‘Measuring Minutes’: Taking Stock of Representation in Global Orchestral Programming with Donne Women in Music

On 23 September 2026, Donne Women in Music, an organisation promoting gender equality in music led by Gabriella Di Laccio MBE, published its third report on Equality and Diversity in Global Repertoire. The report analyses the 2021-22 and 2023-24 seasons across 110 orchestras in 30 countries, covering more than 6,000 concerts and 20,000 programmed works.

A welcome but stark addition to this report is a measure of representation by time, reflecting the length of programmed works. The findings build on the already striking picture of the underrepresentation of living composers, particularly women, non-binary people and those from the Global Majority, showing that increasing the number of underrepresented composers programmed does not necessarily address the issue.

For example, the report found that if all the music analysed in one of the largest studies of global orchestral programming were played continuously from 1 January, music by women would fill just 16 days. Music by men would fill 345.

“If we want to continue to see new and diverse music, we must support those making it”

Naomi Pohl, MU General Secretary says: “We’re proud to support Donne’s important research on representation in global orchestral programming. It’s stark to see that little has changed positively in terms of the number of works performed by underrepresented composers overall, and we welcome the inclusion of the metric of time in this year’s report. 

“For living composers to sustain an income, the duration of the music they write matters — in the fees they take for writing, the royalties the music generates for them, and their profile and visibility. We hope these findings generate more conversations and spark change. We want to see more support for, and platforming of, living composers, especially those who remain significantly underrepresented. If we want to continue to see new and diverse music, we must support those making it.”

Donne’s report shows that while historic men composers’ work makes up 75.7% of works programmed, they get 86.3% of programme time.

For living men, living women, and historic women, their proportion of programmed works is higher than their programmed time, with as little as 2.7% and 1.8% of programmed time going to living and historic women composers respectively.

The patterns repeat between white men (increase in share by time) versus white women, Global Majority men and Global Majority women.

Delving deeper into the commissioning landscape

The MU’s Writers’ Sector has also been looking at this issue, noting that there are financial questions around copyright, licensing, publishing and royalties that may inform how orchestral programmers approach their work. This is evidently impacting budgets for commissioning new music, meanwhile royalty returns are shaped by the duration of works.

Music Writers’ Officer Lavender Rodriguez shares: “The MU Music Writers’ department has been undergoing a review of our Concert Music Commissioning Rates, which has also allowed us to delve deeper into what the commissioning landscape actually looks like for working composers.

“Through consultation and research, we recognise that there are multiple barriers to entry that prevent especially Global Majority composers or female or gender diverse composers, the ability to further their careers. These barriers can be financial, through low commission fees, or can manifest through lack of opportunities in a struggling commissioning landscape.”

Building more inclusive and sustainable careers for musicians

At the report launch, Donne announced their new 50 by 2030 pledge, encouraging orchestral programmers to achieve 50% representation over the next five years.

Supporting this goal is The Big List — their database of over 10,000 women composers and songwriters, searchable by name, birth year, genre, country of birth and country of location.

Jo Laverty, MU National Organiser for Orchestras said, "As a union representing orchestral musicians, we know that questions of representation are not separate from questions of fairness and opportunity in the workplace. While this report focuses on composers and programming, it highlights wider issues about whose voices are being heard and valued across our sector.

“Through collective bargaining, we work with orchestras to build more inclusive and sustainable careers for musicians, and we hope these findings encourage further discussion about how programming choices can support a more representative future for classical music."

To read the report in full, or to check out The Big List and other work, head to Donne’s website. You can also follow Donne on Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn.