Expand the Band
Lisa Linde
Newton South High School
Founder | Director Jazzhers
Recruit and Retain Women and Nonbinary Students in Your Jazz Program
2 0 2 5 J E N C O N F E R E N C E
Fall Forum 2023 Alexa Tarantino at Hopkinton HS
“I quit.”
“Not knowing the history of female exclusion in jazz, and not understanding how subtle comments about my playing may be linked more to gender norms than my actual performance, I stopped playing the trumpet altogether at the end of that year.”
—The Absent Women of Jazz, Kelsey Klotz
MAJE State Finals 2024 — History Making
What is happening in your school?
Does your jazz enrollment reflect your gender demographics?
In Middle School? High School? College?
What about Educators and professional musicians?
Let’s also pause to consider race/ethnicity/neurodiversity/(dis)ability
Who is missing?
What are some of the barriers to the gender disparity in our jazz groups?
Factors in Gender Disparity
Self-Efficacy
What is Self-Efficacy?
Bandura, A., Barbaranelli, C., Caprara, G. V., & Pastorelli, C. (2001). Self-efficacy beliefs as shapers of children’s aspirations and career trajectories. Child Development, 72(1), 187–206
Self-Esteem �vs Self-Efficacy
Self-esteem is one’s sense of self-worth, while self-efficacy is the perception of one’s own ability to reach a goal.
Confidence �vs Self-Efficacy
The issue with a term like “confidence” and why it can’t mean the same thing as self-efficacy is that confidence is a nonspecific term that refers to the strength of belief but does not necessarily specify what certainty is about.
Motivation �vs Self-Efficacy
Motivation is based on an individual’s desire to achieve a certain goal, while self-efficacy is based on an individual’s belief in their own capacity to achieve said goal
Self-Efficacy
A Middle School Drop: Consistent Gender Differences in Students’ Self-Efficacy Erin M. Fahle Monica G. Lee Susanna Loeb
We probably already knew…
“Results indicate that females are significantly less confident, more anxious, and have less self-efficacy (attitude) towards learning jazz improvisation.
Responses revealed that females were less willing to attempt jazz improvisation than were males.”
Flowers, JRME (WINTER 2006), VOLUME 54, NUMBER 4
What does the research say about behavior and norms?
“(A) factor that may deter females from pursuing jazz is the competitive, head to head, nature of this art. Many common practices in jazz, such as cutting contests and trading fours…
Research shows us that although males are often motivated by competition, females tend to avoid situations that they anticipate as being competitive.12 It comes to no surprise that these general behavioral traits discourage females from playing jazz.”
Dr. Ariel Alexander, “Guest Editorial: Where are the Girls? jazzedmagazine.com
In a study by Kathleen McKeage, �when asked to respond the the prompt,
“I enjoy improvising my solos”
the women in the study who were still playing jazz �had less positive feelings about improvisation than �did the men who quit playing
Factors in Gender Disparity
Stereotype Threat and Gender
Stereotype threat is the anxiety experienced when people become cognizant that they are entering a testing or other performance environment where they can potentially reinforce a stereotype about a group with which they identify. Moreover, even if an individual consciously rejects a negative stereotype, their performance may be affected.
Anyone is subject to stereotype threat for any identity that has negative stereotypes associated with it and such stereotypes can be manipulated based on the context. For example, in one study [27] two groups (White male and Black male college students) were asked to complete the same task – a version of miniature golf. When the task was characterized to the participants as a measure of “athletic ability” the White students did not score as well. However, when the same game was characterized as a measure of “sporting intelligence” the Black students did not score as well
© 2016, Washington University
Gender Norms�& Patriarchy
What does the research say?
Dr. Ariel Alexander, “Guest Editorial: Where are the Girls? jazzedmagazine.com
“Research shows us that while males tend to form their identities based on independence and separation from their peers, girls and young women usually form their identities based on their relationships with others.”10
What does the research say about gender stereotypes?
“A woman in the jazz idiom may avoid being successful in jazz improvisation to prevent being viewed as unfeminine by the males in the class. Adolescent girls, in particular, are interested in making and keeping friends (Manning & Hagen, 1995).
Success in a male-dominated area might threaten relationships that are more important than a grade or award in improvisation. If young girls do not see success in jazz improvisation as rewarding for their gender group, they may have a less positive attitude towards learning improvisation.”
