Professional Career Paths in the Narratives of Women and Men in the Field of Transylvanian Classical Music

Abstract

Equality in the world of work remains an important issue today, as the differences between men and women still exist in the labor market. It may be legitimate to ask whether these differences are present in the universal and open world of music. In this paper I seek to answer the question of what similarities and differences exist in the professional career paths within the narratives of male and female classical musicians in Transylvania. Gender inequality in the context of Transylvania is an under-researched topic, especially with qualitative methods, as public discourse and science are both more sensitive to the ethnic dimension, as is the case with every national minority. This study aims to explore how classical musicians construct the narrative of their professional career paths and whether gender is a determining factor in all this. To explore the similarities and differences between male and female classical musicians, I conducted semi-structured interviews with musical performers employed in orchestras and opera houses in major cities of Transylvania.