Gender-Sensitive Accountability in the Italian Cultural Content Industry: A Research Agenda

Museums and other cultural institutions are key actors in the Cultural Content Industry (CCI). They can play a strategic role in advancing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 5 on gender equality. However, despite growing attention to museums’ social responsibility, gender inequalities in representation, pay, and access to leadership positions remain persistent across the cultural sector. In this context, the concept of Gender-Sensitive Accountability (GSA) is increasingly relevant, as it emphasizes the need for institutions to recognize, monitor, and address gender-based disparities through transparent and accountable policies. This chapter provides an overview of the scientific literature on GSA in the Italian CCI, with a focus on museums and art galleries. The study adopts a concise bibliometric approach and analyzes 52 English-language publications (articles and book chapters) published between 1990 and 2024, retrieved from Scopus and Google Scholar. Through descriptive, bibliometric, and network analyses, the chapter identifies the main research trends, thematic clusters, and emerging gaps in the field. The findings highlight a growing scholarly interest in recent years, but also reveal the limited integration of GSA into cultural governance and museum management practices. The chapter argues that stronger gender-responsive accountability mechanisms, equitable access to leadership opportunities, and targeted institutional policies are essential to promoting gender equality in Italy's cultural sector. It concludes by outlining policy implications and a research agenda for future studies on GSA in the CCI.