A long time ago, but not so distant that we should forget, the number of women composers produced by a society was absurdly low. A recent paper (excerpted below) suggests that teachers invested less time in women students because society discounted the value of women, conservatories paradoxically widened the gap of males to female composition students, and women had to publish under male names to get their music consumed.

Excerpt:

We argue that disparities in human capital acquisition lie at the root of the issue. Composing music requires substantial investment in education, training, and mentorship to develop the necessary skills. Historically, these resources were often less accessible to women due to societal norms and institutional barriers. As John Stuart Mill observed in “The Subjection of Women”: “Women are taught music, but not for the purpose of composing, only for executing it: and accordingly, it is only as composers, that men… are superior to women.” This lack of training systematically disadvantaged women, making it far more difficult for them to achieve prominence.

I don’t believe there is a gender-advantage to composing music. I don’t write music better or worse because of my gender. While I believe that, I also believe that music composition is a form of expression and serves a social good. I don’t believe there should be any limit to the creation of social goods and personal expression - especially of a musical kind.

On the topic of female composers: I don’t agree with decisions of the past. Simultaneously, I can see how people operated that way. Their society adopted these social norms and beliefs, and those beliefs got reinforced by people with high social capital and influence. To exist in that culture is to play the game. And, assuming the people back then are rational actors, they played the game the best they could.

The more I learn about history, the more I can’t fault people of the past — it’s healthier (for me) to try and understand the tradeoffs they made. By understanding the tradeoffs and incorporating them into present-day decision making the past becomes higher utility and we can make progress at the margins.

I am happy that we live in a world where it’s easy for anyone to create music, ship it, and have it heard by at least one other person around the world… in just a few clicks.