Wehr Flowers, JRME (WINTER 2006), VOLUME 54, NUMBER 4
What does the research say about gender stereotypes?
Adherence to rigid gender roles can be detrimental to the careers of both men and women by minimizing skills and values for each gender (1999, p. 108). Girls not choosing to participate in jazz studies can restrict the number of possibilities available to them in music education and performance careers (Delzell, 1994).
The issue of girls' and women's participation in jazz might not be one of ability, skills, or talent but rather one based in social psychology.
Wehr Flowers, JRME (WINTER 2006), VOLUME 54, NUMBER 4
The book Down Girl: The Logic of Misogyny ...argues that misogyny should not be understood primarily in terms of the hatred or hostility some men feel toward all or most women. Rather, it's primarily about controlling, policing, punishing, and exiling the "bad" women who challenge male dominance. And it's compatible with rewarding "the good ones," and singling out other women to serve as warnings to those who are out of order. It's also common for women to serve as scapegoats, be burned as witches, and treated as pariahs.
“Down Girl”
“Entitled”
— Books by Kate Manne
Archetypal Stereotypes of Gender Roles in Jazz
Rosabeth Moss Kanter, in “Men and Women of the Corporation” theorizes that when there is only one (or a few) women/ nonbinary members in a male dominated organization, they are stereotyped as to fitting into one of the following roles:
Erin Wehr-Flowers “Jazz, Gender and Iowas All Female Jazz Orchestra” https://jazzednet.org/resources/jazz-gender-iowas-female-jazz-orchestra/
Create
Change
Erin Wehr’s Research on Gender and Jazz
Jazz Gender and Iowa’s All Female Jazz Orchestra, JEI Newsletter 2018 reprinted at jazzednet.org
Strategies — Mastery Experiences
Push, Push, Push
Structure, Structure, Structure
Representation
Self-Efficacy – Vicarious Experiences – Representation
Create critical mass - Majority girl/nonbinary groups if possible or pair marginalized students together whether it’s a combo, within a section, or by instrument (jazz flute choir)
Concert Dress
Women/nonbinary guest artists and clinicians
Women as adjudicators at ensemble competitions and solo festivals
Show videos and play recordings of female artists on every instrument
Play music written by women composers (list on jazzhers.com)
Cover your classroom walls with women playing jazz
How does instrumentation impact who shows up?
Big Band Instrumentation and Impact on Diversity
Lab Band Concept with Zero Entry
Improv Classes
Mary Lou Williams Mentorship Award
Mary Lou Williams (1910-1981)
American Jazz Pianist, Arranger, Composer
Mentored: Charlie Parker, Thelonious Monk, Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis
Arranged for: Duke Ellington, Benny Gooodman, Tommy Dorsey
In addition to the Louis Armstrong Jazz Award and the John Philip Sousa Band Award, I’ve created a mentorship award named after Mary Lou Williams to honor her contributions to jazz and to create female representation.
Berklee Institute of Jazz and Gender Justice
Looking for jazz standards by women, “Willow Weep for Me” by Ann Ronell
Initiatives
Brava Publishing
Chica Power, Jazz House Kids
Seattle JazzEd Femme Ellington Project
We Have Voice
WIJO
El Paso Jazz Girls
Key of She
Berklee Institute of Jazz and Gender Justice
What would jazz sound like in a culture without patriarchy?
The jazz industry remains predominantly male due to a biased system, imposing a significant toll on those who aspire to work in it. In understanding the importance of balance and equity, the goal of the Berklee Institute of Jazz and Gender Justice is to do corrective work and modify the way jazz is perceived and presented, so the future of jazz looks different than its past without rendering invisible many of the art form's creative contributors.
The Berklee Institute of Jazz and Gender Justice will focus on equity in the jazz field and the role that jazz plays in the larger struggle for gender justice. The institute will celebrate the contributions women have made in the development of the art form as well as frame more equitable conditions for all pursuing careers in jazz in an effort to work toward a necessary and lasting cultural shift in the field.
Jazzhers Comprehensive Programming Concept
Student Programming
Educator Programming and Curriculum Development
Transition Programming
Collaborative Partnerships
Values and Commitment
Expand the Band
Lisa Linde
Newton South High School
Founder | Director Jazzhers
Recruit and Retain Women and Nonbinary Students in Your Jazz Program
2 0 2 5 J E N C O N F E R E N C E