Red Public

The Silent Female composers

When people think about music and composers, Mozart, Schumann and Mendelssohn may come to mind. However, female composers also contributed to the musical history and were just as talented as males.
It was very difficult for women to publish their work and often women had to publish their work under a different name using pseudonyms or if they were lucky, they would publish their work through male composers.

Barbara Strozzi is a perfect example of a venetian composer that was ahead of her time. She was a gifted soprano and was the first woman to publish her music under her own name. F***y Mendelssohn was another gifted musician and composer. She would publish her work under her brother’s name and gave feedback and on his own work.
Francesca Caccini is another composer, singer that published the “Comedy Ballet” La liberazione di Ruggiero in 1625. This was considered a successful opera that was successfully staged by an Italian woman. Nevertheless, her works were often assumed to be by her father.

For centuries women struggled to have rights for the minimum recognition of their works. Many had well connected husbands and fathers to publish their works, while others that we will never know about weren’t so lucky. These women did not wait for a female mentor or seek a female tradition. They worked in a male dominated musical culture and had to face struggles and criticism. Elisabeth calude jacquet, Ethel Smyth, Clara Schymann and many others had to do this.

Sources: https://www.classical-music.com/composers/most-famous-female-composers/
https://utahsymphony.org/explore/2020/03/10-trailblazing-female-composers-you-need-to-know/
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/12/02/arts/music/01womencomposers.html

Il ruolo di Red Public nell’implementazione del Gender Equality Plan

In qualità di esperto nel campo della sostenibilità sociale e dell'uguaglianza e inclusione di genere, Red Public offre il suo supporto a enti pubblici e privati per aiutarli a stabilire una situazione duratura di uguaglianza e inclusione nel loro ambiente di lavoro.

Alti livelli di Uguaglianza e Inclusione sono raggiunti grazie all'implementazione del Gender Equality Plan. Il piano si basa sull’analisi della situazione attuale e sulla definizione di obiettivi futuri dell'azienda su argomenti quali:
Equilibrio tra lavoro e vita privata;
Equilibrio di genere nella leadership e nel processo decisionale;
Uguaglianza di genere nel reclutamento;
Pari retribuzione;
Violenza di genere.

Il primo passo per declinare un Gender Equality Plan è un audit interno atto a valutare e analizzare la situazione dell'azienda sulla parità di genere. Basandosi su uno strumento creato da Red Public, ampliato rispetto ai benchmark esistenti, è possibile identificare e valorizzare i principali driver di analisi. Viene definito poi un chiaro piano d'azione sulla base dell’as is e sugli obiettivi che l’organizzazione vuole raggiungere. L'implementazione del Gender Equality Plan è supportata da KPI chiari e consistenti che vengono valutati e monitorati nel tempo. Il percorso verrà personalizzato e calato sulle esigenze dei nostri clienti, pubblici o privati.

The Struggle of Women on stage

The role of women in the film industry and in the theater has changed through the different years. The film industry was seen more as a business rather than art. And men were predominantly working in the film industry.

In the 1920s until 1982, female directors were not credited at all from Universal Studios. The introduction of the Hays Code made the roles for female actors less prevalent and excluded women from acting. This exclusion of women was seen even in the ancient Greek and roman theater. The Greek and roman theater put women in an inferior position respect to men. Women had many restrictions and men saw women as a potential threat and “dangerous”. For this very reason women weren’t allowed to perform publicly, and men would play female characters on stage.

Women began movements to fight for their rights and the typical stereotypes. Aphra Bahn for instance became an important figure who developed a career as a dramatist. She went against the cultural norms and became the first professional female playwright. She made huge efforts to promote the feminist ideas and gave women the chance to acknowledge their abilities on stage and in plays.
During the years women started to gain ground in the movie and theater industry.

Women were also playing male roles, and this was a very rebellious act to go against the restrictive social expectations. Women started to get roles as protagonists, and they started to receive incredible gains in 2019. The percentage of movies where women were the protagonists increased from 31% in 2018 to 40% in 2019. With other movements such as the MeToo movement and Times Up movements, women may get their voices heard.

Sources: https://womensmediacenter.com/fbomb/the-history-and-future-of-women-in-film
https://nctheatre.com/blog/women-theatre-historical-look
https://studycorgi.com/role-of-women-in-theatre-throughout-history/