to workers’ pay will necessitate additional fundraising.

“Another essential part of this process was evaluating the impact that these increases would have on the museum’s budget over the next few years,” RhodesBrown said in a statement. “This is clearly a major investment in the museum’s staff, for which we will also need to raise additional funds. But while it is common for organizations to say that their staff are their most important asset, our planned increases demonstrate our commitment to that principle, and we are planning accordingly.”