There was a time when professional orchestras in the U.S. and elsewhere were almost entirely staffed by male musicians. Those times have changed, but one composer and blogger wonders, Have they changed enough? Suby Raman looked at gender representations in the top 20 U.S. orchestras ranked by base salary and discovered that, on average, 63% of these musicians are men, and 37% are women. The St. Louis Symphony was the only Top 20 U.S. orchestra with more female (53%) than male (47%) musicians. Raman also found that gender disparities exist for each section of the orchestra. Flutists and harpists, for example, are far more likely to be women than men in the major American orchestras, while trumpet, trombone and tuba players are far more likely to be men. Raman's data show that all other sections of the orchestra - except for the violin section - are comprised of more men than women. Finally, Raman's data show a marked gender disparity among section leaders and conductors for major U.S. orchestras. Whereas 59% of violinists in these orchestras are women (and 41% men), 82% of these orchestras' concertmasters are men, and only 18% women. Female flutists outnumber male flutists 68% to 32%, but more men than women hold the principal flute position in these orchestras. There is only one female music director for a top-20 orchestra: Marin Alsop, music director of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. View Raman's graphics representing his findings here. So, what do you think? Should there be concern about the gender disparities among the musicians in the major American orchestras? Should we make a concerted effort to overcome these disparities? And if so, how? Read more:
- Suby Raman "Graphing Gender in America's Top Orchestras" (SubyRaman.tumblr.com)
