Our concert halls are doing worse than even the U.S Congress is as far as representation of women, despite arts organizations being led by individuals who claim to value diverse voices.

So, how can we ensure that the voices of women, who make up half of humanity, are represented, respected, programmed, and performed — not only in the realm of Western classical music, but throughout the entire world of music?

All of us can start somewhere — whether you’re a musician wondering where to find new repertoire, a music educator striving to diversify your ensemble’s festival or concert program, a parent with children in school or community music programs, or a ticket holder at your local opera/symphony/theatre/concert hall/etc., there are ways for you to be involved in creating positive change.

Look critically at the music you play, program, or consume. Whose voices are being represented? Are you, your students, your children, and your community members seeing folks who look like them writing and performing the music that is being programmed? Does your ensemble reflect gender diversity among instruments (for example, is the flute section full of women while the brass and percussion sections are predominantly men, or can people of all genders be seen playing a variety of instruments)?

Regardless of your answers to these questions, here are some steps you can take to continue advocating for women and other underrepresented voices in the arts.

• Community members and ticket holders: Write an email to the artistic directors of your local band/symphony/choir/etc. to advocate for new music and new voices to be programmed (especially if you notice that the majority of their concerts tend to feature works by white, cisgender men!). Your voice as an audience member carries more weight than you might think — after all, they want to play music that people in their community want to hear!

• Students in school or community music programs: Bring this up with the director of your ensemble, or your private lesson instructor. Give them this list of action items. If you know of any pieces by underrepresented composers that you think might fit your abilities well (or would fit your ensemble), show them to your director or teacher. When you’re preparing for your next audition, solo adjudication, or recital, seek out pieces that may not be from the expected repertoire. Check out the next point for a great place to start.

• Music educators (and really, all musicians): Visit the website for the Institute for Composer Diversity at composerdiversity.com. Here, you will find their Composer Diversity Database as well as several databases of works (including art songs, orchestral works, choral works, and wind band works), all of which are invaluable resources for finding repertoire for your instrument or voice type, as well as discovering and researching new composers. The many search options allow you to refine your search based on gender, race-ethnicity, instrumentation, language, location where the composer is based, and more.

• Another one for music educators: Check out “…And We Were Heard” at andwewereheard.org, a phenomenal resource that pairs underrepresented composers with premiere ensembles to create recordings of their new works, which are then featured on AWWH’s website. Additionally, there are several databases available to browse diverse composers of wind band music, orchestra music, and diverse composers on state band lists for festival repertoire. The “Resources” section provides even more ways to engage with diverse voices in music, including curriculum resources, advocacy resources, scholarship opportunities, links to additional databases and organizations, and more.