Boston orchestra principal flutist sues over gender bias
NEW YORK: The principal flutist of the Boston Symphony Orchestra has filed a lawsuit saying she has been paid less than male peers, as she highlighted persistent gender bias in classical music.
Elizabeth Rowe, who was hired for the prestigious position in 2004, said that she is paid less than the principal players of oboe, viola, trumpet, timpani and horn, who are all men.
In a complaint filed this week in a Massachusetts court, Rowe requested a jury trial to recover more than US$200,000 (RM807,600) in what she considers unpaid wages from the top-tier orchestra.
“The BSO knowingly discriminated in compensation by relying upon tainted criteria known to exist in the orchestral field,” the lawsuit said. The orchestra did not immediately offer comment.
The lawsuit, which comes amid rising attention to gender disparities in culture and other fields, was filed under a 2016 law in Massachusetts that is among the most aggressive in the United States in seeking to equalise pay.
The law notably prevents employers from requiring candidates to disclose salary history, arguing that such information perpetuates lower pay for women.
The lawsuit said that principal oboist John Ferrillo is paid 200 per cent of base pay to match his previous compensation at the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra in New York, while Rowe — in a comparable position as the head of a woodwind section — earned 154 per cent of the base.
Ferrillo is quoted in the lawsuit as calling Rowe “the finest orchestral flutist in North America and absolutely equal to himself.”
Rowe in the lawsuit said that the Boston Symphony Orchestra has been aware of gender bias, noting that in 1952 — when orchestras were almost entirely male — it established a system of “blind auditions” with a curtain separating the candidate and selection committee.
Rowe said that she was asked last year to appear in a National Geographic documentary by journalist Katie Couric about gender equality that would explore the history of blind auditions.
But Rowe said the orchestra rescinded the invitation after she raised more contemporary concerns over unequal pay. — AFP