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Women composers’ use of online communities of practice to build and support their careers

Women composers’ use of online communities of practice to build and support their careers The purpose of this paper is to examine women composers’ use of online communities of practice (CoP) to negotiate the traditionally masculine space of music composition while operating outside its hierarchical structures.Design/methodology/approachThe authors employed a mixed methods approach consisting of an online survey (n=225) followed by 27 semi-structured in-depth interviews with female composers to explore the concept and use of CoP. Content analysis was used to analyze the survey responses and interpretative phenomenological analysis was used to interpret respondents’ lived experiences as relayed in the interviews.FindingsThe findings reveal that the online environment can be a supportive and safe space for female composers to connect with others and find support, feedback and mentorship, increase their visibility and develop career agency through learning and knowledge acquisition. CoP emerged as an alternative approach to career development for practicing female music workers and as a tool which could circumvent some of the enduring gendered challenges.Originality/valueThe findings suggest that online CoP can have a positive impact on the career development and sustainability of women in male-dominated sectors such as composition. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Personnel Review Emerald Publishing

Women composers’ use of online communities of practice to build and support their careers

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References (57)

Publisher
Emerald Publishing
Copyright
© Emerald Publishing Limited
ISSN
0048-3486
DOI
10.1108/pr-02-2018-0059
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to examine women composers’ use of online communities of practice (CoP) to negotiate the traditionally masculine space of music composition while operating outside its hierarchical structures.Design/methodology/approachThe authors employed a mixed methods approach consisting of an online survey (n=225) followed by 27 semi-structured in-depth interviews with female composers to explore the concept and use of CoP. Content analysis was used to analyze the survey responses and interpretative phenomenological analysis was used to interpret respondents’ lived experiences as relayed in the interviews.FindingsThe findings reveal that the online environment can be a supportive and safe space for female composers to connect with others and find support, feedback and mentorship, increase their visibility and develop career agency through learning and knowledge acquisition. CoP emerged as an alternative approach to career development for practicing female music workers and as a tool which could circumvent some of the enduring gendered challenges.Originality/valueThe findings suggest that online CoP can have a positive impact on the career development and sustainability of women in male-dominated sectors such as composition.

Journal

Personnel ReviewEmerald Publishing

Published: Jan 14, 2020

Keywords: Gender; Mixed methodologies; Communities of practice; Career progression; Creative industries; Women composers

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