Women represent more than half of the national population, yet the percentage of women in leadership roles within the field of opera is comparatively small. OPERA America is addressing these issues by convening a group of stakeholders (female and male) to explore and work actively to advance gender parity field-wide. This page provides general resources for the public and specific resources for OPERA America members.

Goals
OPERA America’s Women’s Opera Network works to:

• Increase awareness of and discussion about diversity and gender parity in the field.
• Create action plans to promote the advancement of talented women.
• Become a source of support for emerging female professionals.

Acknowledging the underrepresentation of women in arts leadership positions as a critical concern, a capacity crowd convened at the May 2015 Annual Conference for a very spirited, substantive and productive conversation. Now, a few months later, our shared commitment bears fruit with the creation of the Women’s Opera Network. With the support of OPERA America and all of you, we commit to creating an ongoing dialogue where we share resources, information, and insights in order to develop robust opportunities and innovative programs that will benefit women across our field.
- Deborah Sandler, Chairman

Be a part of the conversation. Any current member of OPERA America may join the Women’s Opera Network. Simply login to the website and request to be added to the listserv. Members are able to ask questions of the network, post headlines or relevant articles and request or become a mentor. Not an OPERA America member? Join today.

5 women in opera you want to know

	Ana De Archuleta President ADA Artist Management "I believe credibility and trust are earned. It has taken me 12 years to get where I am." Read more…
	Carol F. Henry Chair, Executive Committee Los Angeles Opera "The opportunity to become a part of the formation of a brand-new opera company was one I couldn’t pass up 30 years ago. I’ve been hooked ever since." Read more…
	Laura Kaminsky Composer-in-residence/Professor American Opera Projects/Conservatory of Music at Purchase College, State University of New York "Pay attention to the broader world in which you live. Being an artist requires being an engaged citizen." Read more…
	Nicole Paiement Artistic Director/Principal Guest Conductor Opera Parallèle/The Dallas Opera "'Career' only looks cohesive in hindsight. Choices are sometimes hard and that is okay." Read more…
	Deborah Sandler General Director and CEO Lyric Opera of Kansas City "At the end of the day, we are all responsible for our own excellence and our own achievements. So be the very best you can be." Read more…

• Women & Minorities in Technical Entertainment
• 2016 Wellesley Centers for Women and A.C.T. Women’s Leadership in Resident Theaters – Final Report
• Nearly $20,000 Wage Gap between Men and Women Working in the Arts, Study Finds
• Women in the Workplace 2016 (Lean In and McKinsey & Company)
• Study Explores Gender Parity Outside Broadway Theatres, League of Professional Theatre Women's Women Count Project Continues
• Women In Opera Leadership Positions 1990 - Present - 17pages (PDF)
• Mellon Foundation 2015 Art Museum Staff Demographic Survey
• The Gender Gap in Art Museum Directorships
• Other studies about women’s employment in the arts
• 2016 Opera Grants for Female Composers: Discovery and Commissioning Grant Awards
• 2015 Opera Grants for Female Composers Discovery Grant Awards
• 2015 Opera Grants for Female Composers Commissioning Grants
• Gender Parity in the American Theater
• Dallas Opera Institute for Women Conductors announced
• A.C.T. Women’s Leadership Project
• Women’s Leadership in Residential Theaters Project Update

Women make up a majority of the U.S. population (50.8 percent), earn almost 60 percent of all undergraduate and graduate degrees and earn 47 to 48 percent of all law and medical degrees. Although they hold almost 52 percent of all professional-level jobs, American women lag substantially behind men when it comes to their representation in leadership positions. They represent only 14.6 percent of executive officers, 8.1 percent of top earners and 4.6 percent of Fortune 500 CEOs. They hold just 16.9 percent of Fortune 500 board seats and continue to earn only 71 cents on the dollar to their male counterparts in all leadership positions.

OPERA America did two preliminary research surveys about women in leadership roles within our membership as a representation of the field of opera: one specifically of general directors/CEOs and one for all leadership positions (e.g., divisional directors, artistic leaders). Both surveys span from 1990 to current 2015 data.

Click on any chart to open in a new window.

GENERAL DIRECTORS/CEOS
The results show that historically there remains a static, very low (less than 8 percent) ratio of female general directors at the companies with the largest budgets (Level 1).

The GD/CEO percentages at Level 2 and Level 3 companies have shown more variance but remain on average between 17 to 21 percent over the last 16 years.

The place where there has been the most significant increase in leadership gender parity is at the Level 4 companies (those with the smallest budgets), which are often organizations founded by women. The historic average is over 38 percent, and in 2015, 49 percent of Level 4 GD/CEOs are women.




COMPANY LEADERSHIP POSITIONS
This data is less encouraging, showing an actual decline in the number of women in leadership positions at all levels of opera companies over the last 16 years. While the general numbers seem to indicate a steady increase in female leaders, the ratios to male leaders in the same positions show a decrease of between 4 to 8 percent from 1990.

The graphs below show the statics and percentages, followed by links to the detailed findings from several other resources that present research on women in leadership roles in other sectors of the arts.




[Click any graph to open in a new window]

Women in Leadership Positions at North American Opera Companies, 1990-2015
		1990		1999		2008		2015
		Leadership Positions	General Directors	Leadership Positions	General Directors	Leadership Positions	General Directors	Leadership Positions	General Directors
Level 1	Male	55 (66%)	12 (92%)	83 (66%)	15 (100%)	99 (73%)	12 (92%)	122 (74%)	14 (93%)
	Female	28 (34%)	1 (8%)	42 (34%)	0	37 (27%)	1 (8%)	43 (26%)	1 (7%)
Level 2	Male	60 (62%)	15 (79%)	75 (59%)	10 (67%)	127 (63%)	22 (91%)	136 (64%)	21 (78%)
	Female	37 (38%)	4 (21%)	53 (41%)	5 (33%)	75 (37%)	2 (9%)	79 (36%)	6 (22%)
Level 3	Male	46 (56%)	15 (75%)	60 (56%)	15 (75%)	75 (68%)	15 (94%)	82 (63%)	20 (87%)
	Female	37 (44%)	5 (25%)	49 (44%)	5 (25%)	35 (32%)	1 (6%)	48 (37%)	3 (13%)
Level 4	Male	89 (61%)	30 (69%)	123 (63%)	32 (59%)	151 (65%)	38 (67%)	192 (66%)	40 (51%)
	Female	56 (39%)	13 (31%)	73 (37%)	23 (41%)	82 (35%)	19 (33%)	101 (34%)	38 (49%)
Canada	Male	23 (54%)	6 (67)	47 (71%)	7 (59%)	56 (67%)	12 (71%)	-	-
	Female	20 (46%)	3 (33%)	24 (29%)	4 (41%)	27 (33%)	5 (29%)	-	-

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