Orchestrating gender equality: How Australian female musicians navigate bias and achieve career success

Abstract

Women’s participation in professional orchestras has changed the gender dynamics in the Australian music workplace. Traditional binary gender bias is pervasive in all industries, but little is known about how women in music navigate misogyny to achieve equality and realise career success. Thirteen Australian female principal players took part in semi-structured interviews to explore their experiences of the Australian musical workplace. Female principal players felt they encountered unconscious and conscious bias from tertiary training to their professional lives. The audition process, designed to promote impartiality, left women feeling disempowered with opaque and confusing criteria for job selection. Women believed they were treated differently to men and often felt isolated and unsupported. navigated prejudice and stereotyping within established male cultures and promoted inclusivity and diplomacy to achieve the best musical outcomes. Female principal players balanced family responsibilities with their professional careers and recognised more efficient ways of working. Women overcame self-doubt and fostered equality in the workplace. They were undeterred by the lack of female role models and determined to be strong female role models for the next generation. Future studies will investigate how awareness of bias in music can equip young musicians to demand and promote change in the industry.