Study shows that blind auditions may benefit female musicians
Attempts to conceal the identity of musicians auditioning for spots in orchestras can significantly increase the rate of success for women, according to a study co-authored by Wilson school professor Cecilia Rouse.Rouse and Claudia Goldin ? a professor of economics at Harvard University and one of Rouse's former thesis advisers ? co-produced the study, which was published in the September-November issue of The American Economic Review.The country's top orchestras have long been thought to discriminate against women in hiring, and in the past many renowned conductors have even asserted that women are unsuitable to play in orchestras, according to Rouse."It is hard to say why, but I can say that there were many orchestral leaders on record for saying that they would not hire women," Goldin said.Director of the University Orchestra Michael Pratt said he has not witnessed this sort of discrimination during his time at the University."I have always been amazed that there would be any conductor a fool enough to reject a candidate because she is a woman," he said.In the late 1960s and early 1970s, there was a "democratization of the hiring process," according to Goldin.