Women in Jazz Music: A Hundred Years of Gender Disparity in Jazz Study and Performance (1920–2020)

Abstract:Presently, women are still underrepresented in jazz music performance and education, with only around 10% of jazz academics being female. The aim of this paper is to analyze the reason for the gender disparity and how it has changed over time. Several questions are addressed in this paper. Why the significant disparity? Do women feel unwelcome in the jazz community? If so, what historical events have led to this perception? What can be done to correct this lack of representation? Answering these questions will shine a light on historical gender discrimination in the United States and illuminate existing problems. From examining books and peer-reviewed articles, and conducting interviews with women in jazz, this paper concludes that discrimination that began 100 years ago against women in jazz remains today, impacting the number of women who pursue jazz as a career. Nevertheless, being a woman in jazz has improved in recent years.