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.

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.

The Women’s Opera Network (WON) Mentorship Program is an ongoing initiative to promote the advancement of women leaders in the field of opera administration. This program will provide a unique opportunity for the most promising female professionals to be paired with administrative leaders who can help these protégés achieve their professional growth goals.

In January 2018, three female professionals have been paired with established leaders in their areas of interest for a 12-month professional Mentorship Program. Protégés were selected based on their demonstrated career arc and potential to make a significant contribution to the opera field. Mentors are selected by OPERA America based on the career track and needs of the protégés. Mentors will share their knowledge and experience to guide protégés in a positive and nurturing environment, while identifying barriers and achievement gaps.

Mentors and protégés will participate in Opera Conference 2018 in St. Louis, Missouri, from June 20–23. Come meet our program participants!

The following three protégé/mentor pairings have been selected for this first year of OPERA America’s Mentorship Program for Women:
Protégé: Piper Gunnarson | Executive Director, On Site Opera (New York, NY)
Mentor: Annie Burridge | General Director and CEO, Austin Opera

Protégé: Katie Preissner | Director of Production, Opera Colorado
Mentor: Clare Burovac | Director of Artistic Operations, Portland Opera

Protégé: Mitra Sadeghpour | Director of Opera, University of Northern Iowa
Mentor: Stacy Brightman | Vice President, Education and Community Engagement, LA Opera

For more information regarding the Mentorship Program, please download a copy of our press release (PDF).

For the 2019 Cycle
Application and Guidelines available online: August 15, 2018
Application deadline: September 26, 2018, at 11:59 p.m. EDT
Selected protégés notified: October 18, 2018

• Center for American Progress: The Women's Leadership Gap (PDF)
• Infographic: Who Designs in LORT Theatres by Gender Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3
• 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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