Breaking the Glass Ceiling: How Women are Succeeding while Being Undervalued in the Professional Orchestral World

The symphony has been largely male dominated for centuries. Women had been discouraged from playing music and essentially had to create a place for themselves in the professional orchestral world. They faced gender discrimination and harassment along their struggle to be accepted. Now that women are more represented; they still have to face harassment and a discrepancy in salary. It can be argued that the discrimination against women is still prevalent, but they have made great strides and found success in this male-dominated profession. This paper intends to investigate specifically the role of women musicians in the western music orchestral world, their reception and whether professional struggles persist