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middle (66%), and secondary (56%) teachers were Community as Catalyst
females, while male teachers were most prominent
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in post-secondary grades (55%). These statistics do “I realized that being kind, community-
not reflect the entirety of gender inequity in choral oriented, and supportive of your colleagues is
music. They do, however, provide a snapshot of the not the short game, but it’s the best game.”
broader trend of women being underrepresented
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in conducting roles in high school, collegiate, and —Carrie Tennant
professional organizations, underscoring the need
for a more nuanced understanding of how gender A strong sense of community in the workplace is
perceptions continue to shape career trajectories essential for everyone, but especially for women, as it
and demographics at various educational levels. As fosters confidence, expands networking and mentorship
Cherland noted, “There remains a significant gap opportunities, and helps to challenge historic gender
between the number of qualified women candidates stereotypes. Within your own community, ask if you are
and the number of women faculty.” Similarly, Dr. practicing inclusive leadership by providing opportunities
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Zhen Zeng, a professor in the Center for Demography for women to collaborate, lead, and build camaraderie. In
and Ecology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, her conduct(her) interview, Amelia Nagoski addressed the
states that while there are enough qualified women importance of developing community in the workplace:
for leadership positions, their representation in faculty
roles remains disproportionately low, especially in the We’re meant to thrive in communities. We’re
humanities, psychology, and fine arts. not built to do big things, or accomplish great
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things, alone. We’re meant to do them together.
“ The impact of gender stereotypes— The only way we maintain well-being is by
having a community that supports everyone’s

whether overt or covert—continues well-being, by turning toward each other with
kindness and compassion, and a sense of moral
to limit opportunities for recognition obligation to care for everyone else.
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and advancement of women.
Fostering collaboration, improving employee well-
being, and driving long-term sustainability by creating
These findings highlight a significant gap in the a supportive environment helps individuals feel
systems and community support needed to help women valued and motivated to contribute to shared goals.
begin and subsequently sustain long-term careers in If you are in a position of leadership, reflect on your
music. Addressing these inequities requires greater current practices: Have you assessed your system of
awareness and institutional change. For instance, organization and leadership? How frequently does
schools and music organizations should actively your team meet and have the opportunity to evaluate
work to challenge gendered assumptions by creating and survey their work environment anonymously?
more inclusive and equitable environments for all Tucson Girls Chorus (TGC) artistic director, Marcela
musicians, regardless of gender. The impact of gender Molina, and Jess Edelbrock, director of operations,
stereotypes—whether overt or covert—continues to discussed how the organization created a maternity leave
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limit opportunities for recognition and advancement of policy when one of their employees became pregnant.
women. Gender discrimination affects the professional TGC worked to develop best practices to support this
psyche of all women in music. Internalized bias, employee, creating a parental leave policy that allowed
exacerbated by persistent marginalization, can lead to the employee to remain with the organization. An action
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self-doubt, impostor syndrome, or even a decision to developed for one person benefits all. This is a model
leave the field entirely. that all arts organizations can and should consider,

CHORAL JOURNAL May 2025 Volume 65 Number 8 39