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    13 graphs that show the alarming gender inequality in US orchestras today

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    Is there equality in US orchestras in 2014? Composer and blogger Suby Raman has been looking into the gender make-up of America’s top 20 orchestras. In this series of infographics he explores proportions of male and female musicians in each section and the gender split in leadership positions. Have a look at his findings: they are eye-opening

    1. A graph depicting the gender split in US orchestras

      1. Taking a closer look

      On average, American orchestras are made up of 63% men, 37% women. Only one of the orchestras Raman analysed had more female than male musicians – St Louis Symphony. Here's a closer look at the gender split in orchestras A-L.

    2. A graph depicting the gender split in US orchestras

      2. And the rest…

      Raman looked at the gender split in America’s top 20 orchestras, taking in 1,833 musicians. Here's the data from orchestras beginning with M onwards.

    3. A graph depicting the gender split in strings

      3. String sections

      In the string sections, things start to look a little different. Women dominate in violin sections, where 59% are female, and almost half of viola players are women. By contrast, women dominate in harp sections, where they make up 95% of the musicians.

    4. A graph depicting the gender split in woodwind

      4. Woodwind sections

      In woodwind sections, there are more female than male flautists, but men dominate on all other instruments.

    5. A graph depicting the gender split in brass sections

      5. Brass sections

      Brass sections are almost exclusively male – 97% of trumpet players are male, for example. Horn players are more split, though – almost a third of musicians are female.

    6. A graph depicting the gender split in percussion and keyboard sections

      6. Percussion and keyboard sections

      In the keyboard (which could include piano, harpsichord, pianoforte or celeste for example) section, the split is exactly 50/50. Unlike the percussion section…

    7. A graph depicting the gender split of concertmasters

      7. Taking the lead

      This is where things become more interesting. Raman looks at the leaders of each section. As Raman says in his blog “Spoiler alert: there’s a pattern.” This graph shows the gender balance of the concertmaster role (sometimes called leader) compared with the gender balance of the violin section overall.

    8. A graph depicting the gender split in string sections and string leaders

      8. Follow the leader

      Raman then goes on to analyse the leader/section split of each string section. In each case (apart from harpists), there are more male than female leaders. This is especially striking for violinists, where the sections are otherwise made up of more women than men.

    9. A graph depicting the gender split in American woodwind sections and woodwind leader roles

      9. Woodwind section – leaders

      The pattern for violinists is repeated in flute sections: women dominate on the flute generally, but 57% of leaders of this section are men. Across the woodwind sections, men are more likely to be in the role of leader than women.

    10. A graph depicting the gender split in American brass sections and leaders

      10. Brass section – leaders

      Men dominate not just in the brass sections but also in the brass leader roles.

    11. A graph depicting the gender split in percussion and keyboard sections and leaders

      11. Percussion and keyboard – leaders

      The gender split of percussion and keyboard leaders tend to reflect the gender split of their sections.

    12. A graph depicting the gender split in American conductors

      12. On the podium

      Raman then looked in more detail at each section of the orchestra, starting with the conductor. It will probably come as no surprise to anyone that this role is dominated by men. Marin Alsop is the only woman to hold the post of music director at one of these orchestras, and men still dominate overall, in such roles as guest conductor, principal conductor.

    13. A graph depicting the gender of composers whose op

      13. And while we're on the subject

      The problem isn't restricted to orchestral musicians. Have a look at this graph: it charts the percentage of operas composed by men and the percentage composed by women that have been performed at the Metropolitan Opera. Yep. That's a big fat 0% next to 'female composers'.

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