The Value(s) of Women Artists

I use data on values to challenge the belief that women produce art of lower value. Using occupational data in the European Social Survey (ESS) and OLS regressions, I show that women are more likely to be artists in more gender-equal countries, a pattern consistent with greater barriers to artistic careers for women than for men. Using data on Schwartz human values in the ESS, I then show that women artists, particularly those with children, appear to have more exceptional artistic value profiles than their male counterparts. These findings highlight the risks of equating market price with artistic value and underscore the importance of investing in women’s art and women artists. An analysis of curators’ values suggests that market-based strategies alone—such as art collecting—are insufficient to address art-market inequality. Instead, they must be complemented by cultural policies that dismantle structural barriers, including mistaken beliefs.