Diversity Initiatives and their Effects on American symphony orchestras: Evidence from the New York Philharmonic (2023)

Undergraduate: John Meah

Faculty Advisor: Shimul Melwani
Department: Kenan Flagler Business School

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Diversity has become increasingly interesting to organizational behavior researchers in recent decades, yet few have explored this topic in the context of symphony orchestras, historically homogenous organizations sharing a racially complex past. Building off previous research examining the history of race in classical music, diversity theory, and the intersection of diversity and justice, I conduct a case study on the New York Philharmonic’s diversity initiative. Using content analysis and inferential statistics, I find that common traits of workplace diversity initiatives translate to the orchestra context. However, orchestras suffer from slow-paced administrations, a need to address past discrimination, and stakeholders demonstrating differing levels of support. The study also finds identity-conscious practices to have an immediate impact, with programming hiring decisions improving guest artist minority representation. I provide an in-depth breakdown of the diversity initiative which can be used by American orchestras that hope to begin their own cultural transformations.

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