The Symphony Orchestra Still Has a Glass Ceiling

In 1970, only 5% of the musicians in a symphony orchestra were women. By 1997, the proportion had risen to 25%. The reason was the blind audition. Performing behind a screen that prevented any gender identification, woman were evaluated and…

More Women in the (Restaurant) Kitchen

Women have been top chefs for awhile. We just don’t hear about them. Louis XV awarded the “cordon bleu” to a female chef. Legend has it that, refusing to have a woman cook for him, his mistress asked the King…

The Invention That Started to Close the Gender Gap

Worrying that labor saving devices would replace her, Downton Abbey’s cook, Mrs. Patmore, was not pleased with the new electric mixer that arrived in her kitchen in 1922. By contrast, if Edith does move out of Downton Abbey into more…