MANIFEST

The historic Declaration approved by the General Assembly of the United Nations, on the 10th of December of 1948, reaffirms that “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights” and that “every person has all the rights and liberties proclaimed in this Declaration, without any distinction of race, color, gender, age, ethnicity, language, religion, [...] birth, or any other condition.”

The Movement Women Conductors was created in 2016, with the intention of creating a space of permanent reflection over the proceedings of women in music, and of promoting the implementation of mechanisms to eliminate historic discriminations and injustices.

While finalizing the III International Symposium of Women Conductors, which took place in an online format between September 15th and 20th of 2020 and included a total of 976 participants from 36 nations, the participants of the event—conductors, directors, composers, musicologists, producers, and administrators of the Americas, Europe, and Asia—diagnosed an immense inequity between positions occupied by men and women & diversities as regards both musical customs and concert programs.

And, therefore, we declare that:

1 - WE RECLAIM ACCESS TO THE SPACES AND POSITIONS HISTORICALLY DENIED TO WOMEN IN MUSIC, PARTICULARLY TO CONDUCTORS AND COMPOSERS;

2 - WE DENOUNCE THE INVISIBILITY OF THE WORK OF WOMEN IN MUSIC, ESPECIALLY THAT OF CONDUCTORS AND COMPOSERS;

3 - WE REJECT ANY DISCRIMINATORY ACTION AND, ABOVE ALL, WE REPUDIATE ANY AND ALL FORMS OF ABUSIVE OR HARRASING BEHAVIOR;

4 - WE PETITION AND URGE THAT CONCRETE LEGISLATION BE ESTABLISHED THAT WOULD PROMOTE THE EQUALITY OF OPPORTUNITIES AND CONDITIONS OF WORK FOR WOMEN IN MUSIC, PARTICULARLY FOR CONDUCTORS AND COMPOSERS;

5 - WE REQUEST THAT POLICIES BE IMPLEMENTED THAT WOULD GUARANTEE THE EDUCATION AND MUSICAL DEVELOPMENT OF GIRLS AND BOYS;

OUR MOVEMENT REQUESTS THE HELP AND COMMITMENT OF RESPONSIBLE POLITICAL CLASSES OF DIVERSE CULTURAL INSTITUTIONS TO IMPLEMENT THE PROPOSALS OF THIS MANIFESTO.

​https://www.women-conductors.com/