Herstory

Looking at the evolution of gender in US society over nearly 20 years, a new study by Lakshmi Ramarajan, Kathleen L. McGinn, and Deborah Kolb traces how one prominent professional-service firm internalized the shifting concerns.

History, politics & culture as this woman sees it. The serious, the kitsch, the opinionated.

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Women struggle to succeed in classical music unless they “go along with the old idea that sex sells”, Dame Jenni Murray has suggested, as she laments the sexist world of orchestras.

Dame Jenni, who will soon conduct the BBC Philharmonic orchestra as part of a Woman’s Hour special, claimed even women who have “made it” in classical music have been subjected to a “pretty tough time”.

“The women who seem to be most welcome are the ones who are prepared to go along with the old idea that sex sells,” she told this week’s Radio Times magazine.

"Look at the way the violinist Nicola Benedetti and trumpeter Alison Balsom are marketed."

Last year, an interview with Benedetti in a tabloid newspaper discussed the likelihood of her “posing for the lads’ mags”, before asserting she looked “fit as a fiddle”.

Balsom, who has been nicknamed the "trumpet crumpet" by some publications, has previously admitted "orchestral brass players can be very macho, with an intimidating group mentality", but said she had grown more confident as she gained musical experience.