Why Classical Music Needs to Go Beyond Gender Targets
NEWS | 1 JULY 2025
The Donne Foundation’s latest report introduces a vital new data point for measuring inclusion: time.
This additional data point will feature in every future report alongside the existing metrics, for example the number of works by women and global majority composers per concert, and overall number of women and global majority composers across the season. This new report uses the 2024 BBC Proms as a case study, revealing that despite progress, deep gender and racial disparities remain.
Why Time Matters:
The time each composer’s music is given on stage plays a big role in how fully their voice reaches the audience. When women and global majority composers are programmed less often, or only in shorter pieces, their work can feel like an add-on. Real equity in music isn’t just about how many composers are included but about giving fair stage time and meaningful space for every voice to be heard.
The data shows that of 574 works across 89 concerts, 47% of the 2024 BBC Proms concerts featured at least one piece by a woman composer, yet music by women accounted for just 13.6% of the works performed, and only 8.6% of the total performance time.
Key Findings:
- – Composer Gender: 89.9% of music, measured in minutes, was composed by men. Just 8.6% was composed by women. The remaining minutes were written by composers of unknown gender or multiple composers of mixed gender.
- – Living vs. Historical Composers: Only 21.7% of music played at the Proms in 2024 was written by living composers, compared to 77.6% of music, which was written by historical composers. Of the women composers who were programmed, the majority (4.7%) were living, whilst 3.9% were historical.
Race/Ethnicity: 3% of the minutes performed were written by white composers, while 9.2% were composed by people of the global majority. Only 0.4% of minutes were written by composers of unknown race/ethnicity.
TOP COMPOSERS
The twenty composers with the most minutes of music performed were all white men, and all but one were historical.
Ten women composers had more than 20 minutes of their music performed. Five of these women were living and five historical. One was Black and nine were white.
Committing to change:
The Donne Foundation recognises that increasing stage-time for new voices is a challenge, as audiences should first be given the chance to listen to composers and works that they are unfamiliar with. This can only happen if the music industry as a whole commits to be part of this change: publishers, researchers, performers, orchestras, festivals, broadcasters, venues, and funders.
The Donne Foundation is calling on the classical music sector to work together over the next five years to dramatically increase the music we hear from women and global majority composers. Whether this is live or recorded music, this is the time to take a real chance for new audiences to form lasting connections with the music.
